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kgallen

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Everything posted by kgallen

  1. Thanks Rich. I’m just stumbling about a bit really, I’m no service tech, but do seem to have a habit of wanting to fix up stuff! Good to hear I’m not boring the pants off everyone - documenting for fun and it might help out another user in a similar situation. The E10/E12 aren’t ‘pretty’ decks so I wouldn’t expect ‘normal’ people to have them in their home rig. Since they are 1U rack mount I use them in a more ‘utilitarian’ way for music and sound effect cues for shows with my drama society(ies) where I do lighting and sound. (Although over lockdown I have had various machines in the room where I’ve been working from home, see other waffling posts!). So in answer to your question, they are not rigged up to an amp at home (indeed since the kids were young and poked the cones in my B&W DM550s I’ve not really had a home hifi setup of the proper kind - amp etc still in the loft - sad face.) So I guess for the most part when I’m using them for listening pleasure I’m using headphones. Like many decks, E10 and E12 prices have gone silly barmy - don’t recall paying more than 85-100GBP for any of mine. This messy one was the first for a long time for ‘messing about’ money so I ummed-and-arrred for a few days then since no one else bought (for good reason!) I’d go on this journey with it. I like learning new stuff about this kit and the recent playing about with the gold MZ-R700 and this broken E12, I’ve learned a few more things 🙂 Thanks for staying tuned! (ps Anyone heard from @sfbp recently? I hope he’s ok. I PM’d him recently but didn’t get any sort of reply which is unusual). Kevin
  2. There have been a few questions on here and Tapeheads on this topic in the past 36 months or so that I’ve tried to contribute to. But we’ve (I’ve) never got a full handle on it. I believe all of my other E12/E10 say ‘pro’ so this is the first working specimen I have that doesn’t, and doesn’t have the Copy Bit menu item. I think I need to check all of mine and I’ll aim to report model/serial number/copy bit to see if there is a pattern.
  3. The E12s VFD is fine. The AMS knob has had a whack and is bent and the push doesn’t work. All the other buttons seem ok although the play button is sticky. Ive stripped the chassis apart to separate the base/rear from the minging front panel and given that a good scrub. Intention is to reassemble the E12 innards with the transformer and front panel from the E10 since the E12 has many more connectors on the back panel so I need to use that part of the case. Mismatching will be the E10 logo and the input select:(optical/coax/analogue) on the E10 versus (digital[coax]/balanced analogue/unbalanced analogue) on the E12.
  4. OK, some mostly good news and some progress with the E12/E10 Frankenstein's monster project. The LB1641 motor driver IC arrived this morning in the post (eBay littlediode_components - very fast, giving them a plug for good service here, and stocking the part at non-silly price). After a bit of a wrestle getting the smoked IC104 out of the E12 main board, the new one was fitted (an hour to get the old one out, a minute to solder in the new one and clean up...). Fortunately the PCB is a decent modern type - double-sided green solder resist, not one of those el-cheapo SRBP single-sided brown ones that came back in the MDS-x80 machines, so fortunately all of the PCB pads and traces held up with the abuse from the soldering iron. So initially I tried it with the drive from the E10. No smoke (yet!). The machine booted up and initialised the drive. The drive took a disc (well with a little help - I needed to replace the belt I'd previously installed with one of those proper 17x0.8mm ones that Charlie at Linx Audio had made for us - all good now). Machine can read and play the disc! 🙂 This drive (from the broken E10) does have a few hiccups - initially it though the disc was write protected (it wasn't). The blue/white pin switches are intact and this issue went away (so far) when the ribbons were re-attached. I was able to change the disc title and successfully write the TOC. However I can't get into record with it. The deck will enter record-pause, but drop out of it after a few seconds. The drive will cycle the OWH head and look promising but something is causing it to abort. The drive that came in the E12 is also interesting. With a new load belt it will load, read and play a disc ok, which is good news in part. However I think the OWH must be faulty as if I do any operation that writes the TOC, then the TOC is corrupted (laser heats the disc thus erasing the area, OWH does not reprogramme the magnetic domains). Ejecting and putting the disc back into the machine results in "Toc Error E14". The same happens with the disc when put in my MDS-JE530. However interestingly, my MDS-JE770 could read the disc. It seems the first track also got corrupted and won't play, but the other tracks on the disc are fine. By using the 770 to change the disc title and rewrite the TOC, the disc was recovered and would read and play in the 530 and the E12 drive (track 1 still corrupt, won't play, although the track title displays). Regarding SCMS on the MDS-E12 main board. As noted above this machine boots saying "MDS-E12" not "MDS-E12 PRO". The Setup menu does *not* have the Copy Bit setting. Further, consulting the Service Manual Supplement, the main board already has the updated resistor configuration that is specified there (for certain Serial Number machines) to allow SCMS copy bit (or so I interpret from that manual). So this needs some more investigation to see if this is "old" firmware issue (which is likely unfixable) or another change is required to some resistor settings. Actually I need to try with both drives I have to see if this makes a difference - although from what I recall, this E10 is also "non-PRO"... Well it's been playing a disc whilst I've been writing this, so it seems stable so far (E12 main board plus E12 drive in the E10 chassis). Also of minor note: the E12 does seem an "early" version (although the Serial Number seems "reasonable"), as it uses the Sanyo LB1641 motor driver. Later units switched to a Rohm BA6209 part - these aren't interchangeable parts, there is a circuit change including what looks like a 2W resistor added, based on what I see in my other seemingly later build machines. This is also noted in the SM Supplement: Next: I'll have some lunch then pile into Service Mode and take some stats and do some checks I think...
  5. I think I will end up with a cut-and shut, using the E12 innards, but using the E10's PSU and maybe the drive, with the E12 lower chassis for the connector holes but the front panel, buttons and VFD from the E10.... cos frankly the E12 case is minging! 🤢 So then it will be an E12 that says E10 on the front! When it boots it does say "MDS-E12" rather than "MDS-E12 PRO" so I'll be interested in whether the SCMS options are in the Setup menu (didn't have chance to check before the magic smoke) or if I need to do the resistor changes listed in the SM Supplement document...
  6. We’ll I’ve had two kinds of magic smoke… but there is hope. The E12 main board does boot. That machine has seen some action that’s for sure. Smoke #1: it’s been set on 120V for UK 240V use. The internal T1AL 20mm glass fuse was blown. The transformer windings did meter out reasonably and when powered the output voltages did measure at sensible values. But the transformer got hot and the fuse blew again so the enamel on the primary was probably damaged with the incorrect voltage setting. (ETA: Comparing with a good transformer, the secondary winding are all ok [as would likely be expected] but the primary windings are all shot to bits). With the E12 main board in the chassis of my broken E10 (bust main board), it did power up and initialise the drive ok. 😃 Smoke #2: I tried to load a disc, but then there was some magic smoke from the drive motor driver IC (IC104) on the main board. Looking at the SM schematics, the Vin should be around 11.4V and with the incorrect region voltage switch setting, this could have been well over 20V. The Vin(max) for IC104 is 18V, so possibly it was damaged. There was a disc partially stuck in the drive so maybe the load motor had been running in this condition (looks like a belt replacement should sort that). Fortunately a component supplier on eBay has some LB1641 motor driver ICs, so I've ordered a couple. They are through hole (most of the PCB is SMT) so replacement should be viable. Also on that 11.4V rail is the main voltage regulator IC. Given the uC booted ok, I'm hoping this part has survived although it too has probably been over-stressed on the input as it's Vin(max) is even lower at 17V. This part doesn't seem to be available at RS/CPC/Farnell or eBay so if it fails I could be in trouble... I do need to see if the VFD in the E12 is still ok. It's filament bias should be 30-40V ac but this could have been up at 60-70V...
  7. Shhhh 😄 Well it would be the 4th E12, but the theory is to try and make a good E12 from this bashed up one, plus my forever-faulty 2nd E10... Unless it's really kn**kered in which case I have a box of spares (maybe!).
  8. Mod: Split to separate topic in MD/Technical. Ooops. Another E12 S&R on the way...
  9. @Richard you seem to have an endless number of fancy discs! The variety of the discs available is stunning! Guess I won’t share my bogo Neige or Maxell Color then… 😆
  10. Well I've mucked about with it most of today and it's not fixed although I've learned a lot about it! - Half-load switch was corroded but having taken the main PCB out for access I managed to clean it up with some switch cleaner and IPA and it buzzes out ok now. This didn't fix it so I dug deep into the Service Manual and have worked through the configuration and adjustment steps in increasing depth as I took the plunge of the next deeper step and got a hang of interpreting the instructions. Overall nothing has looked out of place regards electrical and laser power measurements. I've ended up doing an NV reset. Checking and adjusting the voltages as instructed (already correct), checking the laser power on the 3 modes (already set correctly, laser seems good). This machine can automatically adjust and calibrate itself for CD and MO discs which is neat. I can run the CD auto-adjust step (using my only MD CD, "War of the Worlds"!) and this completes successfully. I can run the MO auto-adjust step and it will run, but always fails with either "138 NG 11" or "238 NG 12". NG is "no good". The two item codes 138 and 238 aren't in the R700 SM but I found them in other service manuals so I believe they are: 138=MO RF Gain Adjust and 238=RF Gain Adjustment. If the 11 and 12 are standard error codes, then 11=TOC error and 12=Data error, data could not be read at SYNC. The OWH buzzes out at 4.9 ohms both in and out of circuit, so I think it's intact. However I did run one cycle of the MO adjust with the OWH disconnected and I still got the "138 NG 11" code when I expected it to fail on a different test. So overall I guess this could be bust with something like (a) OWH fault (b) issue with the photodiode receiver within the OP (c) some issue in the OP head amp circuitry. Out of ideas for today...
  11. Yesterday evening I was mostly… …trying to get a spares/repairs MZ-R700 to work. - DOA but ‘was working’. However the contacts for the remote part of the headphone Jack are a bit mashed up 🤦‍♂️ - No response to battery or wall wart or disc in/out. Battery contacts clean, no sign of corrosion in or out - Can’t get into test mode via key sequence - wall wart power is getting in but the main power controller chip is not enabled so no internal supplies - CAN get into test mode via internal solder bridge. In which case looks good. LCD and all buttons work fine. Only one error history report code 12 which is ‘Can’t read data on SYNC’. Probably nothing of significance. Record hours 0x038D = 909hrs. (Only need this to be a player). Sample check of internal voltages look good (power controller chip is outputting ~2.5V as required). Open/Close switch seems to be fine - opening clamshell exits key test mode as expected. Using DVM, change in voltage can be seen. Half Lock switch - not so sure. Can’t detect a noticeable voltage change on operating switch. Pull-up is internal to uC IC so hard to judge. Gave both switches some spray and ‘worked’ them. No change. Can’t see a mechanism to spin the disc up or move the sled in test mode Need to look harder cos… - Remove test mode solder bridge and back to DOA. Plan: - reinstate test mode solder bridge and look for control to check sled/spindle etc - try and get clearer picture on whether half-lock switch is working
  12. elektrotanya already had it. I added new pages and this SM for these models onto minidisc.wiki
  13. minidisc.wiki would be interested in the Service Manuals and also uploading to elektrotanya.com would be appreciated (I can do both if you like).
  14. Eye, eye we’re dealing with a different class of collector here!!! Nice one @Richard 😄
  15. Exactly. I must have in excess on 100 MDs in my drawer at work. I like having a wander through them and picking something I haven’t listened to for a while. There is some junk in there (badly recorded radio programmes with FM noise) but I enjoy them all the same. Not everything is on BBC Sounds/iPlayer!
  16. Ah… clever. I should have known that. I liked the beer idea while it lasted though! 0x33
  17. (Old man alert…) Is that a pint of home made beer, a game or some other piece of software? (I plump for the first but I know I’m wrong! 🤪)
  18. My bad (of course!). I RTFM. I was pressing Music Sync then Synchro Standby then Synchro Start. I didn’t need the Music Sync bit. Title copy works fine when I do it properly… Remind me next time…! Still never mind, bashing the titles in with a PS/2 keyboard only takes a couple of minutes and you get to find out what’s on the album 😂
  19. Fantastic! (the first bit!). I’m now on the English ‘West’ coast, so let’s see if you’re following me… 🤔
  20. Well I did have some troubles a while back with this setup (or maybe to my 530 before I bought the 770). I checked the cabling: TOSLINK and Control A1(II) direct from the CD to MD so clearly I need to do some more investigating why titles didn’t copy. I thought the display on the MD said something like ‘Titles Protected’ if there was an issue on this front but I don’t remember seeing that. And I did use CD-Sync which I think is also a prerequisite… Last week I was ‘mostly’ on the beach (a bit) making big sand castles with my son and sitting in them whilst the sea came in and washed us all away. English East coast, nowhere exotic - but the weather was certainly better than we’re getting at home since we’ve been back!
  21. OK I’ll kick off. This week I’ve mostly been… Repairing my Tascam MD-CD1 display. Putting new belts in my Tascam 112 cassette deck as the old ones started squealing. Well they were 30 years old. Raiding the charity shops in town so now I have a bunch of 50p CDs to dub to MD so I can listen to them at work on my MZ-R700. Includes David Jason’s autobiography audio book which claims to be 12 hours long. Checking the disc lengths the 10 CDs will go nicely on three 74 minute MDs in LP4 🙂 Dub has begun! Two sessions in parallel! Dub 1: Sony CDP-XE530 to MDS-JE770 including CD-Text copy (hopefully but I’m not convinced…[*]) via TOSLINK and Control- A1(II). Dub 2: Sony CDP-D12 to MDS-E12 via coax then manual titling via PS/2. For both it seems I can use the small RM-D10E remote that came with the 770 to setup and initiate the CD-Sync recording. Cute! [*] It hasn’t copied titles. Either I’ve got the Control A1 lead still in my MDS-JE530 or the titles are copy protected… hmmm…
  22. Well we don’t seem to have one of these so I thought I’d kick one off. Nice for any off-the-cuff comments of what you’ve been up to (ideally with some MD content!) but you don’t think it warrants its own thread in the main forum…
  23. I use the wadding type Brasso. Indeed I used it yesterday to remove a few scratches from the screen of my MDS-E10. In this case I made a few moderate passes with the wadding, working in a circular motion, buffing off each time then doing another pass. Need to keep on the main bit of the screen though and stay away from any screen printed legends. On the E10 the VU meter levels are printed in white along the bottom edge. On the Techmoan example he gives it a good ole working to remove those scratches from the remote screen. In that instance he wasn’t working on anything particularly valuable, but it seems to demonstrate that once you are sure with the process it can be very effective.
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