Just curious if anyone here knows why a CD will skip. Is it the player or the CD itself?

This is a newer Panasonic, the one I installed in my BBQ. Air circulation seems to be a non-issue as I've opened the SS access doors and it still skipped.

I know you have heard the kind of skipping I'm referring to.. the type where the verse replays and sounds like da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da, or even fast forwards.

Any insight would be appreciated!

Take a look at the disc and see if it has any scratches or smudges. Dirt on the laser in the unit can cause skipping as well. You might try to run a cleaning disc on the unit. The disc has little tiny "Pits and Lands" ( bumps and dents) molded into the plastic. The laser bounces it light off the refective coating and the changes in signal creates the data. Anything that gets in the way of the reflected light can cause corrupted data or skipping.

I remember in the '80s, there was actually a test for CDs, called the "chicken bucket test". The theory was that you might go to the beach, eat a bucket of chicken, listen to then the new-fangled CD's on your portable unit, but smear chicken grease on the CDs when you changed them. The test actually consisted of placing a small amount of chicken grease on the fingers of the person loading the disk into the CD player.

I always thought the test to be kinda dumb as conventional wisdom would dictate that the chicken grease could cause problems if wiped on the CD. Kind of like hitting a CD with a hammer, then seeing if it would still play. As I recall, the Chicken Bucket Test was a short-lived test procedure.

Having your unit in your BBQ reminds me of that test.

But if you try more than one CD, and it only affects the one, then its likely a CD that is dirty. But if it affects many, I would believe that BBQ smoke could have gotten on the lens, if the CD unit is anywhere near the BBQ. So I am guessing the CD or player needs cleaning - or maybe both.

Most car-type CD units have an over-temp shutdown circuit, as attempting to run the laser-diode at high temperatures can damage them. High temperatures can easily occur in a parked car in the summertime, and while the modern diodes are much more tolerant, its my guess that the shutdown circuit still exists. Which means to say that you don't probably have an over temp problem - as the unit would probably shutdown if it got too hot.

Well you hit on my former industry. I worked with sharp, sony and techtronics in the 80's testing the new cd technology and unless the disc is totaled it should play. Our testing procedure was to black marker line across the cd and it had to play to pass. Music on cd's are not recorded sequentially like records but they actually skip the music around to help with skipping (laymans expl). The problem is that cd's motor slows down and speed up depending were on the cd the music is being read from. This causes a build up of carbon on the motor contacts. There is also the chance that the laser itself is out of focus or loosing power. Non of these can be done at home except a tiny drop of contact cleaner in the back of the motor, but please if you are not versed in this type of work don't bother. Later on I went to work in the audio industry and If memory serve "audio Express" and other audio shops like that can still do the repairs. I retired from that industry 15 years ago and am not sure if they still do but it was worth it to send it in one time for the tune up. Also I forgot some times a que tip lightly dusting the lazer lenses can also help. Remember the lense is floating on something like a speaker coil and is very easy to damage so again the above disclaimer. Hope this helps!

Like Al said if only one disk, then probably the disk, if skipping multiple disks, then probably the player.

I would guess micro dust on the lens from being outdoors. Lens cleaners might still be available on the market. Or you might pop the top and gently use a q-tip w/ alcohol.

They type of skipping you describe has typically been my disk itself, like scratch or hair or something on it.

BTW clean CDs radially (center to edge) cleaning around circular might affect readability as that is how the pits are laid. I believe the laser reads from the center outwards if I recall....

Reading back while typing, Looks like lb touched on these from an expert/experience point of view...

BTW: I am planning to install a Marine head unit in my outside BBQ soon also. I might contact you for tips (12V converter used, lessons learned, etc).

kenhdog, any help I can give is yours. I'm no expert by any means, but mine is working really good! .. I learned the hard way, and I learned alot from Al on here about power supplies. I found one for about $100.00 that I leave on all the time... a specialty electronics place here in Riverside that deepv turned me on to, but Radioshack has the same brand/model for the same price.

I forgot about the CD cleaner I have.... it also checks phase and other issues with audio/cd players, so in the next couple days, I will play it. lots to do around home this week with the admiral on vacation, and I am fortunate to be called for jury duty.... yeeeeeeeah, riiight!.

cobalt, the discs are clean, and I clean them from the center to the outer edges using a micro-fiber cloth for my Maui-Jim sunglasses, so I know they're not scratched. At this point I have to assume the CDlaser is dirty, and as stated above, I will use a cleaner CD... thanks!

Al thanks for your thoughts on the BBQ heat and possible smoke/grit getting on the player from the BBQ. My BBQ has both a heatshield and drip pan, protecting any object to either R/L or directly underneath, so I have discounted that possibility.

I think I just have a dirty player... while I do have a cover, there is alot of dust around here, and after looking closely at the power supply and for general maintenance purposes, I have noticed alot of dust ...
I'll report back when I have the time/opportunity to run the cleaner CD!

Thanks guys!