kgallen

@ST43 If you prefer a video, Techmoan did your exact machine:

Load/eject belt. For repair, see: https://www.minidisc.wiki/guides/repair/e12-belt

Hmmm, this is where the pain starts I'm afraid. My first suggestion is to remove and reinsert any ribbon cables to the drive at both ends. I've had oxidation issues with these in the past. After that, we're going to struggle unless you've got an LPM to check the laser. However, I would encourage you to *not* start pulling the machine apart in general. If we can't find the simple problem, then any complex one is going to be too deep for us and with pulling about, the machine will just deteriorate to the point it's definitely just a pile of junk.

I believe the E11 is based on the MDS-JE520 which uses an MDM-5A series drive. This drive is all gears, it doesn’t have a load belt. I could be mistaken. Both a user and service manual are listed on the wiki: https://www.minidisc.wiki/equipment/sony/pro/mds-e11 …However, unusually for Sony, the SM doesn’t have schematics or mechanical exploded diagrams for the drive mech. The MDS-E58 uses the same KMK260 drive. But the SM for that machine has no schematics at all and no further drive details. Reference to the 520 schematics is made, however that machine uses the MDM-5A drive as previously noted. The 17 x 0.7mm belt is specific to the MDM-7 family of drives (2000/2003 timeframe). The E10/E12 use the MDM-7SC variant.

Too many! But if folk are’t gonna buy the spares and repairs, why let them go to waste! It doesn’t say but these are often ex-BBC. There was an asset label on the front that was a bu**er to remove. Immaculate inside, just needed a belt and external clean up. The bezel around the power switch was detached so I had to disassemble the front panel to sort that out. 😃

Then when I got home there was this new find to fix and service. Working just fine now with a new load belt and a damn good clean and de-label! No I don’t know why either… it was spares or repairs at a good price! …and it’s the later ‘Pro’ (with SCMS programmability), which you only find out about when you turn it on ("MDS-E12 PRO") - there are no labels or other indications which indicate it's a later model with the updated firmware.

This week we went to Cambridge (UK). The Centre for Computing History remembers minidisc briefly…

This link was recently shared on Reddit (possibly for you!). As it doesn’t appear to be the FX version, maybe it’s not quite right? https://www.minidisc.wiki/_media/equipment/onkyo/deck/onkyo_md-105_service_manual.pdf

I've finally gotten around to building and testing my v1.1 PCB of this project (yes, I know, it's been a while...). This includes the coaxial connector that Sony uses that has the chassis screw point and also includes some circuit updates to the coax/SPDIF circuit to match the MDS-E10 circuit. The optical and coax connectors are on the pitch that Sony uses on their machines (or at least the one I measured!). Sorry my photos aren't up to @Richard's standard. And thanks to @sfbp and @BearBoy for sending me down this rabbit hole! @EdinElk, thanks for hanging in there...

0.7mm is the correct cross section. I’ve found thicker don’t always work. 27mm folded is half the circumference which is thus 54mm. Divide by pi and the diameter comes out at 17mm which is also as required. Good find and good luck!

Pfffft not sure I've brought much to this party! Same old answer really! 😄

Sorry for being late to the party and probably not adding much... The answers to the questions asked by @BearBoy above are important. Skips on playback are probably mechanical, due to the laser sled not moving smoothly on the guide rail. This means that the laser loses position, the memory buffer drains for a while and then becomes empty. In the meantime the servo mechanism is trying crazily to reposition the laser head to the last known good read address which it finally achieves as the laser "snaps" into position. On a disc that is recorded fresh sequentially (not fragmented due to edit deletes and re-records) it needs to be determined if the skip is always at the same laser position which could be due to dirt on the rail at one location or a deformation of the rail (less likely). Guide rail cleanliness and very minimal lube plus laser transport being moved fore and back across the whole disc radius is the first port of call. Skips in record can be for the same reason as playback, or could be due to loss of input data if recording digitally (SPDIF or TosLink loses digital sync or NetMD connection unreliable) or due to the machine being knocked or on an unstable base (less likely with a deck-type unit). Not being able to record at high speed could be due to weak laser. The high speed dub machines (like MXD-D4) use a laser that can be driven at higher power during the record phase in order to perform the erase/Curie heating function on a disc that is spinning faster. Or the laser is ok but out of calibration. Addressing both requires a Service Manual, some moderate knowledge and some kit like a suitable LPM and an Iop measurement connector plus a DVM. That's my 2p/2c worth.

Just a likkle one for this show - no radio mics. Two stage mics plus three (stereo) minidisc machines. My X32 would have been way overkill! (And I have to carry the bugger 🤣). Behringer Flow8 (but I’m sure you sussed that!) https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0603-AEW

This week I’m mostly… going wild and using three Sony MDS-E12 for a show 😀 (I’m not using the Sony CDP-D12 also in the left rack, I’ve put my interval music onto MD).

First test would be to try with an external Sony power supply. Also try with a primary cell not a rechargeable.

Yea I’m only using CD-R as a means to get stuff off the PC and onto MD. Other than the pain points of titles (iTunes) and unintended track reordering (Nero) going via CD-R isn’t too much of a pain (*) as I can just chuck it into my MXD-D4 (or Tascam MD-CD1) and roll off primary and backup discs. (*) The other pain point (and I don’t know if this would be solved my WMDPro or similar) is where I have short tracks that I need to play quickly back to back in the show. CD has a minimum track length - Nero seems to enforce 4 seconds (iTunes was 6 seconds). So where I have say a doorbell sound effect (say 1 second long) quickly followed by another sound effect I need to manually trim the doorbell track once I’m in MD land. This is a pain if I need to change something and have to go around the loop again plus the manual edit(s).

Yes that’s right. I gave up with iTunes and paid money for Nero Burning ROM. However whilst titles are fine with that, I have a different bug with it, that when I add tracks beyond about 20, it sometimes swaps the position of one or more. I’ve raised this as a bug report but they claim they can’t repeat it - but it happens for me regularly (but not always in the same way). Obviously I’m just trouble… I’ve a show coming up in August so I’ll be revisiting this all again soon…

Oooops. @BearBoy and I have to break this habit. We can't dual-handedly keep the Sony MD disc factory open (although we seem to be trying)...

yea, sort of. Those are all TechMoan's fault, they're sets from that bloke he features (can't recall his name, sure it will come back the minute I post!). I must dig them out, but they are more a novelty than stuff I would actively listen to... I guess my "prize" pre-recorded are the twin-disc original War of the Worlds which I picked up before those prices went through the flippin' roof! (I'm sure I've spoken about these a few times - one time when I was finding stuff tripping up the LP2 codec).

OK, so I've been over-egging my pudding... and clearly I need to try harder in the face of my more committed co-conspirators. My disc count comes in at 547 plus 6 "pre-recorded" on MO plus 4 pressed "CD" discs plus two duff ones (both TDK; one MD-RXG 80, one MD 80).

Not blank ones, discs in total! At work and just had a count and I've got 223 here! 😀 So i'll have to count up at home later. Maybe 1000 was over stating it but I can see it easily being 700-750. But 500 SEALED BLANKs @BearBoy, clearly I'm an amateur at this!

Oh gawd, don't start me off again! I'm scared to count up how many discs I have, because it's probably scarily close to 1000 (if not over!) - that's recorded ones plus blanks "in stock" (as I like to justify them!). I've been being "good" and erasing and reusing some past eBay bulk buys of used discs, but I need to catch up on some more recording of radio programmes so I might break into a few more new-new ones!

Oh my gawd. @Richard you must have the ultimate minidisc museum!

I'm on to your game @BearBoy, you're just trying to get your post count up to get to 11/14 first 😄

This month we've... mostly been trying to resurrect the Forum from suspension! Well done to @sfbp, @Richard, @BearBoy for persevering with contacting the owner! We're good for now, let's hope we can secure a more stable future 🙂