Author Topic: Laser Lens Cleaning  (Read 17834 times)

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Laser Lens Cleaning
« on: January 02, 2015, 03:01:02 PM »
How often do you clean the Laser Lens?

What is your preferred method of cleaning the Laser Lens?

Offline stevenvalve

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1693
  • Liked: 358
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2015, 03:54:23 PM »
Ping, I use alcohol with a cotton bud, don't put to much downward pressure on the lens.

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2015, 05:23:54 PM »
Hey stevenvalve, what do you think of the discs with the small brushes on them and how often do you clean the lens  :)

Lens Cleaning, definitely makes a difference to sound reproduction, doesn't it  :)

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2015, 08:40:50 PM »
How do you know when the Lens should be cleaned...

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2015, 01:04:47 AM »
Other than stevenvalve and myself, does anybody else clean their transports Laser Lens?

Offline vitavoxdude

  • Beauty is in the ear of the beholder
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Liked: 71
  • Caring and sharing
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2015, 01:13:00 AM »
I would suggest every 2 months judging by the wine glasses in my cabinet.  They go in fresh from the dishwasher and are sparkling.  But given a few weeks and they dull and get small poch marks over their surface.  Despite living in a smoke free zone it is quite surprising how much dirt floats around.

Lasers can be turned up but their lifespan suffers so easier to keep them clean along with the disks they read IMV.  When SG refers to alcohol he may be referring to something specific such as isopropyl alcohol which will evaporate without leaving a residue.

Some laser lenses are glass whilst other can be plastic, if plastic I'd be very careful in what cleaning fluid is used as its possible to turn the surface semi opaque by leaching out some of the plastifyers.  Myself, I use the same fluid that I use to clean my spectacles but with a lint free cloth rather than a cotton bud.

Hope this helps.
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2015, 01:36:07 PM »
@vitavoxdude, I was speaking to one fellow who suggested every 12hrs!  So I guess lens cleaning should be somewhere between 12hrs and 2mths, to maintain optimal optical laser pickup and longevity of the laser lens  :)

Sounds reasonable considering we clean a record and stylus with everytime we  play a side  :)

Offline vitavoxdude

  • Beauty is in the ear of the beholder
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Liked: 71
  • Caring and sharing
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2015, 02:44:15 PM »
Hi Ping Ping, well cleaning is all down to the users preferences as with most things. If you use a top loading draw or lid then this process is relatively easy, for those who have to remove 7 or so screws to remove the top cover and flip the puck out of the way, less so.  I have not witnessed the same static build up on laser assemblies that vinyl records attract being slipped in and out of cover sleeves ( Dany or Oz might want to chip in here) as a laser is a non contact device.  I use the wine glasses as a timing device for laser cleaning at chez V as it is a convenient check readily visible.

For me the greatest gains in lasers is to be had from a dedicated low impedance drive circuit with the addition of the recently discovered decoupling cap right at the laser diode pins (huge difference and the cheapest improvement ever along with the reef knot in the mains feed cable IMO).

The laser sled is a delicate device and not one for the unwary, heavy handed club.  Remember to remove all power cables when removing covers and for swing arm sleds, hold in place prior to applying cleaning and buffing the lens.  The transport screws just hold down the sprung subchassis and does not secure the sled.
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2015, 03:23:34 PM »
vitavoxdude, what do you think of the discs with the small cleaning brushes on them?

Offline vitavoxdude

  • Beauty is in the ear of the beholder
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Liked: 71
  • Caring and sharing
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2015, 05:46:27 PM »
Lazy mans way to hopefully not knock off your lens assembly so no, not for me thanks.  You have no control over the focusing up and down or the rotating speed of the disk and the contact the brush makes so it all is a bit to much to expose a precious CDM1 laser lens to IMV.  :(  It's a bit like the automated car wash stations where a huge roller comes down and presses against the bodywork of your car and any bits of trim are at the mercy of the rollers, I found this out the hard way 20 odd years ago, never again!
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2015, 09:48:28 AM »
vitavoxdude, all good info  :)

For people whose Transports are the newer sealed computer style CD/DVD drives (and those who do not wish to open up their Transports lid) then the  discs with the small cleaning brushes is really the only alternative.   
Do you have any ideas for cleaning the Laser Lens of these Transports :)
« Last Edit: January 04, 2015, 01:27:35 PM by PingPing »

Offline vitavoxdude

  • Beauty is in the ear of the beholder
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Liked: 71
  • Caring and sharing
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2015, 02:36:20 PM »
No sorry. 
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.


Offline vitavoxdude

  • Beauty is in the ear of the beholder
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Liked: 71
  • Caring and sharing
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #13 on: January 06, 2015, 01:09:51 PM »
Hi ping ping, yes lot's of good links to the various cleaning mechanisms and if you have one of those super slim, semi sealed laser mechanisms then yes they may well bring / revive a dirty laser lens. A useful list, thank you.
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2015, 02:35:09 PM »

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2015, 02:40:06 PM »
Phillips recommend that the Laser Lens should be cleaned after every 10hrs of playtime  :)

Offline omodo

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 492
  • Liked: 104
  • Green tinted glow
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #16 on: January 06, 2015, 04:02:00 PM »
the Allsop cleaner you linked above looks ok, doesn't look like it could cause any harm, might grab one

http://www.allsop.com/cleaning-/ultra-pro-lens-cleaner

Offline vitavoxdude

  • Beauty is in the ear of the beholder
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Liked: 71
  • Caring and sharing
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2015, 06:36:21 PM »
 :o :o :o :o cleaning the lens every 10 hours  :o :o :o :o :o :o is that missing a zero or two?
We all like different things so lets all agree to disagree and if any common ground is found then worship it.  Mine is the KD hence being present on this forum.

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #18 on: January 06, 2015, 07:58:32 PM »
Phillips recommend that the Laser Lens should be cleaned after every 10hrs of playtime  :)

Go to the 5 minute point in the following video ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzpHtTU1S7U

Offline PingPing

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Liked: 6
Re: Laser Lens Cleaning
« Reply #19 on: January 07, 2015, 06:12:59 AM »
It would appear that we shouldn't underestimate the affects of dusts attraction to the laser lens through static charge build up  :)