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saturn laser power

googlefest1 - Feb 12, 2003

		googlefest1		Feb 12, 2003
			has ne1 ever mesured the power of the saturn laser diode when i get around to doing that- i wanted to know were abouts the level should be so i can have an idea if the laser is begining to fail or if the guy i purchased the system from a while back messed around with it as well also does ne1 one know if they still make them and what the part number is to order spares -- or compatible ones

		Taelon		Feb 12, 2003
			I can't answer your other questions, but ... you could look at the screws on the bottom of your Saturn. Are they worn? If they look new and undamaged, it's safe to assume your Saturn was never opened and thus the laser was never messed with. On that note, if your Saturn does have problems reading discs occasionally, why not just turn the laser slightly up until games work reliably and leave it at that?

		googlefest1		Feb 12, 2003
			a few things lead me to belive the previous owner messed with it 1) it has trouble reading some cds (original) 2) when i opened the saturn up it was realy filthy inside - alot of dust and hair and animal hair - i mean alot -- which makes me think he had the system open and laying around 3) the door open switch connection has a real slopy solder job which looked like the 2 points were soldered together to close the connection to make it seem like the cd door was closed and the dude separated the blob before mailing it to me there is just something about it that looks like he mesed with it - im thinking he raised the power of the laser and then reduceing it before sending it to me i wanted to know what the standard average power setting is : for a referance point to have an idea of what the factory setting should be when trying to fix these things in the future i am planing on raising it regardless -- i just would like to know for referance and hoped someone has done this already

		Taelon		Feb 13, 2003
			ANIMAL HAIR?! Boy, that guy was a real filthy jerk. But, again... Just turn the laser power down until your Saturn doesn't read discs at all... then slowly, SLOWLY up (and test inbetween adjustments) until it reads games reliably. That'll be your reference point. That's all there is to it.

		googlefest1		Feb 13, 2003
			ok then ill add this does ne1 know what the peak wavelength should be or if the out put looks more like half a peak together with a full peak ( i wish i could draw this ) -- because if the laser looks like that and is not suopsed to normaly look like that then tha means its gonna split and thats not good if the sensor is set to pick up a particular wavelength ( this is another form of failure)----- yea i like to play with lasers thats if ne1 took a look at the output through a spectometer

		Taelon		Feb 13, 2003
			This is beyond me - I thought this was just about adjusting the STRENGTH of the laser, not its wavelength ... Why not look for standardized specifications for CD drives on Google?

		googlefest1		Feb 13, 2003
			thats my next stop but i doubt i will find anything -- i was just hopeing some of the tinkerers around here might have acces to the same equipment i do and have done this already -- you cant adjust the wavelength once it set - well you can but its totaly pointless cause it would cost way way more than just getting a new one - that would involve opening up tha caseing adding dyes and trial and error -- not worth it i was tlaking about it changeing because its failing thanks anyways