Kenwood LVD-K9100 issues

[Angelwolf]

Hi all,
I've recently gotten a cheapish LD player from a market; it's a
Kenwood LVD-K9100.

It seems to play audio CDs with no problems at all, but it doesn't
want to even recognise most LDs. When a laserdisc is put into the
unit,
it spins up but then proceeds to stop after several seconds saying
there's no disc. One of my discs works every time, however. Not sure
if it has any relevance but it's an Ace Ventura When Nature Calls disc
and I'm pretty sure its an NTSC disc. My discs are all in good
condition and don't appear to be warped or suffering from laser rot.

I don't have a great deal of knowledge about players and I'm not sure
what the problem is. If it reads CDs, why not LDs? Would PAL/NTSC
compatibility be a reason for this? I have NTSC discs but I have been
unable to find out if this player is PAL or NTSC or dual. Why will it
read CDs and one LD and ignore the rest?

Any advice would be fantastic.

Thanks

[Angelwolf]

Ok, have fiddled around with the player a bit more.
I've given the lens a clean with a q-tip and Isopropyl Alcohol. I've
also tried to clean it with a DVD/CD cleaner disc - player would spin
the disc up for about 20 seconds then say 'No Disc', but I guess it
was still cleaning it whilst it was spinning.

Most of the discs are now playing on side 2 - if I push the side-
switch button it will play side 1, but if I insert the disc as side 1
it doesn't play.
I'm glad that the discs are working now, but this is obviously not the
way it was intended to work.

Would still be greatful for any advice given :)

[mscott]

Thoroughly clean the rubber clamping ring on the hub. Use a cleaner
like alcohol without added lubricants. Read the label. Search this
group for the term "clamp". Kurtis Bahr used to publish a good
tutorial in this newsgroup about once per month.

If you are eating popcorn while watching movies, oils can transfer
from your fingers to the discs then to the clamping ring. It might be
a good idea to clean your disc labels too if you don't know the discs'
handling history.

If cleaning doesn't help, you could have alignment problems or even a
weak spindle motor. Since it plays CDs, which don't require much
clamping force, my guess is a worn or dirty clamp.

Every Kenwood I've seen has a silkscreened label on the back that
indicates NTSC for LD. Some have PAL capability for VCD like this
one:
:
http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laserdisc_archive/kenwood/kenwood_ld-k300v/kenwood_ld-k300v.htm

[Angelwolf]

> :http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laserdisc_archive/kenwood/kenwood_l...

Thanks for the advice. I've been out of town so didn't have a chance
to check sooner. I'll see what I can do about the clamp as soon as I
get a chance.