Replaced Loader in Bravo D1 - Page 17

I have been buying and upgrading Bravo D1s. I have just received one that has a new loader in it which appears to be a direct replacement for the Fuss loader.

It is an ECO DP-306A and works extremely well. The manufacturer now appears to be shipping a 306D revision of the drive and will soon have a 306E.

Has anyone tried the Lite-On SOHD-16P9S drive? It seems to be more widely available than the older 167T model and its feature list touts "Low-noise design". Circuit City stores seem to carry them.

I've got a second batch Bravo D1 that came with the EPO drive. For the most part it has performed okay with the occasional annoying glitch. For example, the machine consistently refuses to play the Bourne Identity extended edition DVD. Additionally, if I pause any DVD for more than a few seconds, the unit locks up and requires a power cycle to get it going again. Lastly there's slow loading on various DVDs and occasional stuttering on some DVD's.

I picked up an Asus E616A ($23 online) that I was going to put in a PC but thought I'd try it in the Bravo. The Asus drive has had great reviews, has a 2mb cache and supports DVD-RAM (Not important for me but I figured extended compatibility isn't a bad thing).

With the region code not set the drive would only play the FBI warning and would have a black screen with choppy audio while playing previews after the warning splash screen. I noticed other folks had the same problem with other loaders and someone had attributed this to a power supply problem.

However after setting the region code to 1 on a PC, I tried it again in the Bravo. This time the drive worked flawlessly. It's incredibly quick to load up discs and the fast forward and fast rewind are much faster and smoother than the original loader could ever muster. Extended pausing works as does the Bourne Identity extended edition DVD.

The one problem I have noticed so far is that region 2 discs now exhibit the same problem that the machine had when the region was not set. That is only the warning will play followed by black screen and choppy audio. Unfortunately this loader does not yet have a region free firmware hack available.

I've yet to work out a permanent installation. The drive is very short and has no trouble fitting in the case length-wise. Height-wise the drive seems to be right on with the opening in the Bravo; however, I've yet to see how the tray front will fit if at all. Like other drives, the Asus is loud on initial load up but quiet once playing the DVD. Admittedly I've only tried this with the system in pieces so noise levels might come down once everything is secured. The drive is billed as QuieTrack and reviewers have commented that it is unusually quiet.

I'll post a follow up when I get some time to finalize the install and get some more testing out of it.

-S

As required by Murphy's Law, right as I purchased a new loader for the D1 (the Lite-On SOHD-16P9S), the power supply on the D1 died! I'm guessing it's the power supply based on the common feedback here. The player died gradually: first it wouldn't play discs, then it stopped loading discs entirely, then it wouldn't come on except for the blue LED, and then finally it wouldn't power up at all. This all happened within 2 days.

Unfortunately, I'm past the 1-year warranty so I can't get Vizio to fix it. What's my most cost efficient solution at this point? Throwing it and buying a new player (the Oppo looks enticing)? Or is there a cheap power supply replacement solution along the lines of the loader replacement?

V.Inc. will sell you a new PS board for $35+$7 shipping.

PM me if you are 'technical' and I might be able to walk you through a repair.

Can anyone point me to the last firmware for the D1 and a do it yourswelf fix for the Power supply issue (is it just caps that need to be soldered on)?

Picked up a cheapie used one today for 50 that has issues playing some discs and stuff. Figure the swap is cake for me so just have to address power supply and firmware. Thanks.

There is no 'paint by numbers' solution - it requires proper troubleshooting. But you should look for leaky capacitors, in particular C1022, which you should replace with higher rated units of the same value. There is a 3.3v regulator that should be checked - it often discolors the circuit board from overheating.

PM me if you cannot find the firmware.

Any reco on the replacement for ther c1022?

What is the voltage?

I believe the original is 16v; I have been using 50v.

Any particualr brand?

Did you find you had to replace many of the 3.3v boards with 5v versions?

Any asdvice on sourcing one?

Thanks again.

Just a high quality radial electrolytic cap. I use 50v.

The voltage regulator is supposed to be 3.3v - don't touch it unless it's faulty.

U ar da man.
Thanks Cavu (King of all D1's).

Would Nichicon 1000uf 63V work?

Think their would be any difference with Black Gate or Elna cap?

Any of them would work.

I installed a Benq DVP 1648A drive in a Bravo as I had it lying around. When I noticed the picture starting to skip and getting "choppy" - plus the usual freezing etc. I figured it was time to change the crappy Fuss loader. I wonder, is there a firmware to slow it down - spins way too fast although it loads and plays very quickly. I came across a test that put it close to the Lite on 166 in performance although the Lite on was still better. I may just keep it if it can be slowed down. If anyone has knowledge of this unit it would be appreciated if you could share your thoughts on this. I understand it is similar to some Pioneer drives.

It's more likely a failing power supply than the loader.

Thankyou for bringing that up, I had thought about it after reading through the various posts - maybe I could replace the capacitor =and hope it lasts awhile - or a power supply upgrade from V inc. There's always the Oppo.

After using the Benq last night I found playing dvds much better - I don't notice any issues relating to the video and chapter changes etc. are almost instantaneous. The power supply board is not discoloured so I think I will replace the capacitor and hope for the best.

bumped because this thread shouldn't die as long as there are Bravo D1 owners out there...I've been lucky with mine...it's still working...but with the ideas in this thread I think i can get rid of the minor bugs by replacing the loader!

Props to all the folks who have posted results here!

My original Fuss loader was 'fussy' with discs, usually when first loaded.
I went with the factory replacement unit for ~75 bucks.

The new loader doesn't act up like the old one, but I can't skip the macrovision stuff anymore (fbi warning, disclaimers, etc). That feature was a real plum.

The power supply mod is a lot cheaper than a new loader and it will fix all the problems!!!

Changing the loader is solving a symptom for a while (different PS load), not solving the problem. If the PS has not failed yet, it will. The original Fuss loader and the later EPO loaders will work just fine!

I have modded several dozen D1 players and have never seen a secondary failure. The D1 becomes robust and reliable.

cavu, do you have a picture of the circuit board that you could post to show the locations of components such as C1022 and the 3.3 volt regulator? My D1 is sometimes choppy and erratic in its behavior lately.

Noel

Noel:

Yes, I am creating a web page with pix, firmware, instructions, sources, secret codes, etc.

My memory is pathetic - please PM me and remind me to post that page here when I am done (sometime within the week).

Stay in touch.

I opened up the D1 just to find capacitor c1022. It was very easy to find because it was the only cap that had brown gunk around it. The capacitor had leaked.

It is near the front of the player in a cluster of 6 components - 4 of which are capacitors. The number "c1022" is on the board in the middle of the cluster and can be seen only by looking from straight above the capacitors. I will go to Radio Shack and see if they have any 1000 mf capacitors in stock.

No wonder my player was erratic. The original fuss loader worked but would not read some discs all the way through. I tried several different DVD drives (Hitachi, LG, Panasonic) in it and sometimes they worked and sometimes they did not.

Thanks, cavu.

When replacing C1022 (1000uf @ 16v) and any other necessary cap, use a replacement with a higher rated voltage . You could use this 1000uf @ 35v - its the nearest that Radio Shack has in their catalogue. I used to recommend 50v units but it seems RS in the USofA doesn't have any. It's odd that the Canadian Radio Shack stores (now "The Source" by Circuit City) have a broader selection that the US Stores.

I am personally using miniature high temp Nichicon caps.

If the replacement part is physically larger than the original: Carefully bend the leads at 90 degrees making sure they don't "short" together or touch any other component and set the replacement on its side tight to the board. In that instance, you should probably slide a bit of "spaghetti insulation" or heat shrink (or use some plastic insulation stripped off a piece of small solid core wire) over the exposed leads of the new part. Then get a piece of foam the size of your little finger nail and squeeze it between the cap and the components below to prevent vibration. (The PS is a HF unit and you don't want the cap to physically vibrate.)

Also note that some of the other components are cemented to the board and that is not cap leakage.

Try not to remove the DC connectors as they are often glued in place too. Just pull out the two AC plugs and flip the board over on top on the loader to work on it.

CAUTION. Make sure you observe that the polarity of the replacement matches the original part!!!!

just bot a Bravo D1 from NewEgg














Box it came in looks RETAIL
Unit is in Like-New condition (box was reTaped)
D1 is operating OK last night....just got a 1000mfd/35v cap from RS
going to replace c1022 per CAVU

My Bravo D1 has finally given up the ghost afters years of good service. Can anyone point me in the right direction to troubleshoot it? I've never had any problems before so, I never did any of the mods that are talked about here.
Problem:
1. The tray will open and close, but it won't recognize any discs that I put in. It just says loading.
2. After about 2 minutes or whirling, the display goes to all zeros. When you push play, it says no cd.

Can I just swap out the dvd drive with another one with the case open to see if it's just the drive?

Any help appreciated...It played anything I threw at it up til now, and I'd like to keep it if possible because of the DVI.

If you had read back a few messages, you would find this solution:

A new loader will not fix the problems!!!

Changing the loader is solving a symptom for a while (different PS load), not solving the problem. If the PS has not failed yet, it will. The original Fuss loader and the later EPO loaders will work just fine!

I have modded several dozen D1 players and have never seen a secondary failure. The D1 becomes robust and reliable.

Replace C1022 (1000uf @ 16v) with a higher rated voltage capacitor. You could use this 1000uf @ 35v - its the nearest that Radio Shack has in their catalogue.

If the replacement part is physically larger than the original: Carefully bend the leads at 90 degrees making sure they don't "short" together or touch any other component and set the replacement on its side tight to the board. In that instance, you should probably slide a bit of "spaghetti insulation" or heat shrink (or use some plastic insulation stripped off a piece of small solid core wire) over the exposed leads of the new part. Then get a piece of foam the size of your little finger nail and squeeze it between the cap and the components below to prevent vibration. (The PS is a HF unit and you don't want the cap to physically vibrate.)

Also note that some of the other components are cemented to the board and that is not cap leakage.

Try not to remove the DC connectors as they are often glued in place too. Just pull out the two AC plugs and flip the board over on top on the loader to work on it.

CAUTION. Make sure you observe that the polarity of the replacement matches the original part!!!!

I am building a special web page and will post everything remotely related to the Bravos there but, in the meanwhile, I have to post this one image! PM me if you need additional help!

Many, many AVS members having difficulty identifying the correct capacitor on the power supply board. The "C1022" legend is hidden beneath the components and the markings on the cap are likewise hidden. So, to be very clear and save some members considerable damage:

The circled capacitor is C1022 !!

Cavu,
I did read back a few pages and thought that since it loaded and such that the problem might be different than others. Thanks for the reply, I'll give a go and report back.

I bought a 1000uf 35volt capacitor from Radio Shack and replaced the original c1022 one that had leaked in my Bravo D1. Everything works just fine now. No erratic behavior.

Nice picture of the power supply board.

Thanks for the tip, cavu.

Cavu,

Your the best...Thanks.

The board was pretty burnt, but changing the cap fixed it. Let's see how long it lasts.