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  1. Windows 10 installation (Net MD): 1) Download the files in description 2) Double click on "SS43_Ultimate.exe" and install the "SonicStage" program. 3) Go to Program Files (x86) -> Sony -> Personal Audio Drivers -> Sort by type -> Highlight all the ".inf" files, right click on one of them and hit install. 4) Unzip the second attached file "sony-net-md-drivers-win764.zip" and open up the folder "Sony Net MD Drivers". 5) Right click "NETMD760.inf" and hit install. 6) Go to Program Files (x86) -> Sony -> SonicStage-> Right click on "Omgjbox.exe -> Click on Compatibility -> Under the Compatibility tab, click the box and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)" Launch SonicStage, plug in your Walkman and a "NET MD" tab should show up in Sonic Stage. If the "NET MD" tab does not show up for you, then you need to find the correct driver for the individual Microdisc player You may receive an error when starting it, just click "next" and agree" and open it up a 2nd time without problems. Learning how to use SonicStage is very easy. SS43_ULTIMATE.exe sony-net-md-drivers-win764.zip
    9 points
  2. Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum, and let me say that I love to see the love and conversation about MiniDisc keep going on I'm popping in just to let you know that I've recently released an app for NetMD devices. I wrote the app mainly for myself, but I thought it might be useful for some of you too! So, and here's the link to use it -> https://stefano.brilli.me/webminidisc/ And here's a short demo of how app works Any feedback is welcome! Stefano
    5 points
  3. Hello! Just thought I'll report it here, if you're trying to create an account without a connection with an already existing account like Google or alike, it's simply impossible to do so, because of incorrectly loaded reCaptcha. To make this account I had to rewrite the part of the site responsible for the captcha. If anyone else is experiencing the same difficulties, here are the steps I used to create my account: Go to https://forums.sonyinsider.com/register/ In devtools, open the `head` tag and remove all the scripts that mention recaptcha Add a new script, with `src="https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js"` Execute the following JavaScript code: const captcha = document.querySelector("[data-ipscaptcha]"); const parent = captcha.parentElement; captcha.remove(); const newCaptcha = document.createElement("div"); parent.appendChild(newCaptcha); grecaptcha.ready(() => grecaptcha.render(newCaptcha, {sitekey: "6LdgERMTAAAAAC4kTmm7BH1laShX3teATAV_6FIY"})); After that, you should be able to click on the captcha and create your account by executing the following JS code (the submit button is broken): document.querySelector("form").submit();
    3 points
  4. Which sort of cases are you after? You used to be able to buy the basic hinged jewel cases from Amazon but I've not seen them on there for a few years now: If you're UK based Retro Style Media sell them: https://www.retrostylemedia.co.uk/product/clear-minidisc-case Price per case varies depending on how many you buy. Note that the quoted price is ex VAT so you'll need to factor that in as well. They also sell the larger cases that pre-recorded discs used to come in back in the 90s: They come in a variety of colours but are a lot more expensive. You can find them here: https://www.retrostylemedia.co.uk/shop/minidisc-cases That website also has templates to download for the inserts etc. There's a bit more info (and a video) here:
    2 points
  5. Don't worry about it - I got myself a Sony LAM for testing and ended up falling in love with the whole LAM series of devices. I have 3 now, so I use that functionality regularly 😆
    2 points
  6. Over the past couple of months, I've been bitten by the MD bug again. I hadn't visited this forum in a VERY long time. I've used one of my MZ-NH900s at my work desk on almost a daily basis for 10+ years. It sits it's original cradle, powered from the AC adapter because the battery long since gave up the ghost. I have about 20 disc's (a mix of Hi-MD and standard MD My other NH900 has been broken for years after it fell out of my pocket and a disc got jammed. Was able to get the disc out by disassembling the recorder but when I all went back together the buttons were no longer responsive... So I put it in a storage box with my other MD stuff that wasn't used anymore. FF 1month ago, I was digging thru some things and came across my box MD recorders. Pulled out the NH900 and took it apart again. Long story short, it's had been returned to service! While looking for info on repair, I came across this site and an intro to Reddit MD. My interest stoked again, burned some new disc's, reorganized some of my favorites, and am trying my hand at labeling. I've also managed to buy a couple of new Hi-MD blanks and some used standard MDs. It's always fun to go thru used disc's from someone else to see what's on them 🙂 My MD arsenal consists of: MZ-R500, MZ-N707 (eprom nodded), MZ-N920, IM-DR420, MZ-NH600D, 2-MZ-NH900s, 2-MZ-RH10s (both with bad displays), and a MZ-RH910. 150ish standard MDs and 15 Hi-MDs. Most of my standard disc's are Hi-MD formated and most of the music is burned in ATRAC3plus @256k. I simply LOVE this format!
    2 points
  7. Nice to see SIF back up. Why was it down? It was quite a long time. I think many people have given up on it. That http://www.minidisc.wiki has turned out pretty nice btw. Still has a ways to go, but it has data on some devices not found anywhere else in English.
    2 points
  8. I don't have a question, just wanted to post a brief "ode" to my Sony MZ-R90 which I got, unexpectedly, as a birthday present in 2000. It transformed portable audio for me, but six short months later, my MZ-R90 was stolen by an opportunistic thief. Not long after that, I moved on to MP3 players, but just recently I have been reminiscing wistfully about that beautiful little piece of music technology. I had the black version, and I think the industrial design is really magnificent.
    2 points
  9. Back in 1997, long before MP3 was anything more than a concept, I was serving in the Air Force and frequently deployed overseas. Some guys on the squadron introduced me to a strange format for making music portable. MiniDisc. I soon got to learn that those tough little discs survived the rough-and-tumble of life in a kit-bag. We each bought portable players, and would ‘pool’ our discs together to make little music libraries, would trade discs with one another, and would copy CD’s for one another back home. No matter where we were in the world, AA batteries were easy to obtain, and just a handful of batteries would literally last weeks. It was a pocket-sized bit of luxury that we could carry with us, and I loved it. ......then, along came MP3 players and the ubiquitous ‘iPod’. Suddenly we could carry all of our music in a small space, and it seemed that the MiniDisc was dead. Within about 3 years everyone I knew had ditched the format and were literally giving away their discs and players, as were oil-rig workers, fishermen, and other locals who worked away from home for extended periods. I too, confined my MiniDisc collection to a box in the loft, and bought an iPod Classic. Fast-forward to 2005, and I deployed for a 4-month tour to Iraq. My iPod came with me, and I had the small luxury of my music collection to fall back on, OR SO I THOUGHT. By the second week I had the sickening ‘Sync Reset’ display (which of course was impossible without my PC) and in one fell swoop I lost my music. Other guys had problems with the portable power-generators cooking their wall-plug chargers, and soon quite a few of us had lost the use of our players, just when we would have appreciated them the most! Back home, and I was quickly falling out of love with my iPod. It seemed that whenever I updated my collection there would be issues with mixed/missing title-tracks and artwork. Any albums entitled ‘Greatest Hits’ would become an amalgamated mess, and whilst the battery-life seemed to get ever shorter, the demands for a ‘sync reset’ increased. The love was fading. I noticed something else, too. My listening habits were changing. My seemingly endless access to music made me a lazy listener, and I would frequently jump from album to album, track to track, and would often skip mid-way through a track. My days of listening to an album the way that the artist intended, had gone. This wasn’t music enjoyment. ....and so, by 2008 I was back to my MiniDisc, and what I revival it was! Equipment that had previously been prohibitively expensive was now dirt-cheap, and I was living the hobby like a millionaire! I soon had units for every occasion with Sony JA20ES and JA50ES decks for hifi use, numerous portable players, and a Pioneer MEH P9000 head-unit for the car. I could afford to be extravagant with discs, and my well used dozen or so swelled up to over 1,000. That was 10 years ago, and nothing much since then has changed. I still indulge in the childhood enjoyment of putting a ‘mixtape’ together in real-time, copying music from my CD’s and vinyl to Type-R SP to listen to in the car, or out walking the dog. Because space is at a premium my playlists are more carefully considered, and I listen to each track in full. My listening-habits are back to where they should be. In 20 years I can count on one hand the number of corrupted discs I’ve suffered, only ever having to re-copy one album. I keep discs and a spare player at work, in the summerhouse and in the car, and I have a physical, tangible connection with my music collection again. MiniDisc as a commercial format is dead, and I’m OK with that. It continues to live on in my household, and probably will do for years to come, maybe even for another decade or more. I continue to love the ‘forgotten format’, and those robust little discs give me everything I need.
    2 points
  10. Hi Folks, Long time no post, busy with child rearing. :-) I do stop by to read up on new posts and topics. I ran across this video on YouTube yesterday, sorry to post if everyone has already seen it but it was good to see and I wanted to share with all. Cheers!
    2 points
  11. It is currently admitted that the MZ-RH1 has the best DAC, ergo the best sound. I prefer however the sound of QS and ES Sony decks.
    2 points
  12. I got the drivers installed on my computer. I recommend watching this youtube video thats how i did it.
    2 points
  13. Thought I'd resurrect this thread as it is the only thing that shows up on Google for Denon Minidisc "Mech Err 1" - I have the same drive in my Denon DMD-F100. After several rebuilds I finally found the problem with mine was that the clutch gear was seized solid. Even though the limit switches on the load/eject mechanism were working fine, it seems like the player still relies on a certain amount of clutch slip at the ends of its travel. With no slip the torque from the worm gears tries to push the drive apart and jams it solid. I dismantled the clutch to free up the plates and now it is loading and ejecting perfectly.
    1 point
  14. Hi and welcome to the MD universe! Looking at your first video, I was struck by the amount of surface material present on the disc's upper surface. Normally they should be glossy and without scratches or deposited material. If there is crud stuck on there, then it could explain why the record head cannot contact the surface consistently, and stops. Do you have another, possibly cleaner disc to try? Since the machine is new to you, another possibility is that it's the record head itself which is producing deposits, so would be worth cleaning the underside of the record head with some 70% isopropanol to see if that helps. Even if it isn't the source of the deposits, it may have picked some up during the write attempts.
    1 point
  15. Good to see you're keeping these old machines working and in circulation, @M1JWR. I've been using the MDS-JE500 this week and I think it's probably just a case of the older style mechanism not being quite so slick as my MDM7 decks, all of which have had belt replacements fairly recently. One pleasant consequence of using the JE500 is that I've had to dig out some of my older MDs to listen to as most of my more recent recordings have been done in LP2. It's been nice listening to a few things, especially old "mixtapes", that I hadn't heard in a while.
    1 point
  16. Love his comments from c. 15.00 onwards. 😆
    1 point
  17. OK well finally back with a report of success with the Drive B encoder. Did the connection reversal for pins A and B of the encoder (1 and 3 on the PCB diagram from the service manual). No need to cut the tracks as both solder ring pads had been lost but I still had to undo the track repair. Also, in the process of de-soldering the encoder for the nth time, the solder pad for pin 4 also came off, so had to make a new bridge connection for that. Another figure of the rather messy repair: hairs on the area were from cotton buds during cleanup. Pink stuff is nail varnish remaining from the earlier track repair. Anyway after covering the area with Kapton tape and reassembling the rewired PCB back into the front panel, all functions of the encoder were exactly as anticipated (clockwise + counter clockwise) and the push-button switch works fine. Earlier worries about the amount of force needed to push the switch were allayed and it is not so forceful as to move the whole deck. With the above success I revisited the left-sided encoder (Drive A) of the W1 and rewired it according to the principle above, which is a much more solid repair as all the legs can be soldered to the board and the bridge wires added. It's a different wiring layout, which I can include in a repair section of the MD Wiki as requested. Thanks everyone, especially of course @kgallen for all the advice.
    1 point
  18. @BearBoy - Yes - there's a difference. ATRAC3 data is stored in WAV, because the RIFF container (the specification that WAV files follow) allow that to happen. For ATRAC1 I couldn't go with WAV, since ATRAC1 isn't supported by the RIFF container. Instead WMD downloads these files as AEA (an old format that was created by MD Editor I think). Sir68k - another developer of netmd-exploits managed to add the ATRAC1 specification to the matroska file format, and we'll probably also try to do the same with ATRAC3, so that the container format will be unified. I'll soon publish a patch to FFMPEG which patch the matroska demuxer there. AEA files are terrible because it's hard to identify them - they don't have a "magic number", unlike WAVs, so the sooner we switch from them the better.
    1 point
  19. Thanks - well there has been some good progress. The low profile encoder fits great and allows the PCB to be replaced properly in the front panel, without any stress on it or the other switches. Also, the plastic AMS knob fits better on the shaft and no filing is needed to get it on (or off). Reconnected the ribbons and wires, powered on the deck and it works! Rotating the dial moves through tracks on MDs, and the push-on switch plays the track. In the menu the rotation similarly moves back and forth through the options, and the push-on selects the one arrowed. However, going forward through the numbered tracks on an MD, or going through the menu options is via an anticlockwise rotation, whereas it should be clockwise (checked on a working MDS-W1 deck). I don't know enough electronics to understand if this can be corrected, say by swapping the pins of the A and B contacts where they are soldered to the board (see 'quadrature output table' in previous post, lower left hand diagram, where I presume CW and CCW are the rotation actions). Would anyone be able to suggest a way of reversing the current action?
    1 point
  20. We’re a terrible influence on each other 🤣
    1 point
  21. And they arrived from Japan this morning. Time to get recording 🙂
    1 point
  22. It's a couple of months later (and more) since I ran the the E10 direct to my my Kanto TUK powereds. Since then, I have added a Cambridge Audio DACMagic 100 to the mix. It has a Wolfson WM8742 chip for its DAC, and I have the E10 connected to it via coax. For me, at least, the DM100 exceeds both the E10's AK4524 and the TUK's own DSP in how it sounds. Yes, MD decks have long been renowned for their DACs, but this is a new level of detail I'm hearing. (I'm allowing for the TUK's AMT tweeters.)
    1 point
  23. OK so I made two ;-) Was pretty straightforward from the instructions given on the original site. It's a very well-designed shell for the parts, and my earlier doubts about the battery being loose in the frame were unfounded as I didn't read properly: it is held in place with glue between its 'wings' and the frame. A few minor comments: The areas on a new print that catch inside the MZ-NH1 casing are the '+' and '-' characters, which were printed raised a bit too high. Easily reduced with careful sandpapering. The new LiPo battery's original orange sellotape, that covers the small charge regulator PCB, presents a raised hard edge to the MD battery slot as you slide it in. To fix this I carefully removed the orange stuff and replaced it with Scotch Magic tape, the edges of which were tucked below the height of the main battery and sealed with superglue. A better solution may be to embed the PCB in UV-setting epoxy, but this works well for now and the battery is protected inside the MD case. I charged the new assembly outside the MZ-NH1, just in case something had gone wrong with the circuitry, but it proceeded fine. Currently got two MD units soak-testing with continuous play, but 2 SP MDs into the test there is still full charge indicated on the displays. Now all that's needed is a case to hold a few of these...
    1 point
  24. OK, thanks. That clarifies. I give up then for now - maybe new facts come after the remaining tests.
    1 point
  25. Again, this must be related to the source device and/or the cabling. TOSLINK receivers on both decks going south the same way and the same time is not really probable. And I keep my theory of the faulty source selector switch. No, it is not correct. A broken RCA cable can show such a symptom. When either the middle wire or the shield is broken only, and only partially, say it still conducts electrically but the impedance is too high for the decks audio input circuits. Under a certain voltage treshold the signal will be considered as silence. Indeed, it should not. Now you are getting closer. I believe you have multiple issues here, so you need to begin solving the case step by step. At very first, I would connect the two decks via two, known good RCA cables, and try to record back and forth between the two decks, from a known good MD disc containing known good audio material. If no skips, your lasers are OK. Next step is - as Kevin already suggested above - repeate this test with two known good TOSLINK cables between the two decks (and making sure the audio material on the test disc was recorded an originally from an analogue source). If no skips, all TOSLINK cables and transmitters/receivers on both decks are OK. Then we go from there.
    1 point
  26. NGY, beat me to it !!
    1 point
  27. I thought others might find this little hint useful too. There is a nice feature of this forum engine: after you attached a picture and inserted into the text, double-click into the photo (the inserted "copy" of it), that brings up a configuration window. There you can set the size of the thumbnail, how the picture will appear in the post. Say 120...200 pixels wide (heigth follows it proportionally), and it still gives an idea of what the photo is about, yet the post remains compact, easier to view, scroll, etc.. Then readers just click on the thumbnail, and can see the picture in its original size.
    1 point
  28. Hi John. You can download the "ultimate edition" of SonicStage 4.3 from this site:
    1 point
  29. Hi Stefano. you discovered and released the Holy Grail. Thank you! Works perfectly with my mz-n910. I haven’t tried my other recorders yet but I’m pretty sure all the Sony and Aiwa will work fine one question though: your app runs via Chrome, could it stop working because of a chrome update? I’m saying that because it’s so great I don’t want to lose it!!! Grazie!
    1 point
  30. According to the Service Manual that error means: Error - F15 Symptom - Interval till MD starts playing is too long Possible cause - Pickup home position sense switch (S8) is defective; check and replace if necessary The part number is apparently RSP1A023-A No idea if this is of any help?
    1 point
  31. Great news! Really glad you got it working again :-)
    1 point
  32. The OWH needs to be UNDER the metal plate. See pictures of the post : Metal slats needs to be straightened. Do the "virtual MD" trick (no MD inside) Put the OPU/OWH to the center (>> button) Unscrew a little (1 or 2mm) to release the OWH (red) Pass gently the OWH under the metal plate Re-screw the OWH on OPU Use scalpel (or fine tool) to twist big metal slats (yellow) to re-adjust the OWH height Use scalpel to twist the little metal slats to make the head flat against to the disc (orange). HINT : Put a minidisc and make STOP-REC-STOP-REC... to up and down the head and untwist theses wires step by step. Once the head is flat against the disc when the head is down in recording mode like this : Then try record few seconds and play what you recorded. If you break tiny metal wires (orange) = get a new OWH, you failed.
    1 point
  33. Me too!! and I like Italian coffee too! Thanks for your answers, Stefano. Greetings to you in Italy, we are watching you closely from the UK to see what's coming next for us corona-wise... Your app is almost the best thing coming out of Covid-19 for me! (no, that would be a little sad! I live in the countryside and the air quality and peace-and-quiet quotient has gone up massively - birdsong is my only soundtrack now - and I am still just about able to go out for long walks without meeting many people. I'd like to bottle that feeling - and maybe sell it to make some much-needed money!!). But your App is a Godsend. Several years back I made a special 'Leopard' drive for my Mac just so I could continue to use Sony's MD app for Mac - but then it just packed up and wouldn't work at all and Sony just abandoned MD users altogether, so this new possibility is great. It would be amazing if you could make it work for Hi-MD. I'd recommend finding an MZ-RH1 to play around with, although they're expensive (€200 and more) when you can find one on eBay or similar, but it's a fantastic little piece of kit. Just a shame that the OLEDs tend to die after a few years, which makes seeing what's going on difficult or impossible. I shall run some tests this afternoon.
    1 point
  34. According to the Service Manual over on Minidisc.org, the model number for the external battery case is: K3ZZ00200038 See bottom of page 3 here: http://minidisc.org/manuals/service/panasonic/SJ-MJ88.pdf
    1 point
  35. It's just a standard mini USB connection afaik. Physically, at least. I've never actually tried connecting mine to a PC. I suspect Sony were just advising people to use the supplied cable as they knew it was fully wired. There's an FAQ covering it here: https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/portable-music-players-minidisc-portable/mz-n710/articles/00203564 I mam sure someone here will have connected theirs to a PC though and will be able to confirm.
    1 point
  36. You're trying to record an MD? Then the cable needs to go into Opt. In. of the deck.
    1 point
  37. So sorry...I just saw this. I was able to retrieve all the info. The deck was 256 USD. Shipping and fees were 177 USD. Here's the breakdown, from an email Buyee sent me: [Total Shipping Cost] US$177.84 (19,100yen) ------------------------------------------- [Fee Breakdown] <Domestic Shipping Fee (From seller to Buyee)> 1,400yen <Consumption Tax> 0yen <International Shipping Fee (From Buyee to your address)> 16,200yen <Package Consolidation Fee> 0yen <Protective Packaging Fee> 1,500yen ※The paid amount is calculated from the USD-JPY exchange rate at the time of the payment.
    1 point
  38. I haven't visited this forum in years, but driving home today I felt a sense of yearning for years gone by. I got home, popped in a frozen pizza and dug out my Sony MZ-NF610. I dug through an electronics drawer and found the RM-MC37LT remote that came with it, popped in Pink Floyd Animals and MARVELED....ABSOLUTELY MARVELED at the experience. What sound quality, I didn't even have to look at the buttons on the remote, they were intuitive like shifting a 5 speed. I swapped through headphones, first the efficient Koss and Grado RS-2, then the Senn 650's. Not quite enough power from the Sony to run the Senn's so I dug out another relic...a CMOY Penguin Amp made by Robert Gehrke in Germany. What a great experience tonight! I would not sell my gear for anything! A night to cherish really.
    1 point
  39. Hi, as MP3 can be transfer with no conversion (and compression) to the M200, keep the MP3 format.
    1 point
  40. Hi, Here's a new netmd760.cat file. Just replace the existing file with this one. This fixes the hash mismatch errors... netmd760.cat
    1 point
  41. Don't know if this helps - found a copy in my archives.....
    1 point
  42. For those who can understand french or just can translate french text, jonathanpotato has repaired and comment a lot of portable and deck units, even made a repair guide : Articles / Accès par thèmes / Minidisc, http://www.jonathandupre.fr/ . Note that there are dozens of comments even hundreds for some of them on each unit on Sony Insider. Non Sony units like Sharp's however are not that much analysed and commented so that could be a welcome add. I don't know if your topic will have a good success and I just cross my fingers for you. Perhaps I will had my own comments when I will have more time.
    1 point
  43. i much prefer the character of the 2nd device. the bass is better defined and the sound feels more vast. i think its clearer too.
    1 point
  44. Sounds a bit long. It is not a problem from resistance point of view, however, long cables can pick up electromagnetic noise, like an aerial. What you can do though is to fold the cable in Z or Omega shape, making sure the folded parts cover each other precisely - in other words, wires won't get over a neighbouring one, to avoid interference. And no need for very sharp edges, to avoid cracks. In your case keeping the 125 mm distance beetween the two ends you first make a fold at ~100mm, then at ~75mm from the first one, making the Z. In the middle you will have triple layers, consuming about 225mm of the length, plus ~25-25mm-s at the ends Once this is done, you may want to tie it together with a piece of adhesive tape.
    1 point
  45. What exactly is the problem with the display? Is it completely dark? Several things can happen. The quickest checks, that don't need much testing gear: - check if all those flat cables are seated properly - check for any electronic components that look burnt , also, for dark brown or black spots/stains on the PCBs - check if those tiny cathode filaments inside the VFD are not broken. Two photos below are from different models, but give you the idea The left one shows intact filaments, the one on the right shows the topmost filament broken: .
    1 point
  46. sorry but on my Vista computer it doesn't work I start tje sonicstage 4.3 and get the message : the selected music file cannot be played because the system information has been changed. run the sonicstage system information restore tool. error : 00004e2e this tool starts then tries to connect to the internet then I get a ! and that's all I don't understand the sentence found on the forum : NOTE: If you have applied the experimental SonicStage patch 4.3.02 for Vista/Windows 7, you'll need to re-apply it after installation. What is the patch? is it the software sonicstage 4.3 or is it another little file you have to add to your system after installing sonicstage 4.3? thanks any idea ?
    1 point
  47. Hi Jaywars, I'm also a user of Sony Minidisc Recorders (MZ/N10 and MZ/RH1) and had the same problems as you. On internet I found the following solution: 1) Browse to the directory C:\Program files\Common files\Sony Shared\OpenMG\restorable, then you will find two files, namely icv.dat and maclist.dat; 2) Select both these files and copy them to the parent folder C:\Program files\Common files\Sony Shared\OpenMG; 3) After closing these directories etc. launch the SonicStage icon on your screen; 4) I have executed these procedure for both Windows XP (desktop computer) and Windows 7 Ultimate (notebook) and in both cases it was succesfull.
    1 point
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