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Help required for my MZ-RH1

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MD4ME

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Hi, I've just purchased a MZ-RH1 from ebay, cosmetically in excellent conditon with some of the boxed items still in their original packaging, but my excitement was tempered when the player showed up 'Read Error' on the screen.

I could of course return the item, but having read on this forum that the problem may be solved by accessing the service manual and activating the 'Test Mode', i feel i have nothing to lose.

I'm not particularly well versed in minidisc repairs so would appreciate any tips/hints as to how i go about bringing the machine back to life. Thanks in advance.

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Other people may disagree, but my advice is (assuming you've tried more than one disc and get the same result every time): if it isn't working, send it back. There's obviously something not right with it, which you may be able to fix or you may not. There are still plenty of RH1s around, so hold out for one which works straight out of the box.

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Thanks for your post Hungerdunger. I guess i'm a little reluctant to send it back, as it was such a 'bargain' price, which i'll struggle to see again anytime soon, so i feel i've nothing to lose by trying to fix it. The seller deals in all types of electicals, so wont know if i've tried fixing it or not.

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Failure to READ is most likely the laser power adjustment. This is done in service mode, but is (potentially) very complicated, though in practice probably just tweaking a couple of settings.

Before you junk the unit, stop a moment and consider some different things:

1. recording (and playback, of course) of LP2 on a std (80m) disk through line in or optical

2. playback of LP2 made on another (nonHiMD?) unit

3. recording of HiSP on a std (80m) disk

4. recording of HiSP on a 1GB disk

5. playback of HiSP on a 1GB disk made by another unit.

When and if you get failure, put the disk that failed on one side and use a fresh one (preferably shrink-wrapped) for the next test.

I have a dodgy RH910 and the results of these are not what you would expect. The 80m disk performs flawlessly at all times. Playback of all disks made by other machines is flawless. But playback of 1GB disks made in the RH910 itself fails where the disk is OK to playback in another unit. Record WORKS but playback FAILS (not always, before I played around record used to fail often too).

I see someone has reported the inverse on an RH910, viz. playback fails only on 80m disks but works with 1GB. I have also seen an MDLP unit (my CMT-PX3) fail to read a disk it had just written because of the laser adjustment (I adjusted it and it now works).

As I am discovering, this is a pain. I finally broke down and ordered a laser power meter. Watch this space for my adventures!

Stephen

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Hi Stephen, thanks for your response. I've just been trying a 1GB disc in the recorder and sometimes get quite different results than with a standard 80 min minidisc.

After inserting a 1GB disc, the RH1 straight away comes up with 'No Disc', whilst when inserting a 80 min disc the RH1 usually tries to read the disc for 30secs before showing 'Read Error', and if i try and record, it goes through the motions of recording, giving the recording levels etc. Then once recording stops gives up the message 'Data Save' followed by 'Rec Error'. It's yet to read any disc inserted into it.

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Ok that's a lot more information. It does indeed sound like "bust" is a possibility.

Have you tried to clean the laser? All of the above can/could be caused by one of those very narrow sticky labels designed for the side of a MD getting literally stuck to the inside of the player.

Getting an RH1 apart is quite tricky. It depends on how determined and/or skillful you think you are.... "no disc" sounds quite a bit like the microswitches that read if a disk is there, are stuck. Can you find them and push with a pencil or other sharp object? If the machine has not been used at all, that may be all that is wrong.

Also the "going through the motions" thing sounds like a dead overwrite head. But could still be laser power if nothing else works at all.

I think that Sony would probably fix it (for a price). But you should go back to the vendor... it's his problem. That's what paypal buyer protection is all about.

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Thanks again for your help.

Overall the results are inconsistant, sometimes you can hear (what i presume to be) the laser scanning the disc before recording 'Read Error', other times the 'No Disc' message is shown straight away.

I phoned Sony on Friday for a quote, and their standard charge is

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Yeah the one nearer to you should be a little bit higher.

One last stupid thing before you give up. Try running the unit using the charger plugged into the mains and supplying power to the unit.

It sounds like it's never been used. Wondering what on earth might have gone wrong with it.

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Just tried running it off the mains without success i'm afraid. Just checked the serial number against the one on the box, in case it was a 'ringer', but everything's in order. As i say, all the accessories are sealed up and the latest paperwork in the box is '2008', just feel the need to get it fixed, as it would be such a waste to bin it.

I think i'll make the seller a minimal offer/partial refund and see if i can get it fixed.

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I've seen my own RH1 do weird things when the battery was misbehaving, for whatever reason.

You don't have a battery to hand, to swap in perchance?

Did you let it charge the full 3 hours? If it stops charging very shortly after plugging it into the wall charger, that's a sign the battery is dead. Could it be that?

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I've seen my own RH1 do weird things when the battery was misbehaving, for whatever reason.

You don't have a battery to hand, to swap in perchance?

Did you let it charge the full 3 hours? If it stops charging very shortly after plugging it into the wall charger, that's a sign the battery is dead. Could it be that?

Replaced the battery with the one in my NH1. Now on charge !...watch this space...!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Hoooorraaaay..... finally got my MZ-RH1 back from Sony and it actually works now ! .....

Sent it off before Christmas and was returned early January having had a new laser fitted, but they hadn't fixed the fault, and it even came back with the plastic trim alongside the battery compartment hanging off, as the plastic retaining lugs were broken.... so much for quality control !

Returned it to Sony again, and this time they fitted a new Main Board, and replaced the plastic trim, and hey presto... i'm back in action....rest assured i'll be working it hard over the next 3 months whilst it's still under warranty !

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  • 4 years later...

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