It's alive... it's alive!

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

A while back, my dvd player got hit by a power surge that left it inoperable. I had been meaning to repair it for quite some time now, but I'd had a total lack of motivation and time... until tonight.

The victim: One CyberHome CH-DVD 300 component digital video disc player.

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This is a good little dvd player, but it only cost $38. I had already bought an identical unit to replace this one, but I didn't want to just throw it away. At the very least, I could use it for parts, so if something had gone wrong in this operation, it wouldn't have been a total loss.

As I remove the top half of the case, I quickly locate the problem.

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The power supply board has two fried capacitors and one toasted resistor. Now, normally I'd take a trip to Radio Shack to acquire the proper parts and repair the unit accordingly, but seeing as how it's Christmas time, Radio Shack is closed. That, and it's the middle of the night. So I do the next best thing...

I locate an old PC power supply in my shelf-full of old computer junk. I was lucky in that the power supply board in the dvd player puts out the exact same voltage as a normal computer power supply unit. Two ground wires, one 12v+ wire, and one 5v+ wire. The colors were even the same. Bingo. This particular PSU puts out 147w, which is plenty for this little dvd player.

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It even comes with an 0ldsk00l toggle switch for an added touch of nostalgia. Not a bad deal.

Now comes the fun part...

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The PSU case top is removed to make sure that the internals are in good working order. All the leads are checked with a multimeter as well. Everything checks out. Then all the excess leads are trimmed from the rear of the unit. One set of leads is left to power the dvd player.

But what about all the excess stubbed off leads?...

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Small pieces of shrink-tube work great for things like this. Once all the excess leads are no longer a hazard, the case top is replaced.

This is another instance where it's nice to have lots of left-over and spare computer parts laying around. If I didn't have them, mounting the PSU to the dvd player would have been much more difficult...

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As you can see, it was just a simple matter of drilling some small pilot holes in the top of the dvd player case and then screwing the PSU into place using formed blanking plates. Innovative, if I do say so myself.

Now the PSU and dvd player need to be connected...

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Normally, I would simply solder the necessary wires together, but for some reason, the solder didn't want to adhere properly to the wire. Four crimp connectors work like a charm in this case. Wrap them all with electrical tape, and you're good to go. Once the wires are connected, the dvd case top with the PSU mounted on it is placed onto the dvd player base unit and secured.

Now it's time to mount the power toggle switch...

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The PSU already had a convinient hole available (that didn't sound right ), so I just screwed it into that (that didn't sound right, either ).

With the power switch mounted, it's time to attach the power cord...

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Zip-ties work wonders. In this case, they secure the power cord to the power switch wires and power supply wires quite nicely.

Now that the final touches are in place, it's time to take it for a test drive...

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I apologize for the weak picture on the screen, but the flash in my camera is uber strong. The picture is still visible, though.

At last, success. I must also send my thanks out to cheezychops, since he gave me the idea to do this in the first place.

[Alumnus]

That is quite simply brilliant, Sarge. That's one fierce-looking DVD player you have there.

[squakMix]

1: Why didnt you just ditch it when you noticed some stuff was fried? Had some time on your hands?...I could see this becoming more of a thing to do not because you want to use the final project, but just because it's a challenge ; you cant just give up!

2: hah, it tells you specifically not to open the psu, so you go ahead and do

3: I love the way you mounted it directly to the top of the case - it makes your little dvd player pretty inconvenient

4: That on off switch looks a bit fragile - you better create (from scratcH) a big metal box that holds it, and mounts it sturdy to the psu. Oh, and throw in a few led lights, and an air conditioner while you're at it.

5: great job . I'm sure there's nothing (and will never BE anything) in your house that stays broken

[deeder7001]

Originally posted by sgtfuzzbubble99

The PSU already had a convinient hole available (that didn't sound right ), so I just screwed it into that (that didn't sound right, either ).

that part made me laugh.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Glad you guys like it.

Why didnt you just ditch it when you noticed some stuff was fried? Had some time on your hands?...I could see this becoming more of a thing to do not because you want to use the final project, but just because it's a challenge ; you cant just give up!

Actually, I'm thinking about putting it out in the living room, but we'll see what happens.

[pixiefied]

oh gawd you didnt!

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Yes, I did.

[MegaRock]

Geesh, that looks like a Tim Allen special.

...maybe if I give the motor a boost up to 500,000 rpm it can read the discs quicker.....uh..uh..uh..

[protegechris]

That's awesome. If you were like me you'd buy an exact copy of it at the store, put the non working in the box, and return it. You've got a new DVD player, and now you've got a box and receipt to return the nonworking one

....
What? Radioshack screwed me on a mic, it had a year warranty with receipt... I moved and couldn't find it.. Leave me alone.

[deeder7001]

i know a couple of people that did that once at target. i've never done that before.

[protegechris]

Target! That's where I've forgotten to look for cameras at! Dude, thanks

Hey, I don't have a lot of cash, and if they want to screw me out of something that's defective, I'll screw them right back.

[ElChevelle]

Oh.....my.......god!

Sarge I would have flown you to see Pix in my corporate learjet to save you all that. Or at least sent you $38 for a replacement. Might I suggest some porn?

You are a god amongst men for your tenaciousness and your grandly detailed tale of your long, strange trip through the fabric of electronic technology. For that, I salute you Mr. I-can-fix-any-damn-thing-no-matter-what-Asian-country-crammed-it-together-person, you!

[beanboy89]

Sweet fix job.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Geesh, that looks like a Tim Allen special.

More powaaah!

If you were like me you'd buy an exact copy of it at the store, put the non working in the box, and return it. You've got a new DVD player, and now you've got a box and receipt to return the nonworking one

I had seriously thought about doing that, but I wanted to have fun with this one. I did, and the end product actually works, too.

Sarge I would have flown you to see Pix in my corporate learjet to save you all that. Or at least sent you $38 for a replacement. Might I suggest some porn?

If that's the case, I could have saved myself some time and money on booking a plane ticket. My flight doesn't leave until the 8th... Oh, and I'd already bought a replacement for it. This was just for shits and giggles.

[Timbaland]

Originally posted by protegechris
That's awesome. If you were like me you'd buy an exact copy of it at the store, put the non working in the box, and return it. You've got a new DVD player, and now you've got a box and receipt to return the nonworking one

....
What? Radioshack screwed me on a mic, it had a year warranty with receipt... I moved and couldn't find it.. Leave me alone.

lol I did that with a gamecube at Best Buy

[Cheezychops]

That is sweet. Though I told sarge he should use this power supply:

http://cheezy.my1337.net/pics/bigshiney%21.jpg

200w (20A) BIG GIANT SHINEY MONSTER! (Just for a size refrence, that is a standard 80mm fan in it.) From a 1990 computer that my grandma had.

But sarge did not want to come to ohio to pick it up! LAZY!

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

You could have FedExed or UPSed it to me, ya know.

[whiteflip]

one ugly hack there but a working hack none the less

[White Raven]

My hero, you're such a handyman. ^_^

[henry3k56]

Looks like the $38 dvd player from Walmart.

Nice job modding your dvd player.

[MegaRock]

Sad is I bought someone one of them damn things for 19.99. Think I should warn them their gift may be a fire hazard?

[Chebyrator]

I like when people still can fix stuff, nowadays, it's just thrown away

long live sgtfuzzbubble99!!!!!

[protegechris]

Originally posted by henry3k56
Looks like the $38 dvd player from Walmart.

Nice job modding your dvd player.

Heh,I saw that when we were at walmart earlier.

[henry3k56]

There were no more of those dvd players at Walmart when I went there. The display model was the only one.

[ElChevelle]

I had a similar brandname (I think it was the Chinese variation of the word "shit") that would only play half the DVD's I owned. I donated it to a friend that I didn't like too well.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

one ugly hack there but a working hack none the less

Yeah, it ain't exactly pretty.

My hero, you're such a handyman. ^_^

Shh... don't let anyone know, but I actually had fun doing this.

Nice job modding your dvd player.

ty. Oh, and think of it as a triple bypass surgery instead of a mod.

Think I should warn them their gift may be a fire hazard?

Nah. It's not a fire hazard. It got hit with a power surge, and it just fried a couple components on the power supply board inside. Nothing caught on fire, nor would it have. But it might now!

I like when people still can fix stuff, nowadays, it's just thrown away

Well, you can blame the manufacturers for making things so difficult to work on these days. Used to be, a long time ago if your TV fried a vacuum tube, you could order a new one and replace it yourself. Nowadays, if your TV fries something, it's cheaper to just buy a new TV. Sad, but true.

[grumpyBB]

Just think, a decent surge protector would have saved you all that work.

[Chebyrator]

Well, you can blame the manufacturers for making things so difficult to work on these days. Used to be, a long time ago if your TV fried a vacuum tube, you could order a new one and replace it yourself. Nowadays, if your TV fries something, it's cheaper to just buy a new TV. Sad, but true.

yeah, my stove broke....

guy came buy says it would cost 350 to fix it, so we just a new one for 600....

and tv was acting weird with the sound. Dude said it would cost 150 to fix it... it's kind of old... so dad is like, got to buy a new one, but once he got mad, so he hit it hard. now it doesn't do that. i guess he fixed it

[xzxzzx]

Haha. Sarge, that is fucking awesome. Seriously.

[Widdykats]

Do you any "plastic face work"???

*I figure duct tape holds together anything*

[deeder7001]

i have a CD player from '85. still works and everything. when it starts skipping a lot i just hit it really hard and it plays fine.

[EazMan]

haha its like red green electronics edition

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Just think, a decent surge protector would have saved you all that work.

It was connected to a power strip that has a surge protector in it, but it only works if the surge goes up to several thousand volts... so I'm guessing the surge was just powerful enough to fry a couple capacitors. And considering that a good surge protector costs about three times what my dvd player costs, I'm not too worried about it.

Also, I don't see it as "all that work." I actually had fun doing this.

*I figure duct tape holds together anything*

Duct tape is The Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it binds the universe together. Only problem is, my dvd player had been corrupted by the dark side too badly for The Force alone to save it.