PC Engine Duo-R CD woes

[Pretty Amy]

I purchased a region and RGB modded PC Engine Duo-R from doujindance back in September (eBay link). In my initial testing everything seemed to work. A few weeks later, I brought the system to a friends house and had some issues with CD games. Here's what we observed:

* Rondo of Blood - Occasional music dropouts
* Gate of Thunder - Occasional music dropouts
* Mugen Senshi Valis - Either wouldn't load or would get stuck on the RIOT logo screen

Following doujindance's walkthrough (youtube link), I was able to open the system up and adjust the VR102 pot to get Valis to load consistently, although it suffered music dropouts as well. I've had no success with adjusting VR105 to fix the music dropouts and may have made things even worse. I even tried following the info here to set the frequency of VR105 to 4.3 - 4.4 MHz which didn't help either.

I have a recapped US Duo that does not exhibit these problems when using the same discs.

I'm not a modder and will openly admit I have no fucking clue as to what I'm doing. Any one if any guidance on how maybe I can fix the problem? I'm also more than happy to pay someone smarter than me to fix it. I could also go the route of just getting my US Duo region and RGB modded and give up on the PC Engine if I really had too...

Thanks in advance for any replies! Really appreciate any support I can get.

 

[GohanX]

I'll ask the first obvious question: are you using original discs or cdrs?

 

[cdamm]

I'll ask the first obvious question: are you using original discs or cdrs?

^ this is the first question.

the other things it could be is a dying laser or bad caps. thats usually the first 2 culprits with those things.

 

[lastcallhall]

^ this is the first question.

the other things it could be is a dying laser or bad caps. thats usually the first 2 culprits with those things.

Usually it's the laser before the caps in a Duo-R. In most of the repair threads I've read up on pcenginefx.com, the Duo-R caps aren't as prone to failure. Still, if the sound is fading in and out, there's a chance...

OP: the laser is real easy to change on the Duo-R. You can get a replacement for around 30 bucks or less. I'd start there, and if problems persist, look into getting a recap done.

 

[Pretty Amy]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone.

Games are all original, not CDRs. According to the eBay listing, I should already have a new laser and caps.

 

[cdamm]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone.

Games are all original, not CDRs. According to the eBay listing, I should already have a new laser and caps.

if the caps are already done then it is more than likely the laser. the lasers for these have a hugely high fail rate now. when i order lasers for the duos i bring in i tend to order 2-3 for every one that we do since thats how many are coming in DOA. then i have to return the others that are dead. im finding the lifespans of even new working lasers are severely diminished in many cases.

 

[Pretty Amy]

Worth a shot. What's the recommended place to order new lasers?

 

[cdamm]

Worth a shot. What's the recommended place to order new lasers?

ebay is your best bet if you want the easy answer. hop-m3 is the laser.

 

[Pretty Amy]

Ordered. Will report back with how it goes!

 

[cdamm]

Ordered. Will report back with how it goes!

hope you got 2.

 

[PunkicCyborg]

If you still have issues after it is done, I recommend you contact thesteve on the pcenginefx forum to have him repair it. He can properly adjust the laser with a scope and is the guy even the other modders and repair guys send stuff to that they can't fix.

 

[Pretty Amy]

Just got my 2 lasers. One didn't load anything up, but the other one works perfectly! Thanks for all the support.

 

[GohanX]

Damn, did cdamm call it or what? Glad it's working!