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Questions from a beginner!

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fuzzytic

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Hey there!

I recently picked up a Sony MZ-N10 player to play around with, really enjoying it so far - but wondered if anyone here could set me straight on a few things.

 

Does anybody have any idea of how susceptible to moisture damage this unit is?  It doesn't seem to have any info in the manual - obviously trying to protect it from rain etc. is a given, but if the unit is in my rucksack and gets damp is that likely to kill it quickly?  Also at the same time, any idea about the water resistance of the remote part?  Does that need to be kept absolutely dry or is clipping it to the inside of a hoodie pocket fine?

 

I am still waiting for the USB data sync cable to be delivered (the person who sold me the unit forgot to include it in the package) so currently am experimenting with doing recordings directly from audio source.  Initially I was using some of the large stack of fairly old discs that came with the unit - but I kept having really odd issues recording, such as skipping, volume dropouts, random panning (suddenly all of the audio would be in one ear for a moment and then flip back to normal).  I did a successful record in LP2 mode today with absolutely stunning audio quality (I was expecting a much more obvious drop in quality from that mode, to be honest) - the only difference to the previous records being that this was on a brand new minidisc.  Are minidiscs particularly susceptible to degradation over time, or did I probably just strike a bit of bad luck and get a couple of dirty/damaged ones.

 

Another thing I wondered about is if the jog protection makes much of a difference while recording - one of the other things I tried on today's successful recordings was isolating it from my desk (I am quite heavy fingered when I type) - wondering if maybe the vibrations made a difference to the record before.

 

I had some other stuff to ask but it's slipped my mind now - thanks in advance for any advice/info you can provide!

 

Cheers :)

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" Are minidiscs particularly susceptible to degradation over time, or did I probably just strike a bit of bad luck and get a couple of dirty/damaged ones."

 

Not at all vulnerable.

 

IIRC they are the most robust recording media available as they are magneto optical disks like the old syquest cartridges.

 

As to water resistance not any more or less than other removable media devices like cassette players.

If the lid/top doesnt fit close to the bottom/main part of the player it could be more vulnerable to water but that depends on the condition of your player.

 

martin

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well  the record head does  touch the disk - so they can over time  wear out I suppose or the contact area get unstable? Also  the record head can  wear out I suppose ( like the tape heads on tape recorders )The disk has a lubricant on the top surface for this reason & I have wondered whether this can dry out over time or  go off. The play back head doesnt touch the  under-surface so once recorded should last a long time. The discs them selves therefore dont like  water or washing! With some  discs u can see this  lubricant as smearing on the top surface. I once  took some  discs back to  Richer Sounds for that reason before I knew any better lol I thought they were scratches.

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the discs don´t like water ? where do you think do you know this from?

I´ve cleaned a lot of old discs in the dishwasher and they started to work afterwards in case they had read errors for example.

I don´t think a magneto-optical disc can be influenced by water.how could it ?

ever had a wet cd-r? and see what happened after it dried ? i guess nothing^^

 

so listen what to do with that particular discs that don´t play or record well -> try to clean them with water and/or dish soap.

After they´ve dried i assume they´ll be playing and recording nicely.

Just try out ..

 

ps: that won´t be helpful if your device is in fault of course

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the discs don´t like water ? where do you think do you know this from?

I´ve cleaned a lot of old discs in the dishwasher and they started to work afterwards in case they had read errors for example.

I don´t think a magneto-optical disc can be influenced by water.how could it ?

ever had a wet cd-r? and see what happened after it dried ? i guess nothing^^

 

so listen what to do with that particular discs that don´t play or record well -> try to clean them with water and/or dish soap.

After they´ve dried i assume they´ll be playing and recording nicely.

Just try out ..

 

ps: that won´t be helpful if your device is in fault of course

 

 

The point is  that  you risk washing off the lubricant from the top surface of the disc!!!! read what I said about lubricant & record head

 

 and therefore in the long run ruin the record head of  your recorder or even make the  motor work harder as the record head has more  friction on the disc?

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Afaik that lubricant is a silicone grease and therefore water + dish soap can´t wash it off.

I´ve washed that many discs.. really old ones i´ve recorded in 98 and none ever had caused problems afterwards.

Have you ever experienced a bad disc cause of washed or worn out lubricant ?

 

and btw the owh doesn´t get in contact with the disc at all when recording.

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Afaik that lubricant is a silicone grease and therefore water + dish soap can´t wash it off.

I´ve washed that many discs.. really old ones i´ve recorded in 98 and none ever had caused problems afterwards.

Have you ever experienced a bad disc cause of washed or worn out lubricant ?

 

and btw the owh doesn´t get in contact with the disc at all when recording.

 

 

well other  people will have  to make up their own minds on this matter.dont know how to resolve it.  I always understood that the magnetic  record head did contact the  upper surface of the disc. other wise no reason to have any kind of  lubrcant on the top surface and explains the  marks I saw on the disks I got from Richer  Sounds long time ago.

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Thanks for the info, interesting to know that you can get them wet - some of the 80 minute ones that I'm keeping have labels on that I'm going to want to get off, had a little experiment at cleaning one of them up and it looks as good as new!

I've sorted through the rest and I'm planning on selling the fifty 74 minute ones on eBay (have a couple of brand new 80 mins and a bunch arriving in the next few days) - any idea on a good price to sell a big pile of MDs like that for?  They're assorted quality and I haven't tested any of them!

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You dont need water to get rid of labels on mindiscs - lighter  fluid  does the job better ( assuming  you can get it where you are). just put a little on the label and cover it up to stop  evaporation and leave it a few minutes. it will soften the  glue on most  labels, u can then use a tissue with some to remove any remaining glue

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