Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Ray_Singh · 21st May 2020, 9:21 pm

Hi All.

Looking for some help/advice.

I have an Arcam Alpha One CD player i use in the garage when fiddling with my cars etc. Its a nice bit of kit.

I have noticed that the transport mechanism is playing up as occasionally it will not recognize the CD in the player.
I took the lid off to have a look and noticed that the PCB at the base of the transport flicks down when the transport tray is ejected and on pressing load the PCB flicks back up into place. However, on my unit it is not quite going far enough up to tell the player a CD is loaded. Some manual help sorts the issue.

How can i fix this?

vidjoman · 21st May 2020, 10:18 pm

Slack drive belt - needs replacing.

Ray_Singh · 22nd May 2020, 9:28 am

Oh - Thanks Vidjoman - I will hunt out a new belt asap.

Many thanks.

Ray_Singh · 22nd May 2020, 9:33 am

This should do it - right?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E605-Repl...oAAOSwf2pbhsY1

E605 part number. Ordered but almost £5 posted......

Clydeuk · 22nd May 2020, 6:10 pm

Common problem which also afflicts DVD players and Computer DVD drives. Found a Blu Ray player that was thrown out for the same reason. Had no belts handy so did the old trick of sticking the belt in a pan of boiling water for a while. Still works but will probably need a belt soon.

Rubberfingers · 22nd May 2020, 7:25 pm

A suitably sized O ring from the local plumbers merchants can sometimes be pressed into service. Wrong profile, yes, and a bodge, yes, but when it comes to something like a PC CD Rom drive, the post and packing on the correct belt can make the item not worth repairing otherwise.

Ray_Singh · 23rd May 2020, 11:34 am

Thank you all. This is why i love this forum, the sheer wealth of knowledge and experience is fantastic and people really love to help each other.

I have order the appropriate belt (not a bodge) and will fit. I will let you know how i get on.

Ray_Singh · 2nd Jun 2020, 10:54 am

New belt arrived. Looking at the transport, it seems that I need to pull it out in its entirety as the belt is mounted underneath.

Does anyone have any experience of the belt replacement on one of these or the equivalent Philips/Sony models please?

Ray_Singh · 2nd Jun 2020, 12:19 pm

Ok so i got the old belt out and compared to the new belt......
[img]https://i.**********/DoIJo7E.jpg[/img]

Ray_Singh · 2nd Jun 2020, 1:23 pm

CD mechanism will not open close or play now......

vidjoman · 2nd Jun 2020, 1:29 pm

The one in the packet looks too small to me. That will stop the motor working as it’ll be too tight. New belt will probably only be a millimetre or so smaller.

Ray_Singh · 2nd Jun 2020, 3:05 pm

Thanks @vidjoman - I have asked the Ebay seller to confirm that the belt he sent out was correct....

FIXITNOW · 2nd Jun 2020, 3:28 pm

lay them on top off each other should be very close in size

Ray_Singh · 3rd Jun 2020, 9:28 am

It must be the wrong one as it is much smaller.

I have fitted the smaller one and fiddled with the cd tray, it now opens and closes, but there seems to be a barell that lifts the front of the mechanism up to start to play the cd. This now no longer works. I will put the old belt back in and see if that works.

R

G6ONEDave · 5th Jun 2020, 3:57 pm

Re the barell that you mention, I think that you will find that in doing the tray the lifting part of the mechanism (barell?) is no longer aligned in it's correct position. It should be possible to hand wind the drive with the whole mechanism removed from the rest of the electronics. This will help you confirm what is wrong, my guess is that hte barell is not engaged in the correct part of the spiral slot or 'z' slot depending which is used on the mechanism. When you try again make sure that the barell is in it's slot before refitting the tray.
Re the belt, a smaller belt is OK as long as it does not try to pull the drive shaft pulley and mechanism pulley sideways. Also make sure that there is no grease on the pulley grooves where the belt runs.
The drive system should be relatively easy to turn by hand, if not then there is another issue to sort out.

Ray_Singh · 8th Jun 2020, 4:03 pm

Thank you @G60NEDave - really appreciate the message.

I received the new belt and it is much closer to the size of the belt i removed, perhaps 1mm bigger.
I have replaced and am struggling with the CD tray/drawer now. Any ideas?

It opens a bit and then stops. It closes but not all the way......

I will try and upload a video.

vidjoman · 8th Jun 2020, 4:11 pm

Do you mean the new one is 1mm bigger? If so it’ll probably slip.
You may have got the sync between the tray and gear wrong so it won’t run correctly.

Ray_Singh · 9th Jun 2020, 9:12 am

Thanks Vidjoman - it looks like it is slipping at the last part of the close cycle and the last part of the open cycle. Here is a link to a offsite hosted video of the unit....

https://i.**********/YvMziFC.mp4

Ambientnoise · 9th Jun 2020, 9:37 am

I had a similar problem on a CD player and went around the loop of belts, motors etc to no avail. It remained intermittent until I realised that there was a switch which was flipped from side-side as the drawer moved. Presumably feeding back drawer position, it was intermittent. A squirt of cleaner helped keep it going for a few years. Worth a look ?

Ken

Ray_Singh · 9th Jun 2020, 9:40 am

Thanks Ken. I will investigate. Even at the age of 44 years, my eyes are not what they used to be. The addition of glasses doesnt really help either.....

21st May 2020, 9:21 pm	#1
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Hi All. Looking for some help/advice. I have an Arcam Alpha One CD player i use in the garage when fiddling with my cars etc. Its a nice bit of kit. I have noticed that the transport mechanism is playing up as occasionally it will not recognize the CD in the player. I took the lid off to have a look and noticed that the PCB at the base of the transport flicks down when the transport tray is ejected and on pressing load the PCB flicks back up into place. However, on my unit it is not quite going far enough up to tell the player a CD is loaded. Some manual help sorts the issue. How can i fix this?

21st May 2020, 10:18 pm	#2
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,324	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Slack drive belt - needs replacing.

22nd May 2020, 9:28 am	#3
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Oh - Thanks Vidjoman - I will hunt out a new belt asap. Many thanks.

22nd May 2020, 9:33 am	#4
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem This should do it - right? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E605-Repl...oAAOSwf2pbhsY1 E605 part number. Ordered but almost £5 posted...... Last edited by Ray_Singh; 22nd May 2020 at 9:44 am.

22nd May 2020, 6:10 pm	#5
Clydeuk Hexode Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. Posts: 453	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Common problem which also afflicts DVD players and Computer DVD drives. Found a Blu Ray player that was thrown out for the same reason. Had no belts handy so did the old trick of sticking the belt in a pan of boiling water for a while. Still works but will probably need a belt soon. Last edited by Clydeuk; 22nd May 2020 at 6:13 pm. Reason: clarify to boil the belt, not the player

22nd May 2020, 7:25 pm	#6
Rubberfingers Pentode Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dorset, UK. Posts: 240	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem A suitably sized O ring from the local plumbers merchants can sometimes be pressed into service. Wrong profile, yes, and a bodge, yes, but when it comes to something like a PC CD Rom drive, the post and packing on the correct belt can make the item not worth repairing otherwise.

23rd May 2020, 11:34 am	#7
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Thank you all. This is why i love this forum, the sheer wealth of knowledge and experience is fantastic and people really love to help each other. I have order the appropriate belt (not a bodge) and will fit. I will let you know how i get on.

2nd Jun 2020, 10:54 am	#8
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem New belt arrived. Looking at the transport, it seems that I need to pull it out in its entirety as the belt is mounted underneath. Does anyone have any experience of the belt replacement on one of these or the equivalent Philips/Sony models please?

2nd Jun 2020, 12:19 pm	#9
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Ok so i got the old belt out and compared to the new belt...... [img]https://i.**********/DoIJo7E.jpg[/img]

2nd Jun 2020, 1:23 pm	#10
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem CD mechanism will not open close or play now......

2nd Jun 2020, 1:29 pm	#11
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,324	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem The one in the packet looks too small to me. That will stop the motor working as it’ll be too tight. New belt will probably only be a millimetre or so smaller.

2nd Jun 2020, 3:05 pm	#12
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Thanks @vidjoman - I have asked the Ebay seller to confirm that the belt he sent out was correct....

2nd Jun 2020, 3:28 pm	#13
FIXITNOW Octode Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 1,975	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem lay them on top off each other should be very close in size

3rd Jun 2020, 9:28 am	#14
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem It must be the wrong one as it is much smaller. I have fitted the smaller one and fiddled with the cd tray, it now opens and closes, but there seems to be a barell that lifts the front of the mechanism up to start to play the cd. This now no longer works. I will put the old belt back in and see if that works. R

5th Jun 2020, 3:57 pm	#15
G6ONEDave Octode Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Owston Ferry, North Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 1,700	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Re the barell that you mention, I think that you will find that in doing the tray the lifting part of the mechanism (barell?) is no longer aligned in it's correct position. It should be possible to hand wind the drive with the whole mechanism removed from the rest of the electronics. This will help you confirm what is wrong, my guess is that hte barell is not engaged in the correct part of the spiral slot or 'z' slot depending which is used on the mechanism. When you try again make sure that the barell is in it's slot before refitting the tray. Re the belt, a smaller belt is OK as long as it does not try to pull the drive shaft pulley and mechanism pulley sideways. Also make sure that there is no grease on the pulley grooves where the belt runs. The drive system should be relatively easy to turn by hand, if not then there is another issue to sort out.

8th Jun 2020, 4:03 pm	#16
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Thank you @G60NEDave - really appreciate the message. I received the new belt and it is much closer to the size of the belt i removed, perhaps 1mm bigger. I have replaced and am struggling with the CD tray/drawer now. Any ideas? It opens a bit and then stops. It closes but not all the way...... I will try and upload a video.

8th Jun 2020, 4:11 pm	#17
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,324	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Do you mean the new one is 1mm bigger? If so it’ll probably slip. You may have got the sync between the tray and gear wrong so it won’t run correctly.

9th Jun 2020, 9:12 am	#18
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Thanks Vidjoman - it looks like it is slipping at the last part of the close cycle and the last part of the open cycle. Here is a link to a offsite hosted video of the unit.... https://i.**********/YvMziFC.mp4

9th Jun 2020, 9:37 am	#19
Ambientnoise Heptode Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 915	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem I had a similar problem on a CD player and went around the loop of belts, motors etc to no avail. It remained intermittent until I realised that there was a switch which was flipped from side-side as the drawer moved. Presumably feeding back drawer position, it was intermittent. A squirt of cleaner helped keep it going for a few years. Worth a look ? Ken

9th Jun 2020, 9:40 am	#20
Ray_Singh Pentode Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 179	Re: Arcam Alpha One - CD Player problem Thanks Ken. I will investigate. Even at the age of 44 years, my eyes are not what they used to be. The addition of glasses doesnt really help either.....