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Kame

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  1. This is a great explanation. Its helpful to know the reasons to avoid silicone. I'll get some proper grease that I'll carefully apply to parts that were formerly greased and avoid smearing it everywhere
  2. Thanks! I will get some of this grease and be sure to lubricate all key areas of the drive mechanisms. I think the Tascam MD350 broke because it needed lubrication. It stopped working after I loaded a disk that would not play. I was unable to eject it after that. I removed the unit's top cover to see if there was a way to eject the disk manually, but I wasn't able to do so. When I took it into the shop, the tech found the loading motor had burned out. He applied voltage to the motor directly and it didn't spin so he's fairly certain its burned out. He's not familiar with dissembling minidisc loading units and so recommended replacing the entire loader.
  3. Its too bad that we can’t find a Sony engineer to ask the question about lasers. I imagine that MD fans in Japan would know about this- surely an engineer posted about this on an MD forum somewhere. I will check with my technician to see if he has proper equipment to calibrate the lasers. He works on a lot of CD decks so I assume he should have the right gear. I have acquired a good number of used minidiscs recently. How can I determine if they are damages or bent? Any recommendations on brands of grease to use? In the MDS-JA20ES service manual, pages 15-18 shows an exploded view of the drive assembly. I’ve sent JPEGs of the relevant pages in case you or other members might be able to draw on these pages and show where I (we) should apply grease to the mechanism. Very nice explanation on the pros and cons of keeping electronic equipment plugged in. I use a whole-house surge protector, in addition to a power conditioner/ surge protector for my stereo and computer gear. This should help prevent premature damage. There are so few knowledgeable people and repair techs around nowadays. This is one of the only forums remaining that provides expert knowledge about Minidisc. Are there any other English language sites? I wish my Japanese reading skills were better- I could do some research on Japanese sites. Thank you again for taking the time to write a detailed reply. This information will undoubtedly help many other fans of Minidisc.
  4. Thanks for your fore-warning. The site offers a lot of sketchy stuff, but some is quite good. Think I'll buy two backup lasers from the site but hope to avoid used stuff if possible. But which model of laser should I get? As I understand, there are a number of models that will all fit into the MDS-JE22: KMS-260A, B, E models. Is the KMS-260E a later model, and thus probably superior to KMS-260A? I found these inexpensive lasers: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001014079414.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.32e1134a5GNGJy&algo_pvid=89542bc7-0ed8-40b9-8c21-c8820f491933&algo_expid=89542bc7-0ed8-40b9-8c21-c8820f491933-5&btsid=0ab6f8ad15912900709688694e6cc0&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_ https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32793683204.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.32e1134a5GNGJy&algo_pvid=de4abf8b-86db-43cb-9535-4361f353a612&algo_expid=de4abf8b-86db-43cb-9535-4361f353a612-10&btsid=0ab6fb8815912889288507052e148f&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_ Thanks for this list too. When I get my "new" JA20ES (JA22ES) deck, should I take it to a tech to make sure the laser is properly calibrated? Do they drift over time? What causes the MD disc to not run true? If a minidisc was warped, surely we'd notice the case was distorted. Or is this caused by the loading mechanism? On that topic, can I lubricate the drive mechanism myself? Or is this best left to a shop? I'd prefer to do as much maintenance as I can myself to ensure its done carefully. I did not realize this and in fact thought the opposite was true! I'd read somewhere it was better for capacitors and other electronics to leave them powered on than to leave them off for extended periods. Nothing lasts forever, but if I can keep my MD decks running for another decade or more, that would be fun: I enjoy their aesthetic. They are like mini vinyl records that require careful selection. When my new deck arrives, I'll open it up to ensure its clean. Those photos are horrible. How on earth did it get so dirty? Was the laser or mechanics damaged from that? ----------------------------- A final question: I am looking for a loading mech for a Tascam MD-350. I described the situation here: http://forums.sonyinsider.com/topic/30756-looking-for-tascam-md-350-loading-mechanism/ I am guessing that this loading mech was built by Tascam and is not a Sony. Any suggestions on where I can find parts? I've not been able to find anything. I'm planning to sell the Tascam and replace it with another MDS-JA22. I'll have two JA22. One will be my daily use machine, the other will be a backup/parts machine.
  5. Wow! Thank you for your fast reply NGY! The careful detail you provide is much appreciated. I quite like the idea of the slide-open drawer. I've not used one yet, but I would guess it should be more reliable than the pull-in type. If mechanical parts should ever break, it seems that 3-d plastic printing might offer a solution. I saw a post on Japan Yahoo today of a fellow selling a replacement gear for an MD deck that he had printed. Based on your description, it seems I can't really go wrong with the 20ES models. I'll try to buy two of the 20ES models and sell my JBS-940 and the Tascam MD-350 decks. They're all in perfect operating condition, but both the Tascam and the 940 are all-black and do not match my silver-faced 70s components. I don't need five minisdisc decks sadly, so I'd better just stick to one model. I've seen KMS-260A, B, E lasers for sale on Aliexpress for very low prices. Should I buy a few of these as backups? Also, you'd mentioned laser failure often related to how the unit is used rather than just age? Can you provide some suggestions on getting longer life from lasers? The MD magician Jonathan recommended on the MDS-B5 decks (using the problematic KMS-210A laser) to make some adjustment to lower the power and thus lower the heat levels which he assumed contributes to the early failure of those lasers.
  6. A year ago, I bought a pristine Tascam MD-350 after reading about its high ranking here: http://www.tapeheads.net/archive/index.php/t-11235.html Unfortunately, I didn't notice that several contributors noted the MD-350 has problems with reliability. Sadly, after only a few months, the unit failed. The repair shop technician identified the problem: a burn out motor on the loading mechanism. He tested the motor by applying 5 volts to it and confirmed it has failed. He's not familiar with disassembly of MD loading mechanisms. He estimated it may require 10 hours for him to figure out how to disassemble and reassemble the mech unit and so and suggested we replace the entire loading mechanism. The part I need is the Drive Assembly DYMEZ202B (M0125900B) as listed in the MD-350 Service Manual. Any ideas where I can find one? Based on my experience, I would avoid the Tascam MD-350. Also, when I remove the cover on the unit, the simplicity of the circuit boards and lightweight construction did not inspire much confidence.
  7. Hi Everyone, I've decided to focus my attention on acquiring ONE model of minidisc deck, but I'll get a few extra as a parts machine. Right now, I have a Sony MDS-JB940. A British MD technician recommended I focus on this model as its reliable, rather easy to repair. However, recently I've seen a number of MDS-JA22ES (same as JA20ES according to this site) for sale for approx $250 CAN, which seems OK given that MD decks now seem to be selling at crazy inflated prices. The MDS-JA22ES was a higher end deck. How does this deck compare to JBS-940 in terms of: reliability repair-ability and parts using the KMS-260A, B, or E laser which is still available. sound quality build quality and aesthetics According to Jonathan's guide https://www.jonathandupre.fr/articles/index.php?url=/17-minidisc-md/50-guide-depannage-minidisc-v2/ the JA22ES uses a 6th Generation loader mech with drawer, and the JB940 uses a 7th Generation loader mech, both of which are very reliable. I am not planning to use MDLP. To my undiscerning ear, minidiscs sound perfectly fine, but I don't want to push my luck and record my record collection in highly compressed MDLP format. I'd appreciate your recommendation and suggestions since many of you are very familiar with this now increasingly-rare gear.
  8. I have been using the analog-out ports. Jonathan in France kindly pointed out that a simple adjustment of the trimpots on the back (directly below the SLR analog ports) offered the simple solution. I didn't realize those holes were trimpots. After making several adjustments, the MDS-B5 is functions perfectly with its new laser.
  9. I recently had a new laser installed in my Sony MDS-B5. The technician noted that installing the laser was quite a tough job. While he'd replaced lasers on countless CD units, this was the first MD deck he'd worked on. The unit appears to function perfectly except for one problem: when playing the same minidisc, the output level of the sound on the repaired unit is much lower compared to both the MDS-B6 slave deck and a MSD-JB940. Both the MDS-B6 slave deck and the MSD-JB940 are much louder than the newly repaired unit. My tech will have a look at I wanted to ask here for opinions and ideas. Is there some setting I cannot see on the MDS-B5 that has lowered the output volume? Thanks for any advice!
  10. That was exactly the problem! Thank you very much. Also, is it my imagination that the MDS-JB940 seems to sound better than the older MDS-B5?
  11. Hi, I just bought a MDS-JB940 from Ebay but am not quite sure if it is performing properly. I have all stereo equipment plugged into a power conditioner bar. After turning off each component, including the new MD deck, I shut off the 'master power' switch on the power conditioner bar. Strangely, when I turn on the power conditioner bar, the MDS-JB940 turns on by itself and starts playing a disk. Is this normal behavior for this deck? Is there some way to shut off this feature? I'm hoping this is not some type of defect with the power supply components.
  12. Hi, I'm thinking of buying a Tascam deck as they seem to be easier to find. I just found this article which indicates that the MD-350 is newer than the MD-301mkII. Does anyone know if the MD-350 uses the KMS-260A (which is far easier to find than earlier laser models as I found out the hard way). Does it have a Sony MDM-5 mechanism? Does the MD-301mkII use the same laser and transport?
  13. Kame

    Sony MDS-JE470

    Yes, quite true. Just thought I'd check
  14. Oh I certainly might be heading out there this spring or summer. I'd be worried about sending it by courier as well. Glad you think that is a bad idea too.
  15. I wasn't very specific was I? Haha.. I bought the new laser from Japan. I read about the fellow too- he seems like an expert and quite reliable. I really hope that the repair shop here is competent to replace the laser and has tested the deck properly according to Jonathan's recommendations posted on his site. (I printed out the Google translations of Jonathan's repair guides). I contacted the Greek seller a few days ago. He said the lasers are not working and that's why he's selling them so cheaply. He noted that he'd hear of Chinese labs that claim can repair the lasers, but didn't send me any contact information. Thanks very much for volunteering to look at my Sony. Much appreciated. Once the laser arrives, I'll let my local shop try his hand at it. He's likely to charge me an examination fee anyway so I might as well let him try to fix it. Apparently there's a few capacitors in this machine that should be changed as well. If he can't, if you'd be willing to have a look at it, I can ship it off. Seems that I'll soon have a working deck!
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