New to board + CD problem with PC Eng. Duo

[stuntpeople]

Hello recently I picked up a used Japanese PC Engine Duo from a friend for a reasonable price. I hooked it up to 110 and the hu card part worked fine, so I ASSUMED that the 100 V - 110 V difference wasn't a big deal. Here's my problem.

I have a variety of Duo CD games, all Japanese. First one I wanted to play was Snatcher. So I stuck it in, played perfectly until it came to "Act 1". Froze. Tried again, same thing. I tried skipping the beginning part at various times and the same thing happened. So I tried other games, including one (Tokimeki Memorial or something) I had tried at my friend's house who had a 110V-100V converter for 100V appliances. It worked there, didn't work here without the converter. The games consistantly freeze at their same points every time.

I tried an audio cd, yet it worked perfectly.

Is it the voltage? Are those 10 extra volts making the cd motor goof up and not read properly? Thanks for your time.

Eric

[esteban]

a convertor shouldn't be necessary, but i use one just to play it safe.  still, the problem you described is most likely caused by some other issue...

if you are playing ORIGINAL discs, then check for scratches on the disc.  I have several games that have minor scratches, yet freeze on my duo.  and yet i have discs with far worse scratches that work fine.  my theory: if a scratch occurs on an audio track, the duo can usually handle it (although i've had music skip/get fucked up).  however, if the scratch occurs on a data track...the duo might have a harder time.

i can't recommend "resurfacing" the CD because it hasn't worked for me--and i've heard horror stories of folks damaging CDs further.

if you are playing COPIES ... the duo is very finicky and will play CDRs only if they are perfect.

another issue could be the lens moving along the track.  i've had CD players where the lens would get to a certain point and just get stuck--or something.  it had nothing to do with the CDs themselves.

[AL]

Didn't I reply to this thread already?  Maybe it was on another one of these forums.  Yeah, stevek666 I had the same problem with my Duo and it was voltage.  Completely bizarre.  Voltage varies in the US depending on a number of factors, I posted in another thread that my Duo works w/ original PSU in some cities but not others, threw me for a loop until I figured it out.

Same deal, Hu-cards: fine, etc.

[esteban]

^^ hey, that's good to know.  i'll have to revise my theory that voltage is a minor issue.  since i correct for voltage myself, i never realized how much of a problem it might pose.

of course, after i corrected the voltage, i still had some CD games (original)  that froze. frustrating.  

any suggestions, AL?  and do you think my "scratch theory" is valid (independent of voltage issues)?  thanks.

[stuntpeople]

Ok I found the answer, and it was the voltage. I got a 110-100V converter from my friend and the Duo works fine now. Turns out that extra 10 volts makes the difference between reading data properly and not. So there's the answer: Use your duo with the proper adaptor and all is well. 110V won't break the Duo... at least it didn't break mine. Perhaps since I didn't leave it on for long.

BTW I was playing original games, not CDRs. Thanks for the help anyways guys!