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MZ-R50 Tech Help.

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Judge Abs

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Hello everyone!

I recently picked up a second hand MZ-R50 off eBay for £10, along with many other items the seller did not state in the auction (carry pouch, optical cable - guessing this was a imported from Japan, blank discs and charger) and I was quite happy with it. ^_^

But for £10, this little baddass piece of kit stopped recording after two weeks (playback unaffected). Its not in the best condition, it was cosmetically rough with a few dents. Nonetheless I noticed that its previous owner had opened the unit and several screws were missing. Oh dear. Well, it still kept together quite nicely.

I took a look on the Sony eSupport site and surprisingly it had something on the MZ-R50.

LINK.

I'm a bit confused with the fourth step, "Initialize the internal flash memory."

How does one achieve that step with the R50?

On a side note I took a look inside of the R50, not touching anything but to remove any dirt lying around in the unit. Since it was opened before, I noticed the recording head. I just like to confirm if the head is meant to rest on a metal arm or lie under it. Thanks!

Image.

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I took a look on the Sony eSupport site and surprisingly it had something on the MZ-R50.

LINK.

I'm a bit confused with the fourth step, "Initialize the internal flash memory."

How does one achieve that step with the R50?

Good question. I see no reference to such a thing in either the user nor service manual. My guess is that the Sony support site screwed up and gave you an article that refers to their newer players, not MD. I realize it still shows "MZ-R50" in the query field in the URL, but you'll also notice that nowhere on the page does it say "MD". At the bottom it says "Digital Music Player".

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The head being in the wrong place (if it is) basically means the up/down motor temporarily or permanently quit working. I have had this happen to me, too. Sometimes it is permanent. I have definitely survived it at least once. If you try inserting disks in when the head is in the wrong position, you likely will break off the overwrite head. BE VERY CAREFUL.

The advice I gave recently was: make absolutely sure you have good power to the recorder. Seems like the recalbration of the Up/Down takes about as much or more power as any other possible operation.

Some have reported physically bending the part that holds it. Not sure this is a long term solution. Also the other possible problem is the ribbon cable itself got tired. You could check with an ohmmeter.

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doesn't matter about the cleaning, that would only be for the read head

check the continuity of the two microscopic leads on the overwrite head to the other end of the ribbon. Lots of people report that ribbon cable getting cracked.

as far as positioning, try the best power source you can before trying to do anything to the head (eg bending!)

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Guess what? I just inherited an N505 with this exact problem. Sure enough the ribbon cable is actually broken (the plastic carrier is in one piece, but the actual conductors are de-laminated from it).

Ideas? If a pic would help, I can put one. But the problem is 100% clear, same symptoms.

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I don't have any soldering skills, but I've researched this type of thing before. A skilled solderer can attempt to "gild" the contacts and reestablish a connection, but it doesn't always work. If you don't have a replacement cable you're probably S.O.L. Do any MD units use ribbon cable "sockets" so you can yank them out and replace them if you can find a replacement?

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Well a buddy of mine says there's something called Silver Ink, that you can use to glue it back together.

Interesting--I may have to look into that. I don't have anything to use it on right now, but a few weeks ago I did. Unfortunately I round-filed the item. It wasn't anything irreplaceable or expensive, but it would've been neat to say "I fixed it!"

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How about the stuff that Auto Parts Stores sell that they use to fix the rear window defrosters. This is a conductive liquid that has a very high silver content. Comes in a small bottle with an applicator brush. It's consistency would also allow application via a toothpick

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THANK YOU!!!!! Didn't know that was where to look. Yes, still will need a microscope to see what I am doing but you are exactly right, toothpick or even regular PIN would do the job. I figure first I have to re-laminate it onto the backing, then with aid of microscope apply to the ribbon. I hope that it should be possible to make a small enough drop that it doesnt join the two sides together, lol.

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Wow!

Could I salvage a recording arm from any other R-series MD recorders? I have a broken R91 I bought for cheap, just wondering if that recording arm can replace my R50's bent one.

Nah, just bend it back. But you may well be facing a ribbon cable repair, as I am.

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