jim.hoggarth

I no longer repair E10s except in very rare circumstances. Every one I have ever seen has a bad main board. The problem is there is no sub-chassis: the board is screwed directly onto the lower casing/ Flexing of the case causes broken joints, often under the CSP integrated circuits. Sometimes it is just the remote connector, but even so repair is an absolute nightmare. My advice: never buy a secondhand E10. And I have seen them go for ridiculous amounts, hundreds of Pounds, with no warranty. Jim

I have recently rediscovered the joy of listening to #5 - Houses of the Holy. I wore my original copy out playing it. All the more because of the front cover - it really got up my father's nose as he thought it pornographic, the silly old b*****d. Funnily enough, I never bought Physical Graffiti and kind of ignored all subsequent releases. But I still love the first five albums. Jim

Electronic units can be odd. Failures tend to be quite common on newly manufactured equipment, and on much older gear - the so-called 'bath-tub' effect. Perhaps long term storage 'resets the clock' to some extent, meaning that powering up after a long period is just like first applying power to a new unit - with the stress of being electrified giving exactly the same problems? I know I feel like shit when first 'plugged in' after a long sleep! Jim

I have not has many Panasonic units through the workshop, but in most cases it has been the main board at fault. I do recognise the battery detect problem too, I am sure. Shame they are not the same model, otherwise you could try swapping the board across, as I also suspect the optical pickup on the read/toc error unit. Jim

It looks like polystyrene cement actually does work! At the moment I am simply dabbing on the glue-post already available - I am not trying to glue down the edges at all. I know there is a liquid poly cement available which may be perfect for both jobs, as the liquid can run down the crack of each edge by capillary motion, without leaving any obvious signs of gluing, whereas this is hard with the cement in the tubes. But I thought I would try the cheaper tube glue first. I will now order some liquid, if I can find it, and let you know more. Jim

I have the usual age-related deterioration of high and low frequencies, but since my first introduction to MDs some eight/nine years ago (I can't recall exactly - I know it was a birthday), I have always disliked LP4 for music. I am ok with LP2 for portable use, say while walking. But for general and home use, it has to be SP. Due to never getting into HiMD properly, I never really tried the ATRAC3 encoding modes. And I have *always* had my treble control cranked up (and sometimes the bass slightly diminished) on all of the audio units I have possessed. Perhaps my upper hearing limit has always been low, although I have always liked a very 'crisp' sound. But that said, I do remember being able to hear the 19KHz carrier tone on FM radio units - not on audio out of course as that is filtered, but by putting a crystal earpiece across the correct part of the circuit. Jim

Ok, I will bear that in mind, thanks. I have ordered some polystyrene cement off ebay to try that - you know, the sort of glue used on model kits by the likes of Airfix and Revell? The disc casings don't look at all like a styrene, but it may work. And stuff always comes in useful in the workshop anyway. Jim

Just had one hell of a job getting labels off a bunch of Maxell discs - but there's no guarantee the labels used were the ones that came with the discs. They have 'TITLE' printed at the top and then eleven separate horizontal spaces for writing, with alternate light grey and white background. Are these the ones you are having trouble with too? Jim

Hi Qualia017. Very interesting reading, very impressed. What sort of glue do you use to reseal the MD casings after your work? I ask because I am experimenting with cleaning out and refurbishing used MDs for resale, and I am trying to work out the best way or resealing, without using 'super-glue' (cyanoacrylate) which can leave a white powder-like residue. Jim

You need the RM-D10E. It's the same one used by the MDS-JB980 and the MDS-JE480. Others will work, of course. Jim

The parts inside one are all Sharp, so I assume it came out of the Sharp factory. In the UK, Goodmans is a re-badger, as are now the likes of Bush and a few others...

Sometimes the sled motor can quiver like this. It is difficult to be exact, but experience has taught it's either the spindle motor or optical pickup - about a 3:1 failure rate for these. But of course if you get one of these parts and replace it, it's bound to be the other. Are you in the UK? I can do repairs on a single drive unit rather than the whole deck, so postage is much cheaper. Jim

The drive unit is the MDM-7X, probably the 7A or 7S1A variant. Notorious for this problem. Try moving the spindle motor (just move the spindle slightly by hand with no disc inserted). If the deck responds, it is a bad spot on the spindle motor and may work fine for months, even years, before failing again. Alternatively, if you can't hear the focus coils operating (very quite 'whipping' noise), the optical pickup cannot focus on the tracks, and will need to be replaced. Might also be worth checking to make sure the sled returns to home at power-on to exclude this motor - but beware of pushing the sled too far away from home position. The sled will be very hard to move initially, unless you help it by turning the white gear at the back manually. Jim

You are a brave man taking the LCD glass off the board. When I do this, usually a few segments stubbornly refuse to work again. I must admit it does sound like the ribbon cable - especially the delayed response to update. Are you sure one of the copper lands is not cracked, or the mounting where it is 'glued' to the display board? I may have a spare if all else fails. Jim

Sounds like you may have disturbed something which has made it work ok. The head failure on the N1 was a guess based on your fault description, as that's the usual culprit. But it could be the optical pickup or main board, you never know until it can be diagnosed by swapping in known good parts. The MZ-N1 is also very prone to faults caused by a twisted or otherwise damaged main chassis or casings. I have known N1's which work perfectly with the lower casing removed, then absolutely refuse to record properly with the same screwed back on. Jim