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jim.hoggarth

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Everything posted by jim.hoggarth

  1. Hi again. I think you may have emailed me direct with this question, but I thought I would reply here as it may interest others. I will look for a battery box for you, but I am almost 100% sure I don't have one. If I do find one, I seem to recall there is a 6-volt adapter socket on the side. It would be interesting to see if connecting to this will also charge the internal battery. As for the USB cable - these are very difficult to get hold of. Nearly every MZ-N10 that appears for sale these days seems to be missing the cable, and of course it is unique to the N10 (and the NH1). However, a thought occurred to me the other day - perhaps it is possible to mount a different style of socket on the BCA-WM21U cradle unit, and to fit a matching plug on the end of a standard USB cable. or to simply have a short cable coming out of the N10 cradle, with an in-line socket on the end. It may not look pretty, but it will work. Jim
  2. Here's a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_gain_control
  3. I will take a look and see how many I have. I do believe I have a spare, but I will let you know. Please email me at jim.hoggarth@blueyonder.co.uk so we can converse privately off-board. Jim
  4. Yes, it works fine if a good job is made of it, as you appear to have. But be aware that with the intermittent movement of the sled (and thus the write head too), the enamel coating of the wires may become worn and allow short circuits to the metal chassis and to each other! But then, you can just fit replacement cables again. Jim
  5. That will be the SJ-MJ50 I was wanting then... Jim
  6. jim.hoggarth

    MZ-R2

    Finding parts may be a slight problem, as the R2 is actually more rare a beast than the MZ-1, in my opinion. I have two R2's stored away somewhere, but I do not know of their true condition. All I can remember is taking the main board out of one to fix a customer's unit several years ago, and also there being some problem with the cosmetic trim. Working better up-side down is often an indication the focus coil is at fault, which would mean the optical pickup needing replacement. I have a suspicion these earlier units had trouble with the pickups, but cannot swear by that as I have seen so few in for repair (ie the MZ-1, MZ-R2, MZ-E2 etc) Jim (back from the dead after catching that awful 'winter puking virus' that has been going around the UK)
  7. What a shame you cannot rely on your customs department to play fair (I assume you are meaning stuff goes missing regularly). It really does restrict your options, which are otherwise global given the reach of the internet. Is there anything which does get through customs easily, or are they all looking for stuff like IPods to pinch? Jim
  8. The RM-MZ1T is only compatible with the G750 and G755, no others. The radio remotes for the Hi-MD units use an axially split earth connection, the older generation has two separate power/data connections on the normally unpopulated side of the remote connection plug. The RM-MC21 will work with just about all units, although the Group +/- buttons will have different functions on some earlier units (ie pre-group facility). It is the most reliable of the lot. The RM-MZ4R is also reliable, but only of any really use with pre-group mode designs again. The MC11EL is usually quite reliable, and works ok with a lot of more recent units, as does the MC38EL, although this last one has the side-shift transport button which fails eventually on all remotes that have been used for some time. Jim PS - if anyone is in need of a remote control, you are welcome to contact me. I have boxes full of remotes in various states of repair and condition.
  9. Unless the insides of your units are extremely dirty, dusty, or gritty, I would expect the problem to be the read laser which is failing on the E501. If you are in the UK I can look at it for you for a small fee, but to be honest these players have low resale values so you can probably pick one up on ebay for very little anyway. You don't mention your recorder model numbers, so I can't give any specifics, but generally replacing a disc, or just open/shutting the case, rarely gets around a problem with the mechanics - the problem comes back again at some point, usually sooner rather than later. Jim
  10. This is a common fault on that model - do not buy it. In most cases it is caused by the soldered connections on the audio amplifier chip, which break regularly. it can be repaired quite easily, but there is no point buying a recorder that needs repair if a good working unit is available elsewhere. it is not a repair you can do yourself. In which country do you live? Jim
  11. Et je parle francais un peu aussi, mais pas tres bien! Jim
  12. The X1 was a very disappointing unit. My friend Norman in Lancashire brought it over for me to look at several months ago, and I had extreme difficulty even getting into it. I always divide gear into two camps: solid, basic, obviously repairable, and so on. Then there is cheap, plastic, clipped together, never designed to be repaired. The X1 fell into the latter case. I found one screw on the case, which allowed me to prise open clipped-together plastic panels. When I eventually got to removing the front panel, the only way I could see was to forcibly prise it off as with the upper and side cases. Unfortunately this lead to the silver paint-on finish on the inner side of the panel to start peeling off, making a mockery of any attempt to fix. And as the original problem was the CD/MD doors falling off (cheap plastic design again), I gave up on it. Jim
  13. Here's something of interest. I am literally now undertaking a repair on an MZ-N920, so I have the spares box out for the N10/N910/N920 models. And in there is one N910 main board labelled as 'Faulty - no USB comms.' So it could be a common problem with this model. I have checked the joints previously, I assume, as they appear to be fine. Jim
  14. It looks like a quite well done modification of old iPod boombox stock (google for CSMP165 to see the original unit). The 'triangular' advertising blurb on the front looks nicely done, although why Tux the Penguin is on there I do not know. But the section overlapping it looks like a genuine peel-off promotional sticker with the top and bottom cut off to remove the original manufacturer's model number/name. I get the impression it was originally a complete or partial circle that was stuck over the left speaker grille. The MD battery box is obviously stuck on in the space originally used as a carry handle, and the I/O plate on the side seems incongruously out of place, not quite in keeping with the overall design. I must say it is a lot of money for something made out of two 'surplus' items. I have seen this seller before, and I must say they have a very strange mix of stock. Their descriptive text is often garbled nonsense such as you see from Chinese sellers, and photographs are often obviously Asian. And the stuff they sell? Outboard motors, wedding dresses, Reeboks, MD units? And then you see something totally incongruous, and more in keeping with secondhand selling on eBay, such as this item: 261207877256. Just my twopennyworth Jim
  15. Out of interest, just looked at these for purchase from the UK. The postage is three times the cost of the battery! Wondering if I could order several at the same postage cost (you would assume that would be the case, no?), I went through the checkout procedure for 5 items. Wow! They were gracious enough to give me a $30 dollar postage discount, so I would only need to pay $23 postage! Maybe not this time, thanks guys. Jim
  16. Read errors are usually a result of a bad optical pickup unit, but that said a flaky spindle motor will also cause distress. The motor in the N10 rarely fails, but it is not unheard of. I certainly think you are not going to effect a repair without experience and parts. The good news is that the R_004B figure means the unit has barely been used, certainly as a recorder. So the optical pickup should be like new. It may also mean the internal battery is in A1 condition, which is a rarity for this model. You may well have a machine very much worth repairing. If you need a repair, PM me or email on jim.hoggarth@blueyonder.co.uk. I am in the UK, so postage to me is not too expensive. Jim
  17. Still sounds like a bad solder connection on the USB socket to me. But then I always blame the hardware, Stephen always the soft/firmware. Jim
  18. Don't panic !!! Not been good recently, snowed under with a backlog. I will reply to your PM asap. And that web site is just an experiment - I will be getting my own domain name soon. Jim
  19. Agreed - eliminate the obvious or easily checked possibles first. If the unit plays ok with the power adapter plugged in and no battery installed, and still fails to recognise the USB connection (ie does not show 'PC/MD' in the display), it is most probably the USB port at fault. And do check more than one USB cable if you have them. I have seen a number of cases where solder joints on the USB socket have failed, and also some instances of the USB interface on the main board processor refusing to recognise a valid USB connection. Jim
  20. jim.hoggarth

    MZ-E44

    You should find the enthusiasm dwindles when you cannot physically open the door to your hobby room / studio to order another on-line! Seriously though, if I may ask, can you hear a slight click on the audio, as if the audio is being muted rapidly, when the stop button is pressed? I ask as I have an E44 in for repair, and both this and my only good stock unit share this same problem. They also go off, as if the battery was disconnected, when shook quite vigorously. This is a good test of the G-Protection anti-shock circuitry working, but I have never known another unit go dead like this. And that is after ensuring the battery is positively fitted with good, well sprung terminals in a clean condition - so that is ruled out. Jim
  21. Dead may not mean dead. A simple test is to insert the mains adapter (direct power always works in most cases, batteries can be problematic), load a disc and put the unit up to your ear. If you can hear any motor noise, or even the 'whip-whip' noise of the laser lens trying to focus, it may just be the display connector or display board at fault. So a good working unit looks dead and does not respond. Another method is to use the remote control. A common problem, if someone has been in the unit, is the keyboard connector being incorrectly socketed, or even the plastic pressure bar on the connector being missing. As for the non-eject problem, which also leads me to believe the unit has been opened by an 'amateur', is usually down to a bent release catch on the upper slot mechanism, caused by incorrect or ham-fisted reassembly, or by inserting a disc in the wrong way and wrenching it out to un-jam. Jim
  22. I may have had one of my 'Eureka' moments. The MD drives in auto decks are self-aligning. The cleaning discs have a pretty wierd format, if I remember. Perhaps they screw up the EEPROM settings on such a deck? Jim
  23. No idea. But if I find time, I will get an old deck out and try plugging a cleaning disc in, just for the sheer hell of it. Jim
  24. In my experience, your average Joe isn't that clever. I point folk here to ask questions regularly. They don't seem to be able to do a web search at all! Jim
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