This is topic How do car cd players load cd's? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001791

---

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 02-19-2003, 09:33 PM:
 
Just how do they do it, without scratching the disk, or getting it dirty? What kind of mechanism is involved?

Josh
 

---

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-19-2003, 09:36 PM:
 
Rubber rollers grip and 'inject' / eject the disc.

The motor spindle attatches to the disc in a way similar to how a 5.25" floppy disc drive clamps to a floppy disc. Which is the same way any tray based CD-ROM drive works (clamping wise).
 

---

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-19-2003, 09:39 PM:
 
How does car CD players load?

Simple...VERY Carefully....

But more importantly, I think pancake syrup, paw prints, disks laying on the floor amongst pop bottles, rocks, sand, dust, etc. will take their toll on a CD and its player very quickly in an automotive enviroment.
 

---

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-19-2003, 09:43 PM:
 
Presumably an in-dash 6-disc changer must have some kind of internal "magazine" that keeps the discs physically separated. Mine takes quite a while to load/eject multiple discs and makes lots of whirring and clicking sounds while it does it.
 

---

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 02-19-2003, 09:54 PM:
 
So there are rollers that grab it huh? I thought there was a rubber mat or something like a treadmill that grabbed the disk.

Thanks for the info, guys

Josh
 

---

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-19-2003, 10:04 PM:
 
That's where the problem lies. Rubber rollers. Seems they could be very troublesome when they get loaded with crud. If I was to buy one, (which I won't anyway) I would opt for the old style rack and pinion that drags the tray just like a standard CDROM drive. Nothing touches the disk other than the tray itself. Trays are much easier to keep clean than the internal rollers. If the rubber rollers get cruddy enough it might leave imprints and pock marks on the disk, especially if you try to pull it out while the player is trying to suck it in.
 

---

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 02-19-2003, 10:11 PM:
 
FWIW, I dont recall any CD players for automotive applications that had a drawer mechanism.

Josh
 

---

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-19-2003, 10:14 PM:
 
There are two long, skinnny, rubber pinch rollers just behind the face place of the player. They are geared together so they counter rotate when the motor activates them. They are concave/curved in shape.

The idea is that the curve if the rollers makes it so the only part of the disk is touched by the rollers is the edges. That's why the machine doesn't scratch your disks when it draws them in or spits them out.

Then, when the disk is in the proper position the spindles clamp the disk at the center, through the hole. The spindle is shaped so it's self-centering. The little ridge around the hole on the disk helps center the disk.

Right before the spindle motor starts spinning the disk, the rubber rollers that pull the disk in part slightly, releasing their hold on the disk. They are no longer needed because the disk is now securely clamped from the center.

When the disk is ejected, the process reverses itself.
 

---

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-19-2003, 10:16 PM:
 
I once had a 4x Speed Creative CD-ROM drive (with remote control) mounted in my car. I never figured out where I could plug the IDE strap into though.

Hey, maybe if I took out my Alpine deck and put the Creative one back in, my car could be THX certified.
 

---

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 02-19-2003, 10:49 PM:
 
Does anyone know of any hardware controllers you can interface with the CDrom drives to make a cheap standalone cd player?

Josh
 

---

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-19-2003, 11:03 PM:
 
Most older CD-ROM drives have at least a 'next track' button and also automatically start playing an audio CD when it is inserted. So in this case you would only need a power supply. Either a computer PS or a PS that can supply about 1.0A @ 5VDC and 1.2A @ 12VDC will do. Of course functionality would be a little limited.
 

---

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-19-2003, 11:31 PM:
 
...but hardly worth doing when no-brand Walkman-esque players can be had so cheaply. Heck you can even get one that plays MP3-CD/R's as well as audio CD's for under $50.
 

---

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 02-20-2003, 12:21 AM:
 
Sounds just like a PTR

--jhawk
 

---

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 02-20-2003, 06:15 AM:
 
You need a Schaefer automation system with a carousel cart changer.

-- and a SawzAll to put ANOTHER hole in your head afterwards!
 

---

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 02-20-2003, 06:31 AM:
 
Josh wrote:

quote:

---

FWIW, I dont recall any CD players for automotive applications that had a drawer mechanism.

---

What do they use then? I've never seen one.
 

---

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-20-2003, 08:43 AM:
 
You need to get out more! The typical auto CD player / radio simply has a horizontal slit a few mm thick the opening of which is lined with a foam or felt type material to gently wipe off dust as the disk is inserted. One simply pushes the disk in and after it has penetrated the opening a short distance the mechanism described above grabs it and pulls it the rest of the way in, disappearing from view.
 

---

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-20-2003, 12:08 PM:
 
Steve.....if you are lucky it might do as advertized when the machine gets older and cruddier...Nothing like have a garden rake full of shit that puts more on the CD than it takes off while being inserted.

Josh, if you think you can make an old CDROM drive work, go for it! At least you have the balls to try it and learn something. Others don't, and they learn absolutely nothing.

You can build a simple regulator circuit for the 12 volts and 5 volts for practically nothing as far as cost is concerned. The battery voltage with the alternator on line might be too high for the CDROM drive. The drives like 12 volts and 5 volts. Not 6 or 13.6 volts.
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-20-2003, 12:21 PM:
 
Paul -
I had a Pioneer CD changer that lived in 3 different vehicles over a 10-year period and never did stop working. The secret is the same as for movie projectors....get a good one, keep it clean, install/operate it correctly, and it'll last a long time.
 

---

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-20-2003, 12:23 PM:
 
Mike, that is the secret. You know it, and you take very good care of your equipment. That's why it will last.
 

---

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 02-20-2003, 04:45 PM:
 
My VW New Beetle 2000 came with a sound system that includes a six CD magazine player in the trunk. The magazine has a tray for each CD, and can be pulled out and replaced with another, if I were to buy a second one for $26. There is an accessory padded cover for the CD player available from any VW dealership or from JC Whitney for about $45. Thus the CDs are protected from dirt and scratching, but I don't know about the heat that rises in the summertime. The entire AM/FM, Tape Cassette and CD package is available for $250.

To me it sounds great, with four speakers, but I'm no judge of sound quality.

But having driven Beetles since 1965, this is a great leap forward for me, since none of them had a radio, A/C, automatic transmission, nor a heater that really worked, and this one has it all--at fifteen times the dollar cost of my first Beetle!
 

---

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 02-20-2003, 05:15 PM:
 

quote:

---

from William H.
You need a Schaefer automation system with a carousel cart changer.
-- and a SawzAll to put ANOTHER hole in your head afterwards!

---