Meridian 508.24 problem

Yesterday, I went out to get an air pump one might find at a camera shop for blowing dust out from camera lens. For some reason, compressed air in a can is impossible to find where I live.

Carefully regulating the pressure from the pump, I aimed it on to the lens at a 45deg angle and gave it a few puffs. The lens seem to be "suspended" by some mechanism, so some caution may be needed in applying the amount of air pressure vs. the nozzle-lens distance.

After that, I played a CD (that skipped before) for about 60mins. During the time, no skip occured. However, it may yet be too early to tell for sure, so I will post my feedback after I put more playing time into it.

Thanks for all your helpful inputs.

Hello everyone!

As a follow-up to my earlier post, I regret to say that the skipping problem came back after a few days of playing.

Each time I used the compressed air to clean the lens, the player would play fine for a couple of CDs. And then the skipping would happen again.

Now, indeed I'm contemplating about replacing the lens. However, would this problem be commonly associated with the lens? Or could it be some other part of the tray mechanism that has worn out?

Strooper, it's not the lens it's the laser. Usually the entire CD mech is replaced, as they are inexpensive (under $100). You'll mostly pay for labor for a job like this. I'd give Meridian US a call for an estimate.

Strooper, before you send your player for repair, try cleaning the lens with a dry cotton bud. If this method fails I think you need to give Meridian a call.

The laser failed on my 508.24 a couple of years ago and I contacted by phone (nice folks!) and sent it to Meridian North America. They promptly repaired and sent it back to me. Cost of the whole laser assembly plus labor and return ship to the west coast was around $250.