victim311

After much deliberation I bought a charger for another Sony model of minidisc player. It fits my machine and works perfectly. Everything is now resolved. My thanks go to all of you for your interest and helpful advice.

Brilliant! That looks the part and very reasonable. Thank you again.

I'm recording in real time either from my stand alone minidisc player or from my CD player using the optical line in. Taking all the advice that the you and the other members have given me I'm definitely going to get an AC adaptor that meets these specifications - 230V input, 3V output, 50Hz, 500mA. Those are the specs on the Sony charger for the MZ N510. Many thanks to all who have commented. I'm glad I found this site!

I did wonder whether or not an off-the-shelf charger would be OK. Good advice. Thank you.

Thanks for this information. I have decided to try and source an AC adaptor although they do seem pretty scarce for some reason. I came across a reasonably priced cable, sold by a company called myVolts recently. They claim that it will power a Sony MZ N510 through a laptop. I'm a bit sceptical but for the price I may give it a shot if I fail to locate the proper charger. Thanks again.

Hello again. I've tried all the modes you suggested but the result is the same. The 'LOBATTERY' appears in the display window just after the recording stops. The 'user manual' I downloaded is simply titled 'Operating Instructions' and I've just found a short paragraph in small print that says, 'it is recommended that you use an AC adaptor when recording'. It doesn't say you MUST use it. But, clearly if the recording mode is as power-hungry as you suggest then I'm going to have to get one. It's not a big deal because, like I think I said I use the machine for playback. I have a stand alone minidisc player/recorder which I have been using for recording but this is quite old and starting to show signs of wear and tear. Thanks very much for your interest and help. I appreciate it.

Hello, and thanks for your interest and prompt reply. The unit is in excellent condition and the battery compartment is very clean and dry. As I said, the machine plays MDs perfectly and in fact the battery life on playback seems far better than other Sony minidisc players I have owned. I've tried two different, new Duracell batteries with the same result but I do have some rechargeable batteries that I will fully charge and give them a go. As I also said, the manual that I downloaded for this machine seems to suggest that the mains charger and battery should be plugged in. What I don't understand is why it records for about three minutes and then simply stops.

I bought a used Sony MZ N510 portable minidisc player/recorder a while back. I use it primarily for playback. It didn't come with a mains charger or battery. I've been using a standard Duracell AA8 battery to power it. This has all been good. The other day I thought I'd try recording an MD. It recorded about three minutes and then stopped. The display said 'Lobattery' but it was a brand new battery. I downloaded a manual but, frankly I couldn't understand most of it. It seemed to suggest that in order to record I need to plug it into the mains using the appropriate charger. Can anyone clarify this for me, please?