NEC PC Engine CD-ROM² Restoration: Gears, Laser & Recap

Used @PCBWayOfficial to print some gears for my PC Engine CD-ROM2. The prints seemed fine and after installation I powered it up and the sled did move just fine. Unfortunately, it seems like I have a dead laser. #retrogaming #pcengine

It seems we have found ourselves a sacrificial lamb. One will die so that the other may live.

So after a lot of faffing around to remove and refit stuff on both devices, it seemed like the end result was failure, the laser travelled all the way to the center and then just seemed to keep wanting to move. I tried many times.

Then all of a sudden, on the final attempt, it stopped doing that and read the disc. Seems to have a spacing issue, the sound makes it seem like it's rubbing and it will sometimes skip in-game music. Don't know if that is cap related or if this laser is on its way out too.

For anyone wondering, both the Discman and the PC Engine CD-ROM2 are PITAs to disassemble and reassemble, if you are swapping the laser around.

Ok, let's do this thing! Recapping the PC Engine CD-ROM². #RETROGAMING #restoration #pcengine

It seems to have trouble with the spindle height or something. Sometimes it starts the spin but stops, other times it goes on but seems to be scraping. If I use a magnet from a PCE Duo, it works flawlessly. Even loads quicker than before the recap.

There we go. Nailed it!

Another happy customer. She wanted to listen to the OST of Castle In The Sky, so I popped the CD into my newly fixed console. Since the TV has quite a nice sound system this combination works quite well for the job. 😄