kgallen

Yes my 530 is now perfect!

Yes, left and right << >> (might need to be in the Service menu). But the OWH will move with the OP rather than separately so this won’t gain you clearer access to the laser.

The Sanwa LP1 fits and works fine. I was able to check and set my MDS-JE530. Although it turns out the laser wasn’t the problem just oxidised ribbon cables!

I ended up buying the LP1 after spending over 100GBP on a good quality second hand Ophir LPM but the head just didn’t fit...

If this is for an MD machine, getting that head near the laser will be a real challenge. I’ve made the same mistake myself...

DIN UNLOCK only refers to the digital inputs - TOSLINK (optical) or coax. Recording using phono analogue inputs with no source will just give you recorded quietness. Note however that a single RCA/phono plug is used for coax digital - but of course using the single orange-ringed digital port rather than one of the red/black ringed analogue ports! Can you clarify? DIN UNLOCK means the deck can't 'lock' onto the data stream seen on a digital input. The deck is looking for a very specific format of data called S/PDIF which is a protocol to carry digital music data from one machine to another. In the case of CD/MD this would be two channels of uncompressed audio data. That two MD decks give you the same DIN UNLOCK message suggests, much as the original thread, that the source device is either not sending anything, sending stuff in a format that can't be understood by the MD deck or there is some interconnect issue - broken cable, incorrect interconnection or incorrect input selection. If the CD is connected to the MD via 2x RCA/phono then this is an analogue transfer and the MD input selector switch should be set as such. It is then impossible to get DIN UNLOCK - such a message makes no sense for an analogue input and suggests the MD input selector is in the wrong position. First thing is to go back to your TOSLINK cable, plugged into the CD output. Ensure you can see a red spot in the end you are about to plug into the MD deck. Then ensure you plug this into an optical INPUT on your MD deck. Your MD deck might have optical in and out, and the connector is the same, so check. Then ensure you configure the MD to look at the input you've used. Again your MD deck might have multiple digital inputs, e.g OPT1, OPT2, COAX, so make sure you select the correct one. For TOSLINK this would be OPT1 or OPT2. If you've connected with an RCA/phono coax cable in the orange-ringed ports then of course COAX is the appropriate selection. As you now have two MD decks, you could try linking those with your TOSLINK cable and see if you can record from one to the other. You could try this both ways round. This allows you to confirm the MD decks are ok in this respect, that you know how to set the input source and that your TOSLINK cable works. Combinations of this should allow you to isolate if the problem is with any of these pieces of kit. When experimenting, change one thing at a time and write down which combinations work and which don't. And let us know here what models of CD and MD machines you're using then we can be more specific on machine settings. Kevin

if you’re interested in the software side of things have you seen this recent thread?

From what I can discern from the Service Manual, one of them is the "main" one, with support for vari-speed and the other (or maybe the two together) is to support the 4x high-speed dubbing function. The DSP is the CXD2536 and is ATRAC1 v3.5 according to the minidisc.org page for this unit. Enjoy - certainly plenty of toys to play with on that deck!

Another "random" picture on SCMS copy bit values, this time from the Sony MDS-B5 Service Manual (click thumbnail):

Too many AV decoders hanging round the house in bits have tipped her over the edge...

If he wasn’t the ‘chief mod’ we’d ban him for the shameless sales plug :-P

We don’t care if you’ve ‘spammed out’ (I don’t think you did). What we do know is that’s a great story and the squad here will be delighted you’ve ‘rejoined the fold’. In addition it’s nice to see a different machine in use and hear about how you’ve used it’s features. Thank you also for documenting your approach so thoroughly, I’m sure others will find either direct use or inspiration from your approach, even if they don’t write back on here. So ‘welcome back’ and I hope you continue to get joy from your past recordings and next exploits on your new machine! At some point I’ll find the service manual and attempt to answer your technical questions. Regards the laser use maybe this was used only as a playback deck hence the zero record time? Anyway looks like you have a gem! Kevin

(Off topic) You made me panic now about how much longer my beloved from-new 520 might last! So I went into SM to read the odo meters and the results suggest I've been grossly under-using my machine and I should give myself a good talking to! r=46h and p=174h (Iop=55.8/55.4). My MZ-R700 that I have at work (and I'm listening to now) I suspect will have many more play hours on it as I listen to it for many (office) hours each day. When I find the SM I think I'll have a look at the odo counts (or maybe not, maybe it will scare me too much!). Also off topic (and a random irrelevant observation!) I was just listening to an audio book (Red Dwarf 'The Last Human') which I recorded in LP4 (see elsewhere rambling post) and was interested to hear the laser return home a full 1 minute and 34 seconds before the audio finished. This was a longer memory buffer than I expected and would relate to a SP buffer of about 23 seconds. The MZ-R700 is a "G-Protection" model so it seems they doubled the "usual" 10 second buffer. I'll get my coat...

Interesting. Aren’t they the same e-line flimsy case with the same display and an updated drive chipset but still cost reduced to hell and back?

Should’a saved that for when @NGY gives us the magic recipe to make his fantastic LPM project!

You're gonna have to give us a run down on what you've got now, you've been racking them up recently! You must have half a dozen at least from the 4xx series. You must have a few MDM-7-series drives in stock now.

:-D Love it! I think the next purchase is going to have to be some more Ikea shelving to stack all these machines on! A silver one eh? And with the remote? That's a rarity! What's that silver knob on the LHS of the front panel?

@NGY definitely not chipping in! No one ‘owns’ this thread! This is all good info and as @M1JWR says, we need it!

The EEPROM contents won't match the laser characteristics so some reprogramming will be required to avoid the laser getting damaged. I'd refer to the Service Manual which usually specifies what needs doing when certain parts are replaced. There is usually a section on what to do if the EEPROM is replaced, which is effectively your scenario with the BD board swap.

If you put the 440 drive back in, any different? (The ole tarnished ribbon cable trick!)

Why suspect the spindle motor? As we know lots of things need to happen and be good before the CPU will start operating the drive. As you’ve got the drive out it is easy to put a resistance meter across the big blobs of solder on the motor connections and check for a few ohms of continuity.

Hi. Can you elaborate? What is the ‘safe mode pin’ - the CPU reset jumper or something else?

Indeed, sir.

I'm going to row back on this slightly... I had an idea to try the RM-D15M remote from my MDS-JE520 with these decks - this is the larger remote with the 1-24 number keys. What I found, is that the MDS-JE480 does actually implement Auto Pause and it works, I tried it with a disc, and it tells you on the screen (see photo). You can't access Auto Pause (or Auto Space) from any menu or button on the deck as we found above, but with this larger remote, which has the A.Space button, you can indeed circle Auto Off, Auto Space, Auto Pause. I didn't try out Auto Space - but again, that is not available from the deck menus, but it is accessible from a remote. (From the Setup Menu, you can enable/disable Smart Space, which is the means to get the deck to trim the inter-track space to 3s if there is an audio break of >30s). The MDS-JE440 didn'y play the same game though, so no Auto Pause (or Auto Space) there, sorry folks. (Sorry for the terrible quality photo, I shouldn't have opened the blinds fully - but you can see the "Auto Pause" on the screen and the model is the MDS-JE480.)

Possibly - the axle that the laser sled slides along might need a de-fluff.