CD player routine maintenance? (RCD-971)

[JonJeffman]

Hey there,
So I found a RCD-971 locally that I picked up for a good price, but it'll either be one of those 'best-deal-ever' or 'waste-of-money' sort of things. Wondering if there's some simple routine maintenance I can/should do?

The original owner said that about 1% of the time, you'd put in a disc and it wouldn't read it & would display NO DISC. I am yet to get this problem, but I did noticed it skip on a CD-R that was scratch free, and that does not skip on a different player. So this has me a little concerned.

What should I do to improve it's health? I've heard of cleaning, lube, alignment, but don't really know what this entails. Can I open it up and blast it with some compressed air to remove any dust (or can this knock the laser out of alignment). What type of grease should I use to lube it and where do I apply it? Is an alignment something a DIY'er can do or does it require special tools/knowledge?

Thanks for the help

[wkhanna]

The lasers in CDP’s can become mis-aligned over time. They also wear out. The laser can be re-aligned or replaced. These repairs are not normally able to be done by the average owner. You may be able to get an estimate for the repairs from a reputable repair shop. However, the cost may exceed the value of the unit.

Also, early model CDP’s did not always work well with CD’s burnt on personal computers.