kgallen

I seem to have some sort of shield symbol on my icon. Christopher, the site owner, is back I wonder if the forum has been upgraded?

Many of the Sony wall wart supplies will do, you don’t need the exact model that came with the machine. Check: mains voltage matches your local voltage; output voltage is as required; barrel plug size and polarity is correct. Here in the UK there are generally a fair few for sale on the auction site. It’s often worth looking for one bundled with a faulty machine as sold alone buyers can ask for inflated prices.

Ah come on, don't give up so quickly! :-) Make sure any cables are clean and seated properly. :-D No commitment these days you see... Good job there are these forums!

Well you should get 10 hours of recording out of an AA, so I wouldn't say that! Just that recording requires the laser in high power mode, whereas for reading/playback the laser is not only in a low power mode but is also only on periodically since it can burst-read data into the buffer. Along with being able to do the same with the spindle motor, this is how they can get such long playback times out of a single small battery. You wouldn't get that from your modern day iPod/smart phone! No other obvious ideas at the moment unless someone clever like @NGY can come up with something. Sorry!

My entry above is from the Service Manual for this exact machine (I have one or two too...). You can record on battery with these portable machines no problem, per the table. Of course in theory a mains supply is more reliable if you are doing a longggg.... record session, although having a battery in too gives you a nice inbuilt UPS should the mains fail :-) Rechargables are usually inferior to alkaline AA in this respect. Couple of reasons: (i) the fresh cell voltage is usually lower (1.25V vs 1.5V) (ii) the discharge curve is different between the different battery chemistry and Sony probably calibrated their curve on alkaline AA - battery level can be misleading [remaining charge calculation is complex - see how "badly" even modern smart phones do in this respect). However I digress from your recording query and at this point I don't have a good answer for you. If you are able to source a Sony fat-plug to try with your machine the results would be interesting. From your initial report, this suggests a power supply instability issue that is tripped by the higher supply current required during the record phase. But this may be a red-herring! Can you try SP/LP2/LP4 modes and see if there is a change in behaviour? Can you try a different disc? What did you mean by "I downloaded a manual but, frankly I couldn't understand most of it." The User or Service Manual? If Service Manual, then unless you have electronics background then yes I understand...

Recording is more power hungry than playback but should still be possible for many hours on AA battery: Can you confirm the battery contacts are clean and not corroded? Can you try another AA cell from a different source (i.e. not from the same packet).

I look forward to the diagnosis. I'm not sure I can help at this point but shout if needed. You are in the best hands with @NGY. Thanks for posting the SM - added to my collection!

MDM7 drive load belt: 17mm dia (53mm circumference) by 0.8mmx0.8mm square. Charlie at Linx Audio had some of this size made especially for us. I've just fitted one to my MDS-E12 and it works perfectly. It matches the dimensions of the original (good) one I removed to try the new one. See his eBay shop listing here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194744734027?hash=item2d57b0d14b:g:1xoAAOSwaT5gVMlR He's a UK seller but he'll ship worldwide. No relation other than a customer.

I've just fitted one of the above belts to my MDS-E12 (MDM7SC drive) and it works nicely. Nice and smooth. Comparing to the (good) one I just removed, it is a perfect match for diameter and thickness. Good one Charlie!

Good tip! Let us know how you get on with it, and post a few photos. :-)

This is Charlie's UK eBay shop if you're looking: https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/linxaudio These are the 17 x 0.8mm square belts. I'm going in for a set of 10 to see how these work in my MDS-E12 which wasn't so happy with my earlier 17 x 1.2mm ones... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17mm-Internal-Diameter-53mm-Length-0-8mm-Square-Cross-section-Rubber-Drive-Belt/193976337464?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

See if this similar thread has any ideas for you:

Hi Colin, Welcome! When you say "faulty" how have you determined this? Is the "pin" broken off? (Usually you will be able to see a short blue and a short white pin, one being the write protect detect and the other being the MD-MO/MD-CD detect - based on pits in the MD disc case). Realistically we've found the most practical way to solve all drive issues, is to swap the drive from a donor machine - if you're sure the switch is not repairable (i.e. not just sticky/dirty). It's unlikely you'll find a replacement part - it's not a standard off-the-shelf part unfortunately. Kevin

We've had lots of posts recently from users who've rekindled their love for the format since exploring their lofts and bringing down their minidisc machines and discs, or buying machines cheaply on sites like eBay. Certainly in the UK, second hand sales seem very boyant - it's rare to see a machine [that isn't listed at a stupid price] that doesn't have several bids on it. Minidisc was featured in a recent article on the BBC News in such a context: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55808632 "Graeme Patfield, a communications consultant on the UK's south coast, finds mental solace in older tech. He is another advocate of musical purity via dated machines. His Sony Walkman has been playing mini-discs copied over from a PC for nearly 20 years. "It sounds so much cleaner and sharper than anything else and it goes for ages on one AA battery," he says, He rediscovered it during lockdown and finds its physical routine summons up pleasing memories. "It clunks. You hear it spin when it's doing something." For Mr Patfield the mini-disc serves as a tool for mindfulness, a movement that calls for people to settle their consciousness in the moment. "You sit down and focus on the one task without anything else taking your attention away." "

Charlie, I understand you're not keen into getting into the risky business of what fits what, but we did identify the list in the below post of the machines that use this Sony part number and hence the belt you're now procuring.

Fantastic, cheers Charlie! Add me to the list... Kevin

@Daggers8 thanks for sharing your ongoing story, keep it up!

Hi Jonas, It sounds like you're the person for the job! Any low level/hardware stuff I could probably help. Now you're talking DLLs and .NET you're on your own - I am certainly interested but my C coding is not at that standard! However there are plenty of similarly capable contributors on the forum (nudge @sfbp) so make sure you shout up if you get in a pickle. Kevin

No surprises there I guess! There are a number of ongoing projects on the Forum related to PC transfer, titling and the like. If you develop anything, even something basic, then come back and share it, there will be interest. On my part I have MDS-E12 machines with RS232 and I've been meaning to have a play at some point. I suspect the E11 and E12 share pretty much the same protocol. Let us know what you're up to - you don't need to come back with a canned/polished product! This is your thread, so use it to share your ongoing thoughts and experiments. We look forward to them! Kevin

Try this page for the RS232 protocol: https://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-E11.html It's RS232 electrically which is a standard, maybe still on your PC. It's what you send over it that is the creative bit.

I wouldn't say that yet. You seem to have some knowledge and are happy to work safely inside the machine so if you make some careful step by step checks then you may open up some ideas or fix the problem. We don't have a definitive answer for you. But at this point I would assume a simple problem needs tracking down since you know the machine works. Like: have you tried different disks. Is there any difference across brands? If you carefully apply a little pressure (instead of heat) to parts of the frame does that change anything? Does the disc look like it is spinning smoothly? Is the disk seating properly? Are there different noises under different conditions of above? When you did the heating (which I advise no more), which parts were you heating which had an effect? Feed us with some information then we might have other ideas. We don't have the machine in front of us, you do. Just treat it gently and try ideas carefully. Otherwise it will become a piece of scrap. Kevin

Cheers Charlie, no panic, days are fine. Better to have a good answer than a quick answer!

Internal diameter 17mm (54mm circumference), 0.8mm x 0.8mm square section. So your 17x1.2 belt but instead 17x0.8.

Fantastic! Thanks for the quick response and followup! Another user was just querying belts. Sourcing the correct one - or at least the correct size in good quality, is an ongoing problem! It seems over lockdown, many users are pulling their machines from the loft and rekindling their love...! Cheers, Kevin

Hi Charlie, I've been a regular user of your 17 x1.2mm belt, but I've not always been successful with it, even in the same machine/drive that has previously worked. The Sony part that I'm replacing is 0.8mm square cross section. Is 17 x 0.8mm a size you might be able to source? The Sony part is 4-227-025-01 (not that this is much use to anyone, but recording here as the part for MDM7 series drives used in many Sony consumer and pro machines from ~2000 of Type R or Type S using 2662 DSP).