Christmas came early : I was given a (half-working) Rega Apollo CD player !

[Bert 1100]

I am doing a series of restorations of late 70's HH Scott amps for a nice gentleman, and he asked if I was interested in a half-working Rega Apollo (non -R) for free...how could I refuse !
The player is nearly like new, but it has issues properly reading discs... or had issues !

When I got it, the player did not even recognize the first disc I gave it, then another it did recognize but skipped and would not play all tracks.
The lens looked perfectly clean, but I did give it a very gentle wipe, moving the lens around a tiny bit (gently !) to maybe give it some more freedom of movement.
Then with the help of a toothpick dipped in WD-40 I very carefully put a drop or two of the stuff on the rails of the laser carriage (both sides) and on the visible plastic gear.
I also put a drop of wd-40 on the top motor bushing. You can access it after gently pushing the laser carriage away from the center (DONT push on the lens but on the housing !!!)
Also I have not switched it off for two days now.

All of this was done without taking anything apart.
And now it seems it is playing everything fine !!! even recorded CD-R's
I hope it will continue like this....fingers crossed

And the sound ? Beautiful ! my Marantz CD6005 is easily bested I fear.....
And I like the look of it as well !

Here it is, sitting on top of my Marantzes...

 

[sqlsavior]

The Rega Apollo was the first CD player that I really liked.

Congratulations!

 

[dr*audio]

Remove the W40 with alcohol, it will get gummed up. Never use as a lubricant. Use Tri-Flo or Dupont oil with Teflon.

 

[Bert 1100]

Remove the W40 with alcohol, it will get gummed up. Never use as a lubricant. Use Tri-Flo or Dupont oil with Teflon.

Hmmm...well I guess I'll be watching this closely. I'll go and put some of the stuff in a small open can so I'll see how it goes with time.
I was thinking of taking the player apart for a more thorough treatment, then I'll clean it and use something else....
Thanks for the warning.

 

[Bert 1100]

Small update :

Remove the W40 with alcohol, it will get gummed up

6 months have gone by, the Rega is in daily use and is working 100% well. I did not clean up the WD-40 nor do anything more to it.
I did put some WD-40 in an open can on a top shelf, now it is not thin like when it comes out but is more like a normal viscosity oil. No signs of gumming up yet.

 

[62vauxhall]

I would second that recommendation about cleaning off the WD-40. It's main purpose is water displacement (WD) and lubrication properties are temporary. For an observational experiment, you should have smeared a small amount on a piece of metal similar to that which is inside the player. I bet it would become less a liquid but more a paste more quickly than a "pool" of it in a cup. As far as I know WD-40 has solvent properties as in dissolves things and might corrode. I have seen instances where repeated application of WD-40 has eventually eaten through the outer layer of case hardened steel.

WD-40 has it's place but it's not a universal lubricant like Windex is not a universal cleaner. I was big on lithium grease, still am to some degree but I discovered " oil pens" at RC hobby shops. Don't know exactly what the oil is but I figure RC hobbyists are just as anal as audio guys (and girls) and electro mechanicals are electro mechanicals. Plus the pen's shape, size and steel "syringe" tip makes it fairly easy to get tiny amounts of oil whet you want it to go.

I too have a Rega although the older a Planet 2000. Bought it second hand last year and experienced no issues that did not correct itself. But not long ago, some CD's I picked up were well in excess of 70 minutes and proved problematic. It was as if the player could not stretch to or reach the last track or two. Since I had no idea how long the player sat idle, my thought was old lubrication or no lubrication. I had difficulty understanding how to get at the laser sled but was told how. That allowed be to get a couple tiny drops from the oil pen on the rail and so far, so good.

In Canada, the Rega distributor is in Montreal, far from where I am near Vancouver. They told me via e-mail that their dealers are discouraged from attempted repairs so if mine needed professional help, I was to ship it to them. The problem as I described it was said to cost $100 to $600 depending on what they found. And there would be $50/$60 shipping. So it behooved me to try fixing it myself.

I view WD-40 a penetrating oil suitable for rusted nuts, bolts and such - things I would stick a wrench or a socket on.

 

[Bert 1100]

I would second that recommendation about cleaning off the WD-40

I'll probably get to it, clean it up and lubricate it with something more appropriate, but I thought I'd just mention the Apollo has been running flawlessly nevertheless...

 

[62vauxhall]

Exercise, a wonderful thing.

 

[Bert 1100]

Exercise, a wonderful thing.

???

 

[62vauxhall]

Exercise as in it's being used not sitting idle.

Way back when, in the car business, there was the expression " lot rot". Car is driven daily with no problems for years then gets traded in. If make/model is nothing special, could sit for weeks/months undriven and things fail/go bad fast.

 

[Bert 1100]

I see...yes, exercise is definitely good !