Weird FZ-10 laser problem.

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Silanda
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Weird FZ-10 laser problem.

Post by Silanda » Sun Mar 23, 2014 6:39 pm

Ok, I recently got hold of a Japanese FZ-10, and it has some issues. Virtually every Japanese and US game works just fine, however it has problems reading some European discs. From the noises that it makes it sounds as if it's constantly having to reseek. To make things that much stranger though there are two fixes that I've found: Let the 3DO heat up or stand it vertically on its side. Either will fix the problem and standing it vertically does instantly. Anyone have a clue what's wrong?

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goldenband
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Re: Weird FZ-10 laser problem.

Post by goldenband » Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:47 pm

Silanda wrote:Ok, I recently got hold of a Japanese FZ-10, and it has some issues. Virtually every Japanese and US game works just fine, however it has problems reading some European discs. From the noises that it makes it sounds as if it's constantly having to reseek. To make things that much stranger though there are two fixes that I've found: Let the 3DO heat up or stand it vertically on its side. Either will fix the problem and standing it vertically does instantly. Anyone have a clue what's wrong?
Not quite the same thing, but similar: I had a US FZ-1 that would only read burns after about 15-30 minutes of warming up (with an original disc). I'd imagine it's either a capacitor issue or a physical issue, i.e. something that fits better when it heats up a bit.

No idea what would make European discs read differently, though!

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a31chris
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Re: Weird FZ-10 laser problem.

Post by a31chris » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:05 am

The Atari Jaguar does the same thing with a lot of burnt discs. Its almost like the laser/lens needs to heat up or something. It almost seems to be more prominent in cold weather. Though it seems 'warmed up' enough after a couple minutes or so. Does not need to be going for 20 minutes on this end.
What came after the Jaguar was the PS1 which for all it's greatness, ushered in corporate development and with it the bleached, repetitive, bland titles which for the most part we're still playing today. - David Wightman

Silanda
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Re: Weird FZ-10 laser problem.

Post by Silanda » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:23 pm

Well, I'm figuring that it's a physical problem with the laser but since I don't have a clue exactly what the problem is, I can't remedy it. I thought about trying to re-lubricate the laser sled but it seems to be moving fine, and if that is the problem I don't understand why it doesn't affect all games. The fact that it works fine standing vertically is strange too as that is exactly the same symptom demonstrated by early non-Japanese Playstations. That was a problem with worn plastic components in the laser sled though, and the 3DO has a completely different design.

Grr, I don't know, I think I'll just keep it standing up.

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