Amiga CD32 drive unit adjustment & circuit analysis

[spannernick]

**Amiga CD32 drive unit adjustment & circuit analysis**

(Can someone change the title of the thread please and make it a sticky.)

This is 4 hour long video,about the Amiga CD32 CD drive and how to adjust it to read copies,how it works too...

You adjust the 4 pots on the side of the cd unit.This goes into more detail about the CD drive and how to adjust it.

This needs a post of it own,and needs to be made a sticky,if someone could please,thanks.(Wish you had a youtube button to add videos to the post)

[ Show youtube player ]

Video by RetroGameModz

The purpose of this video is primarily to give other people an idea of how I adjusted this Amiga CD32 drive unit to have it read CD-R discs really well, which it wouldn't do before the adjustment.
However, a good understanding of how the drive unit works is essential in order to be able to make the adjustment correctly. Therefore, this is a very in-depth video that covers not only the adjustment procedure itself, but also all the theory that goes behind it.
The following is included in the video:

- Disassembly of the Amiga CD32 drive unit
- Teardown & identification of parts
- Explanation of the signal paths
- Reverse engineering
- Schematics & block diagrams
- Servo system theory of operation
- In-depth circuit analysis & explanation
- Practical demonstrations showing different signals on a scope
- Adjustment setup & preparation
- The adjustment procedure, covering FEG, TEG, FEB, TEB and laser power adjustment
- Presenting lots of scanned-in documents and notes

A lot of the information presented in this video can be applied to any kind of CD player and CD-ROM unit, since the topology behind them is usually the same, only with some minor differences between brands and models. It's also very likely that most of the information being presented here can be applied to different types of DVD-based systems as well.


Here is an index of the video content for your convenience:

00:00:00 - Introduction
00:05:15 - Disassembly of the CD32 drive unit
00:09:07 - First look at the main controller board
00:10:14 - Teardown starts
00:10:52 - Talking about the pickup unit
00:19:26 - Talking about the laser power potentiometer
00:22:00 - The basic topology of the focus control
00:28:15 - PS2 pickup actuator teardown and demonstration
00:49:49 - F.... E.... G.... ?
00:50:48 - Theory of operation; circuit signal paths
01:01:14 - Schematics, block diagram & general circuit analysis
01:24:29 - More in-depth circuit analysis
01:58:06 - Test your analytical skills
01:59:59 - Some more documentation
02:03:03 - Test your analytical skills: Presenting the answer
02:05:26 - Adjustment preparation
02:18:55 - Talking about the adjustment procedure
02:35:29 - Looking at the signals on a scope; practical demonstrations
02:44:14 - FEG adjustment demonstration
03:07:14 - Constant Linear Velocity
03:08:31 - Looking at the signals with a CD-R in the drive / doing adjustments
03:24:10 - Listening to the whining sound of the actuator coils
03:27:03 - Adjusting FEB using the multimeter technique
03:36:47 - FEG adjustment* (NOTE: Incorrect scope settings! Watch from 02:44:14 instead!)
03:42:55 - TEG adjustment
03:45:54 - Talking about the laser diode power adjustment
03:52:29 - Laser diode power adjustment & practical demonstration
04:00:17 - Comparison between an original and CD-R disc & final thoughts
04:06:33 - Pictures of scanned-in notes and other documentation

*NOTE:
I am doing an adjustment of FEG starting from 03:37:53 in the video.
However, at this time in the video, I forgot to set the scope back to the right timebase, and I'm also using a CD-R for this adjustment although using an original audio disc is better. So this part should really not be included in the video since it's not a good adjustment technique. However, I realized this after already having uploaded the video to YouTube, and there is no way I'm going to edit, render and then upload the whole video again.
A correct way of adjusting FEG is still included in the video, which can be found starting from 02:44:14.
So as for the FEG adjustment, please disregard from what is shown in the video between 03:36:47 and 03:42:55.
After shooting this video, I double-checked the adjustment using other scope settings.


Datasheets:

Sony CXA1372Q
http://pdf.datasheetarchive.com/datas...

Sony CXD2500BQ
http://pdf.datasheetarchive.com/datas...

Sanyo LA6530
http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datas...

Sanyo LA6520
http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datas...

Fujitsu MB3771
http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datas...


Feel free to ask questions and leave any possible corrections in the comments section below.


Some "fun" facts:
After editing, it took over 44 hours for my computer to render this whole video in 1080p. Yes, I timed it.
Also, during the first two rendering attempts, my buggy video editor froze halfway through which forced me to initiate rendering several times over. So, I expect the total rendering time for this video to be close to 100 hours. Crazy, isn't it?
Luckily enough, I at least had the chance to use my friend's 100 Mbit internet connection to upload the video to YouTube. The whole 18.3 GB file was uploaded in an incredible 40 minutes! It would probably have been a nightmare to upload it at 3 Mbit/s (in reality 2.2 Mbit/s) using my own ISP.
I think I will try to keep my videos a bit shorter in the future...

More info will be added here..

Superduper wrote about the trimmer pot by the laser: As FOL as already said It might be that the laser is weak , I have had similar probs to this , what I did is alter the trimmer pot by the laser , I moved it about 5mins if you think of it as a clock in a clockwise direction, do not move it too much you will shorten the life of the laser.
The CD32 now will play almost anything

So to summarise moving the trimmer clockwise increases the laser strength so be careful.I will not personally move it more than 15mins as you will defo kill the laser is a short space of time.

[kipper2k]

Very nice

[prowler]

Originally Posted by spannernick

(Can someone change the title of the thread please and make it a sticky.)

I've changed the title of the thread, but you will have to ask Jope to make it sticky.

Thx for this, great work!

[Jope]

Hi,

I appreciate your effort, but I'm hesitating on sticking this .. Basically all of the information is in an off-site video, which may or may not stay online due to whatever circumstances.

Ah well, I'll do it. Please manage your original post if the url to the video ever changes.

[spannernick]

Originally Posted by Jope

Hi,

I appreciate your effort, but I'm hesitating on sticking this .. Basically all of the information is in an off-site video, which may or may not stay online due to whatever circumstances.

Ah well, I'll do it. Please manage your original post if the url to the video ever changes.

Thanks..
Of Course if the video changes I will update the url,and if I can get anymore info I will add it.I have a copy of the video just incase..

And thanks to prowler too..

Beautiful video. Excellent explanations.

[rutra80]

Just a hint: in the past I replaced like three CD32 drives which were working fine very shortly (problems at 2x speed and with CD-Rs). Ultimately when I replaced CD32's external PSU all of them began to work flawlessly...

[CD32Freak]

Hi, why is the YouTube video not available anymore?

[Bren McGuire]

clearly what jope feared has happened did someone save and archive this video?

[Jope]

Thread unstuck. It gives me zero satisfaction to have predicted this.

[CD32Freak]

I remember downloading this video from YouToube with 4K Video Downloader a few years ago, but I can't find the file in my backups. I'll keep searching...

[DDNI]

@spannernick logged in here two days ago. Did anyone PM him?

[CD32Freak]

I tried to message hime, but:
"spannernick has chosen not to receive private messages or may not be allowed to receive private messages. Therefore you may not send your message to him/her."

[CD32Freak]

Apparently I made a mistake and do not have a copy of the above video. So I hope someone else has downloaded it.

[CD32Freak]

By the way, the URL's to the datasheets are not working either. I found some alternatives:

Sony CXA1372Q
https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/8...ion/CXA1372Q/1

Sony CXD2500BQ
https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/1...on/CXD2500BQ/1

Sanyo LA6530
https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/3...Sanyo/LA6530/1

Sanyo LA6520
https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/3...Sanyo/LA6520/1

Fujitsu MB3771
https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/5...jitsu/MB3771/1

I figured out myself that the mysterious microcontroller on the PCB (MN187164MCC1) was made by Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries, but could not find a datasheet.

I've e-mail spannernick a few days ago, but received no response

[CD32Freak]

...

[CD32Freak]

Is there anyone out there that has downloaded the video? It is such an important in-depth research video which should be preserved for future generations.

[CD32Freak]

@spannernick
Why don't you respond to my simple request to put the video back online?

[FOL]

Originally Posted by CD32Freak

Is there anyone out there that has downloaded the video? It is such an important in-depth research video which should be preserved for future generations.

None of this is needed. They are setup at factory for reason.
Meaning any issues with laser, you just drop a new one in and sorted.
Altering these crucial adjustments will cause issues, if your altering them to work with a low eimission laser diode. So when you drop in a new laser, you will find it could have issues reading.


If people really want to read cdr's, just drop a KSS-212A in there and they generally read all cdr's with out messing with crucial pots.
Also, it doesnt matter about writing speed. Complete myth, I have always written at full speed and never had one issue. I recall Toni Willen also saying the same, "its a myth".