mamejay Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Hey guys, I was recently given a FM Towns console to check over and try and get going. Its strange. The console works fine when its cold and as long as you do not switch it off from the intial cold boot it reads disks fine. If you play a game for like 5 minutes then switch off and change the disk the disk access light will not flash at all and it will not read any disks. I have cleaned the laser and checked over what I could and replaced all the CAPs on the CD board just in case but I am still getting the same issue. I have checked for any components over heating on the CD board but everything seems normal. i am sure the CD laser itself is fine and is something else wrong with it. Any suggestions? Not much information on this console. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 That is such a unique system that not many have had their hands on it to tinker with. It could be anything, but I'd start with the power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cebus Capucinis Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 You were recently given an FM Towns console? I'm too jealous to respond! I've never had the chance to even see one! Lucky! Hopefully someone here can help you, I just wanted to chime in with my jealous rage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Was only given it by a friend of mine to try and fix. Its so weird. works perfectly on cold boot up but as soon as you reset and change the game it stops working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cebus Capucinis Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Was only given it by a friend of mine to try and fix. Its so weird. works perfectly on cold boot up but as soon as you reset and change the game it stops working. Well then I'm jealous of your friend! I'm only fooling anyway. Could it be a problem with the power supply, as ax says? Perhaps with the increased power needs to move the laser the system is shutting down. If it's booting fine, that means the power needs are adequate at that point in time, yet when the game changes, I assume the drive mechanism turns on for the CD drive, thus increasing power load. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I see that with Sega CD and Jaguar CD all the time. One of the power supplies won't be giving off the correct amount of power. In this case being an all in one unit, and not knowing what kind of power cord it has (is it direct from the wall, or an AC-DC adapter?) I can't tell you what to try. If it is an adapter I'd check to see if it meets the specs shown on the box. If it's directly in to the system, it could be a power regulator within the unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Thanks for that one Golden. i will check the voltages of the on cold boot and then check them later when the system warms up a bit. Could possibly be a back cap? Or you definitely think a regulator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Thanks for that one Golden. i will check the voltages of the on cold boot and then check them later when the system warms up a bit. Could possibly be a back cap? Or you definitely think a regulator? Could be a cap, but I'm leaning towards closer to the incoming power being the issue first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 It actually has a built in power pack and uses just a standard figure 8 power cable. i will run some tests on the internal power supply tonight. i hope this is it as would be easier to replace components than trying to find custom chips from the Marty itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust3dstr8 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Thanks for that one Golden. i will check the voltages of the on cold boot and then check them later when the system warms up a bit. Could possibly be a back cap? Or you definitely think a regulator? Could be a cap, but I'm leaning towards closer to the incoming power being the issue first. The main smoother cap that cleans up the incoming power is very likely on its last legs. Electonics being fed DC with high AC ripple can start to malfunction in all sorts of ways. If you have it open I would just shotgun all the caps at once. If you suspect thermal failure, feel around and try to find chips that are seem hotter than the rest. You can blast them with chill spray and then try rebooting and see if there is a difference. (The 7805 regulator will always run hot, check the output for +5volts) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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