BearBoy

I don't have an MZ-R50 but, assuming that the Line Out functions in the same way on that device as on my Sony MiniDisc portables, then the volume control is bypassed. I don't often use Audacity but a couple of things worth checking: 1. Make sure that you have selected your "recording device" correctly from the Audio Setup drop down menu: I'm using a Focusrite Scarlett interface but you just need to select whatever input method you're using on your PC. 2. Make sure that the recording levels (the top level with the microphone symbol) in Audacity are up: If you then press record in Audacity and play on your MZ-R50 you should see the audio being recorded in the left and right channels. Once you have finished recording, save your Project (File > Save Project > Save As). Audacity saves its Projects as *.aup3 files. If you want to create a more universally playable file then you'll need to Export it (File > Export Audio > Export to Computer) and choose the format you want (.wav, .mp3, .aac etc). That should (hopefully!) give you a file you can play back more easily. Hope some of that might help. Let me know how you get on and, if it's still not working for you, we can try to work out why.

Hi @Vienna snitzel. Welcome to the forum. The MZ-R50 only had a digital input, not a digital output, so the only way to get sound from it to your PC is via an analogue connection (use the 3.5mm Line Out connection rather than the headphone output for the best quality). How are you connecting it into your PC? Audacity should work fine but some more information regarding how you are connecting the MZ-R50 to your PC would help diagnose your problem. Is the MZ-R50 your only MiniDisc device? Many of the Hi-Fi decks have digital outputs, which would give you better quality. Additionally, it is now possible to rip the actual recordings from a MiniDisc with no loss of quality using the Web MiniDisc Pro software and a NetMD compatible device.

The display on this one on eBay looks pretty bright too: LINK

There are some photos of an owner's MD-101A on the MiniDisc Wiki here: LINK Always a bit hard to tell with photos on the internet but the display doesn't look dim to me.

The MZ-R70 was released in 1999 and MDLP (ATRAC3) wasn't introduced until the following year. The OP already stated that they had some MDLP discs that don't play back on the MZ-R70. So, yeah, I think that's incorrect.

Hello. Is it possible the recordings are in mono? Mono SP would give you 160 minutes on an 80 minute MiniDisc.

@Syrius - good to hear you've got it, at least partially, working again 👍

Hot on the heels of the replacement screens for the MZ-RH1/MZ-M200, MDGadgetry are taking pre-orders for replacement OLED screens for the Sony MZ-RH10: MDGadgetry link: https://mdgadgetry.com/products/Replacement-Screen-for-MZ-RH10-p750245452 Link to the r/minidisc Reddit announcement:

Understand completely. I don't think I would be confident to try it either. I've carried out some maintenance on decks (MiniDisc and cassette), and am happy enough soldering wiring in guitars, but portable MiniDisc recorders would require a whole different level of precision/skill that I just don't think I have.

@zzzuppp - have you seen that you can get replacement OLED screens for these now?

Much as I'd love an RH-1, I fear I completely lack the skills required to resurrect it. Very generous offer though @Syrius! Hope it finds a good home.

No, it's not an April fool, we appear to be back 🙂 We seemed to run out of bandwidth especially early in March?

Hi @tsfrance. What model of Bravia do you have? Might be worth asking over on AVForums - Sony TV Forum (UK based) or AVS Forum (US based) as if this is a wider issue I am sure others would have flagged it.

Hi @Rossen - welcome to the forum! I'm not a SonicStage user but I don't think it can do what you're trying to do? @sfbp is something of a SonicStage expert and should be able to confirm. Do you have any portable NetMD MiniDisc devices? It is now possible to transfer tracks from a MiniDisc to your PC using Web MiniDisc Pro but it needs to be done from a Sony NetMD portable (or one of the Aiwa clones) as it exploits the "anti shock" memory buffer. As decks don't need this, it's not possible to do it with your MDS-JB980.

This video by "Spare Time Repair" popped up in my YouTube feed this morning. Thought it might be of interest to some people here 🙂

Hi @RomulusXXV. Are you asking about portable recorders or decks? The drive units for the latter are shared among multiple different models (e.g. you can put the drive unit from an MDS-JE480 in an MDS-JE780 or MDS-JB980). I think @kgallen might have produced a list on here at some point.

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.

According to the User Manual for the MZ-N910:

Thanks for posting the pictures. I love the look of those pro devices and what you've done with the Raspberry Pi looks really interesting. Can you use that to control what it plays as well as showing that it is playing? I know @kgallen has a number of the pro Sony decks (the rack mount ones). They also have RS232 serial ports on the back. I wonder if they could connect up in the same way? Anyway, should probably save the questions for your new thread. In battery related news, my gumstick kept going until 10.30pm last night, when I finally turned it off. I got another 2 hours or so out of it this morning before it finally gave up the ghost for good. I think in total I got about 14-15 hours out of it, although for around half of that it was displaying the low battery indicator. When I tested the voltage at the end it was 1.228V but I couldn't coax it into playing any more.

I've only just picked up on this. Would be interesting to hear a bit more about that (and see some pictures) if you ever get the time.

Apologies if the running commentary on my battery life is a bit tedious 🥱 Just wanted to record the results somewhere and this seemed as good a place as any. It's now been running for over two hours since the battery supposedly died. Still showing low battery. I tested the voltage using the AA battery case connectors and it's reading as 1.212V. I mentioned earlier that I'd had mixed results with some of my Vapex gumstick batteries. I've found one that is only registering 0.975V even after being charged with my USB charger. Looks like that one is destined for the recycling unless anyone knows whether Ni-MH batteries can be revived? I've found a couple of things suggesting you can bring a battery with 0V back to life by connecting it up to a working one (positive to positive, negative to negative) but not sure whether the same would work for one that's like mine.

About 15-20 minutes after I last posted, the battery gave out. I removed it and re-inserted and it's being playing for about another 30 minutes so far. Still showing low battery.

It's been going for over seven and a half hours so far. The battery indicator is flashing to indicate low battery (has been for maybe 30 minutes or more - didn't notice when it started) but shows no sign of stopping just yet. The manual suggests a playback time of 31 hours with a gumstick battery (with power save mode engaged, which I haven't). I don't think it'll keep going that long...

🤣 I did have a purge of my saved searches a while back but I could probably do with cutting it back further 🙂

They're in the actual saved search in the app, not separate "you might also be interested in" items. They often are higher up the list than the items the search was actually for too. I did always get a lot of crossover with the JB9XX QS decks but it seems to have gone a bit haywire in the last week. Maybe I'll delete my saved searches and start again. See if that makes any difference.