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CD player winter ops

elitopus

elitopus

Addicted Member
In my workshop I have a 20 year old Denon CD player. It’s actually a DVD player (model DVD-1710) that I just use as a CD player. It doesn’t like the cold.

Any time temps are below 25 degrees it doesn’t want to turn on. If I push the power button the display will light up and then turn off again. If I open the door, the tray will slide out and the player will stay on. If i leave it with the door open for about 5 minutes, the CD player will stay on and play CDs just fine.

Now we get to colder weather. Single digit temps. The CD player won’t turn on at all. Even my little door trick doesn’t work.

So I’m curious what I can replace to help this issue. It seems to me like something has to warm up for it to work. Maybe power supply related?

All my other electronics (all of which are older than the Denon) have no issues working down below zero.

I put this in the DIY forum instead of digital sources because I feel like it’s a somewhat unusual problem. Not the typical “which dac is best for under $xxx” thread :)
 
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I also wanted to mention that the CD player is in a rack mount tray. It might have a lot of hours on it if it was previously used in a commercial setting etc.
Makes me think that possibly the PS caps could be near the end of their life
 
I have a denon cdp in the garage that won't work in the cold either. I put an NAD out there to see if it would work and it too doesn't like the cold.
 
I wonder what the differences are between a CD player built for the house versus one made for the car. I’ve never had a CD issue in the car when it’s cold. Not that I want to run a car CD deck in my shop. Haha.

I’m also curious if the pro CD players are any better in the cold. Denon, Teac, and Tascam have some decently priced pro players on the used market.
 
How about building a light box to cover the player? The heat from a 60w incandescent bulb would be enough to get the temp well above what's needed. Turn it on sometime prior to your shop visit.
 
yeah, most likely needs some new caps.

Why don't you just leave it on? Think it will draw a lot less power over trying to keep it warm.
 
I keep the power off in the shop when I’m not out there. Too many old and questionable shop tools to leave power on. The CD player is in a rack though. It would be easy to add a lightbulb behind it. That’s what I use in my well house to keep the well pump from freezing ;)

But I will also think about recapping it and see what that does. It’s not an expensive or valuable unit, but I like the way the older Denons sound.

Inside shot. I warmed it up with a heat gun and she fired right up. It’s 14 degrees here right now


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Plan is to add a woodstove to the workshop at some point. For now I use a kerosene heater if I’ll be working for a long time. It takes the chill out but doesn’t really heat the place well. It’s an 18x26’ building.

Just being out of the snow and wind makes it pretty nice.
 
elitopus said:
I keep the power off in the shop when I’m not out there. Too many old and questionable shop tools to leave power on. The CD player is in a rack though. It would be easy to add a lightbulb behind it. That’s what I use in my well house to keep the well pump from freezing ;)

But I will also think about recapping it and see what that does. It’s not an expensive or valuable unit, but I like the way the older Denons sound.

Inside shot. I warmed it up with a heat gun and she fired right up. It’s 14 degrees here right now


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Since you have the top off, check the Fixed and Variable jack connections on the circuit board. Mine became bad, broken from plugging the cables in.

Had to resolder them twice. (DCD-1520)
 
My DVD-1710 doesn’t have the variable, just the fixed output. I think the DCD-1520 was a higher end player than mine. And about 15 years older it looks like. Crazy how some of the older digital gear just keeps on going.

My dad still has (and uses) a late 1980’s vintage Teac CD player. That was our first CD player as a family. When he upgraded in around ‘94 I got to use the Teac in my room for a few years. Until I got a 100 disc carousel changer.

For years I called Teac “teak”. Up until I was in my 20’s. Then I was talking to a guy at work about electronics equipment one day and he said no, it’s pronounced “tee-ak”. Whoops :)
 
That player most likely has a switching supply. Use low impedance, high frequency caps rated for 105C, like Panasonic FC series.
 
lol. I struggled with paradigm as well.

I do a lot of reading and sometimes I’ll get used to how a word sounds in my head, but have never actually said it out loud. Then when I hear someone say it it’s totally different than what I had in my head.
 
I suspect the issue is mechanical. Likely the laser sled or the platter motor speed or something that has a lot more friction cold than warm. The heat of operation probably warms up inside of the unit enough to make the difference.
My garage cassette deck doesn’t like freezing temperatures either. I noticed the manual says minimum operating temperature is 40F.
 
I was also thinking something mechanical, but the player shuts off before anything actually moves I think. When it’s really cold it won’t even turn on.

Also in the past when I’ve had a mechanical problem with a CD player, it just won’t play, or open the door, etc. It still turns on just fine.

I’m assuming none of this home based gear was designed for very cold or hot temps. Just average livingroom temps :)
 
FWIW, If I had this cold temperature environment equipment issues with something like a CD player, since they use a very, very small amounts of electricity (10~15 watts ?) while idling and in use, so I would just leave it powered up 24/7 during the winter months to see if that unit`s sustained powered up internal warmth would suffice for reliable cold temperature operation.

I`m sure the factory owner`s manual specifies the recommended operating and storage allowable temperatures range, and usually the non-condensing humidity, as well.

While not a "electro/mechanical" equipment thermal concern situation, I selected and bought a brand new Sony receiver for my non climate controlled car garage in 2000, and that receiver still functions perfectly remaining powered up 24/7/365 since installation, through summer time mid nineties and the occasional dips below freezing for sustained periods of time.

I was more concerned with the more common NE. FL. elevated temperatures when initially siting the receiver, so it was placed on a closet type vinyl coated wire shelf mounted on the wall to allow maximum natural convection air flow through it`s chassis from the vented bottom and cover.
Plus, I purposely selected a 100 WPC power rated model, so the continuous daily playback SPL would be far, far below even 1/4 of it`s output capacity, resulting in very, very minimal thermal stress to it`s PS and output section`s components, even when the garage temperatures were in the upper nineties.
 
Blowing warm air on the PS caps sounds like a good test. Once the weather cools down again I’ll try that. Today it’s in the 40s and the CD player worked without issue.

I did check the manual for the CD player. It mentions not to use it around amplifiers and in other possibly hot spaces. It does not mention the cold at all. I bet they figure most people will not let their living room get down to 15 degrees ;)

The CD player goes into standby mode on its own after about 15 min of not being used. I’m not sure what stays powered up when it’s like that. It just has a little red light that surrounds the power button in that mode.

For most of my adult life I lived in FL. Grew up on the east coast north of Tampa, and then lived in St Augustine for a while. I always had a garage system and never had issues with heat or humidity. Some units just seemed to need their pots cleaned more than others. Regardless of whether I used them in the A/C or in the garage.

I’ll take the cold of NY over the heat of FL any day :)
I know most people would think I’m crazy
 
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