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CEC CD3100 CD player tray belt, puzzled indeed!

Hope somebody has a good educated guess at what the issue is here because it has baffled me so far.

I bought a CEC CD3100 belt drive cd player as non working item.

Got it and as I suspected it was the belt for the tray door, in this case it was so stretched it was just slipping on the drive capstan. A quick down and dirty fix was to cut it and tie it back together in a knot which actually worked surprisingly well and allowed me to play cds to prove it was worth going further.

Could not find anywhere the exact size of said belt so measuring the one I had  ( before I cut and knotted) and deducting approx. 15% for stretch ( figure most sites seemed to state was normal stretch), I ordered a rubber belt from eBay.

Now when this arrived it actually fit perfectly and the tray flies in and out tout suite and I thought my job was done.

Ha, if life was only that simple!

After putting the top cover back on and fitting back into the system cued up the first cd and... nothing!

It spins the cd, reads the tracks and total time but then will not play at all.

Replacing the new belt with the old knotted one and it reads and plays cds again just fine!

My best guess so far is that maybe the new belt is a little too thick ( it was the thinnest cross section one I could find but it is a fair bit thicker than the original).

Now how or why that stops it playing the actual cd I have no idea.

Which is where I hope somebody much smarter than me comes in..... please.. lol.
128x128uberwaltz
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Not really.
As I do not know the exact size and specifications of the original belt that would be very difficult.

One thing for sure the original belt is a lot softer and more stretchy than anything I have tried so far.

However that also could be old age impacting its properties as well.

For now the down and dirty fix of original belt is still working!
jetter
3,033 posts
 
Now that I am reading my post above, sorry for the grammar. 
livin_262002
187 posts
 
Uber, I have that player. If I'm not mistaken, the transport has a magnetic locking mechanism that firmly holds the CD against the spindle. The magnetic locking is actuated when the tray closes and pushes it. Check if with the problematic belt, the tray is moving back to the correct person when closed.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Livin

You are correct.

With the now two problem belts I think I may have it figured out.

The "problem belts I have are a little tighter than the original, a lot stiffer, less stretchy if you will.

This is I believe stopping the tray to go completely back into position.

So to fix it I really would need to know the exact specs of the original belt to order exactly the right size but even then the rubber composition could be totally different.

Lets hope my original knotted belt holds up for a while!
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,880 posts
 
@uberwaltz,

Have you seen these: https://www.ebay.com/i/332646910294?chn=ps
It’s for a cd-3300R but might be compatible.

Also, this person might have what you need: https://marrscommunications.com/
(it looks like this link may no longer work or be valid: it did when I first linked it)

And you can buy a bunch of belts and see if one fits or contact them for a specific size: https://www.amazon.com/GoldenTrading-Cassette-Machine-Recorder-Maintenance/dp/B01CZSU6K8/ref=pd_cp_23_3?pd_rd_w=y7lfj&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=R4TG834WFWVGZS0QQD1W&pd_rd_r=287ee72d-5bee-11e9-8963-117ccf44e055&pd_rd_wg=IkYR9&pd_rd_i=B01CZSU6K8&psc=1&refRID=R4TG834WFWVGZS0QQD1W

Good luck and all the best,
Nonoise
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