Magnavox Vh-8005 question

[jpdylon]

shouldn't make a difference. Its not the laser that determines the video output, but the processing circuitry that encoded the disc and decodes it in the player. The laser is only used to read the digital information on the disc.

[ChrisW6ATV]

No, the country of origin/video system would not matter for the laser tube. One repair I did on a VP-1000 I had in the late 80's was to replace the power transformer for the laser's power supply; that part could be specific to a 120v player versus a 220v player. There is probably a way to see if your laser is working-you would have to remove the top part of the player's case but keep/reinstall the disc cover and then try to start a disc spinning. If the laser was working, you should be able to see its light visible from the side, I expect. There may be other ways to test the laser and its power supply, like "fooling" the player into thinking a disc was in place and the cover was closed.

Dr. ido, I may be interested in your laser tube if Casey does not end up needing it.

[dr.ido]

Googling around it looks like the tube I have is probably from either a Philips VP831 or VP835. These are industrial players, so it may be a longer life tube than those used in the consumer players. At least I've heard that Pioneer's industrial players has better lasers than the consumer players (either way I'm keeping my LDV8000).
http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/la...lips_vp835.htm

[casey88]

Here's a picture I took when I removed the bottom cover of the player. I'm not sure how you take the top cover off or what I should do next though.

[dr.ido]

The picture you posted is too small, dark and compressed to make out anything. In the Philips players that I have seen the top cover/disc tray have to be removed to get at the laser tube.

These lasers use visible red light, you should be able to see if your laser is working by watching the unit run with the lid open (you'll have to defeat the door switch), just don't look directly into the beam (even though it's only 2mW).

[ChrisW6ATV]

To remove the top of the case, you will probably have to first remove the disc cover (and then reinstall it after the case top is removed). As dr. ido said, if you can fool the "door closed" switch/sensor, as well as the mechanism that tells it a disc is in place, it would turn the laser on (and attempt to spin a disc).

[dr.ido]

I've found parts I have left from the VP835 I gutted. I have the laser tube, the HV block and the transformer. A picture is attached, let me know if you need these parts.

[casey88]

Yes, I'd be interested in them still. I'm still trying to get the latch for the lid so the laser will come on with the cover up, but I can't figure it out. I try and post some more pictures later to see if there's anything else I can do.

[dr.ido]

If you post some big clear pictures of the unit with the top of I may be able to identify the switch that needs to be defeated if it is similar enough to any of the units I've played with.

[casey88]

I added some pictures of the player to http://www.ccartwright.photosite.com/Album1/. I'm having a hard time posting pictures on this forum, but if those pictures aren't clear enough I can try to take some more.

[ha1156w]

I've had two of these critters over the years. My current one was a never-used example stored in a cabinet with the virgin transport screw still installed -- was a prize in a contest according to the estate and they never had any discs to play in it. It will sort of play, roughly, but barely. I get a VERY noisy picture probably due to dried out caps in the power supply (get a slight 120hz hum in the audio) and the tracking never seems to "lock". I'm not sure if the power supply is affecting the tracking circuits' ability to function or not. Getting the disc up to speed and "tracking" seems to take somewhere around 30 seconds, as previously stated by another poster.

What I leared with the first player is that these have VERY delicate optical sections that will go out of alignment if you look at them crosseyed. Any bumps and bruises will surely misalign everything I've been told. I've been trying to score a service manual for these things for over 5 years and have yet to succeed. There is a sam's book for them, VDP-1 I think is the reference number, but I've not run across any copies in the libraries. I recall seeing some articles on servicing them in Radio-Electronics magazine years ago. I do remember that the tracking system is belt-driven, so you'll surely need to replace those belts first.

It's good you have the original switchbox for the TV end of things -- the output from the player has a voltage superimposed to switch things automatically, just like a Nintendo 8-bit.

[dr.ido]

From what I can see from new pictures it appears that it has at least some parts in common with the VP835. The disc motor/spindle appears to be the same.

It does not appear to have an optical sensor to detect if a disc is present. If you hold the door switch down the motor should spin up and the laser should light when the motor gets up to speed (at least for long enough for it to attempt to focus).

If you can remove the top cover you should be able to see if the laser tube is the same as the one I have. I don't remember if it is possible to remove the laser tube without affecting the alignment of the other parts.

[andy]

If the disk spins up I would bet the laser is working. Every laser disk and CD player I've seen won't spin the disc for more than a few seconds if it can't read the disk. He-Ne lasers are pretty reliable.

[dr.ido]

Not all laserdisc players only spin when a disc is present. The VP835 I removed the laser pictured above from would spin and turn on the laser without a disc present for as long as the door switch was closed.

I used to run the player with the lid off and the laser removed from the mechanism before I totally gutted it. I had intended to build a stand alone power supply for the Laser, but I lost interest and it's sat around here ever since.

[casey88]

I've been trying to defeat the door switch so the machine will spin without the lid up, but I still can't get it, but there's a screw on the latch that's on the lid, if I unscrewed it, would it get the player to power up?