XPost: alt.home.repair, sci.electronics.design   
   From: NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com   
      
   In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 15 Jul 2023 14:02:53 -0500, Jim Joyce   
    wrote:   
      
   >On Fri, 14 Jul 2023 17:31:51 -0400, micky    
   >wrote:   
   >   
   >>In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 14 Jul 2023 14:30:28 -0400, micky   
   >> wrote:   
   >>   
   >>>DVD can't be read, what to do?   
   >>   
   >>Toyota car radio/map.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >>I appreciate all the suggestions to my open-ended question.  Buying a   
   >>new GPS unit is a last resort**.  Mostly I'm trying to fix the one I   
   >>have in the dashboard.   
   >>   
   >>One poster on the web thinks that having a map DVD in one's car for   
   >>years damages the DVD.  Do you think that's true?   I park outside and   
   >>it goes from 10F in the winter to 97 in the summer, but usually under   
   >>90.  The car is white and the top is tan, but it does get several   
   >>degrees hotter in the car than outside.   I think I bougbt the DVD new 4   
   >>yars ago, even though it was made in 2008.   
   >>   
   >>Maybe I could have made a copy when I got it but it's too late for that   
   >>now. :-(   
   >   
   >Why is it too late? Is the DVD stuck inside the unit somehow? If not,   
      
   I was thinking that, if the current problem is that age or heat had   
   damaged the DVD already.  But last night I went out and tried it   
   somemore and the GPS works, it just keeps flashing that message ever 3   
   or 4 minutes, but in between it does keep track of where I am and what   
   direction I'm going.   In fact that clock I post about that changed time   
   was actually the arrow showing which direction the car was pointed.   
      
   So I will copy the DVD.   
      
   I ordered a DVD cleaning disk.  They don't sell them at Target, and they   
   don't have any in the store at Walmart, and even Bestbuy's closest   
   in-store one is in Annapolis, 40 miles away.  That's the reason I've   
   been dubious about how well they work.  But Amazon sell8 or 10 different   
   models all with quite a few 4 and 5 ratings.  So we will see.   
      
   It's also possible that becausea this is the Map DVD, with dedicated   
   software, that last time I did this, it didn't spin nearly as much as it   
   would have.  So even if I have to turn the car on and off over and over,   
   I'll spin it for 5 or 10 minutes instead of 30 seconds it might have   
   been if it didn't work right last time.   
      
   >remove it, take it to your computer and attempt to create an image from   
   >it. Keep an eye on the read speed during the operation, but more   
   >importantly, check the log at the end. If the disc was unreadable, the   
   >image creation will fail and you'll have your answer, but if the read   
   >speed drops dramatically at one or more places or the log file shows   
   >repeated attempts to read certain sections, then you know the disc is on   
   >its last legs. If the image creation completes successfully and the read   
   >speed stays relatively constant, the disc is fine and the problem is   
   >with the Nav unit.   
      
   Good to know.   
      
   There were 3 videos about broken Nav units, 2 of them about toyotas, but   
   one was about feeding the disk and and out.  In another he cleaned the   
   head with a Q-tip and compressed air. (There was a rubber faceplate that   
   pulled off starting at one side, and the opening was much bigger after   
   that, but I don't thimk my slot is big enough to get a q-tip in there.   
   I only found one hit out of many that referred, vaguely, to Map DVDs.   
      
   One guy asked someone if he drove with the windows open, more dirt gets   
   in.  Heck I drive with the windows open 9 month a year and with the top   
   down 7 months a year.  If his question had any basis, I'm lucky it works   
   at all.   
      
   >>>Toyota Solara with Navigation, which means map DVD.  Two or 3 years ago,   
   >>>occasionally I'd get an error message when car first started so radio   
   >>>first tries to read the map.  I would either stop and start the car, or   
   >>>later I realized I could eject the DVD and reinsert it and it always   
   >>>worked the 2nd time.  (There is a separate CD drive for playing music.)   
   >>>   
   >>>Bought a DVD cleaning DVD, which is a disk with a brush!  Used 2 or 3   
   >>>times. Didn't help.   
   >>>   
   >>>Changed from the 2005 edition of the map, that came with the car when   
   >>>new, to the 2008 edition, the last year they made one.  Didn't help.   
   >>>   
   >>>Both map DVDs look pristine.  No fingerprints, not even old ones that   
   >>>have been wiped away.   
   >>>   
   >>>In the last month, problem's gotten more frequent, but still worked the   
   >>>2nd time every time.  Yesterday, didn't work until the 3rd time. And   
   >>>today, right after I bought tires for a car trip tomorrow, wouldn't work   
   >>>right at all.   
   >>>   
   >>>I restarted the map, and the map restarted itself 2 or 3 times** for   
   >>>each time I restarted, and never completely displayed the map, and   
   >>>always insufficent for moving my location while I drive***.   
   >>>   
   >>>A couple strange things, never happened before today:  1) Start of the   
   >>>day, changing stations, which is usually instantaneous, took 5 or 10   
   >>>seconds every time.  Changing volume, for which there is a knob   
   >>>(although it's not a direct rheostat control) also took 5 or 10 seconds.   
   >>>Changing from FM band 1 to 2 (6 memories each) also took 5 or 10   
   >>>seconds. Saving presets took 5 or 10 seconds.  This delay phenomenon   
   >>>never happened before and I don't see how it's related to not reading   
   >>>the map DVD, but otoh, it's not a coincidence, is it?   (Once the radio   
   >>>was on a station, the radio worked fine.)   
   >>>           2) Sometimes**** much of the map showed, but a quadrilateral   
   >>>to the left of center, using about 1/5th of the screen, was dark and   
   >>>blank.  But driving didn't move the map.  ****Or maybe all the time. Sun   
   >>>was very bright.   
   >>>   
   >>>How do I fix this?   
   >   
   >One option I haven't seen mentioned is to replace the in-dash unit with   
   >an aftermarket unit. They've long ago moved away from DVD-based maps so   
   >the new units are much more reliable. You'd also get USB input,   
   >Bluetooth, SiriusXM, and more. Crutchfield.com is a decent place to   
   >explore and compare units that are guaranteed to fit and be direct   
   >replacements.   
      
   I looked at Crutchfield but didn't look for direct replacments.   
      
   What I did find somewhere was a GPS with FM radio but no AM.  How much   
   more would it cost to include AM circuity?  Can't they use the antennal   
   that came with the car?   There's not much AM radio here at all but   
   still, I don't want to abandone it.   
   >   
   >>>BTW, I just bought two new used tires today   
   >   
   >I don't think I can see a scenario where I would buy used tires. I guess   
   >it would have to be some kind of emergency and that was all that's   
   >available, but that seems unlikely.   
      
   When I was in college, my 85 year old cousin gave me his car. My uncle   
   said he'd get two tires for me.  I didnt' know much, and all I knew was   
   to say to him "Nn recaps".  On the way to school only 20 miles along,   
   the recap started flappoing off the tire.   But since then I've bought a   
      
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