MDX-400

On the 14WM it really means nothing... Becuase I've seen non A 14WMs and all they say is 1400mAh on them. The As I've seen say 1350mAh minimum but the nominal is still 1400mAh. Where I think it really matters is on the NH-9WM battery, which was long discontinued. Different letter revisions to that battery have capacities ranging from 900mAh (where it started I believe) to 1200mAh (which was the final/highest capacity for the 9WM).

Sounds like the cable got frayed and shorted somewhere or simply an internal problem/defect in the adatper caused the failure 240V is your AC input voltage, the output voltage is still going to be like 6V DC (or whatever it is the NH1 requires). I'm sure you can still find universal switching adapters in Australia that run off 240V AC input; furthermore some of the universals are even universal input as well, so you could probably find one of those. Barring that, as mentioned the Sony AC-Exx adapter (will be AC-E60 if it is 6V) will work as well as it is universal input voltage and provides up to 1000mA which will be enough for the NH1 I'm sure. As for the buzzing, yeah that is somewhat typical with certain switching adapters, unfortunately. You may or may not be able to eliminate that by getting a standard adapter instead of a switching one but the problem there is there is far more fluctuation in the DC output voltage on those types of adapters. You could over or undervoltage the unit either leading to the unit not charging or even worse, damage to the unit (though this isn't that likely unless you really overdo it as the unit will give an error message and go into protection with only a little extra voltage).

Wait did you "blow up" the NH1 or the AC adapter??? Because technically speaking the "charger" is in the unit itself, the AC adapter provides power to the unit for operation and charging purposes. If it is the AC adapter that has gone bad, you can either get a replacement Sony one (I wouldn't buy one direct from Sony as it will be expensive but you can find them on eBay at times) or a universal "digital switching" adapter (use only a switching type adapter on that unit to keep the voltage within tolerance). Either will work fine provided you have the right voltage and polarity. If you don't want to deal with a universal, and can't find the specific adapter for the NH1, find a Sony AC-Exx adpater instead. I'm gussing the NH1 uses a 6V adapter (what is it the AC-ES605 or something)? If it does use the AC-ES605, then you'd need the same adapter, or a universal switching rated at for at least 500mA; or, a Sony AC-E60 to replace it.

That's one of the things about OEL displays in general. They are vivid and bright as anything when in normal lighting conditions or in the dark--viewable with amazing sharpness and clarity in those situations. But in bright outdoors light/sunlight they become more difficult to read, which is kind of odd really considering how easy and eye-catching they are in darker conditions. Is there no contrast setting on the RH10? Or if there is one, does it still not help? I remember back in the day when I had my Motorola Timeport phone with an OEL display... I always had the contrast at near minimum because the display was so easily readable in most conditions. Only problem was the rare time I needed to see the display in sunlight, I couldn't. If I had increased the contrast it would have been a bit easier to read in the sun but then it would have been too bright anywhere other than outside on a sunny day; so I just left it at a low setting.

Thanks for the bday wishes everyone!

Yes, it does, lol. There's actually two motors, one is the spindle motor and the other is the "sled" motor. The "worm screw" you referred to above is what they call the sled If the sled's gearing and screw are okay then it is probably the sled motor that is at fault. From your description it does indeed sound like the sled motor though, and not the spindle motor (which spins the disc and does nothing else). Sled motor is a little more tricky to replace but with care and patience it shouldn't be too hard, particularly since service manuals are available on the EB, with dissasembly instructions within. Yeah tell me about it. In fact I've only ever once purchased an MD unit at a Canadian retail store--it was a refurb/open box N707 (with no accessories, just the bare unit) at Future Shop for just $40 CDN! That was when the N707 was perhaps a year old as a model, so it was not at all a bad price (I think it might have been because the guy that worked there lived at a building I was working as a security guard for at the time, lol). Unit was in great physical shape too, except for the door didn't close quite perfect. But hey I wasn't complaining! Actually what you describe sounds precisely like a failing pickup. Easy way to verify is to use my old "listen trick"... When you insert a disc and start playing it (or just when it tries to read the disc at first) put the unit up to your ear. You will literally hear if the pickup is operating properly by how it spins the disc and how the laser powers up/down and how the sled shuttles. Quick, sure read cycles indicate a properly working pickup. If you hear delayed, lenghty, cycles with shuttling-for-no-reason and quirky sounds you know the pickup is struggling and there's something up. Furthermore if you skip tracks and the output is not always instant when the track changes successively (when the unit is already spun up) same story.

It's actually an MZ-M100 I believe, not an M10; but it's the same thing as an MZ-RH10 but with Mac [uploading only] compatibility, hence the "M" model designation.

Vapourware, just like the other two Hi-MD "concept"/mock up units there. Definitely nice looking though. For some reason I can never forget that Hi-MD digital camera concept--it's like burned in my memory of the Hi-MD announcement--but I didn't remember that neckstrap player at all. The camera was eventually realised as the DH10P I guess. Seems the Hi-MD video walkman thingy (???) and that player never came to light.

Happy Birthday to both Chris & Jadeclaw!

The typical is actually 1400mAh, the minimum is 1350mAh.

Awesome! I'm sending you a PM!

Hmm it is tough to tell, but they do look on the fake side if you ask me as well. Here's an alternative eBay auction, which should be real. I've bought from this seller before as have other MD users, and they're a good seller. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=9714043745 A little bit more expensive but they look more authentic, thats for sure. I never had any problems with a 14WM I bought from them and it looked geniune to me.

Yes it is possible to do that, no soldering would be required to swap the pickup assemblies. However, you would have to calibrate the new assembly in your current unit. Actually an easier thing to do would be to swap the spindle motor from your current unit to the bad motor unit (if you're sure it is indeed the motor) and then it should work fine after that. Again no soldering required to change out those parts, just careful hands and caution with ribbon cables/connectors pretty much. You paid $300 for the R700? Where are you located? I think the US MSRP was something like $250, and it could be easily purchased for $200 or perhaps a bit less, IIRC... While I agree you have a point with the note about CD players, you should note that CD players don't record (and even CD-R decks record differently than do MO recorders). Furthermore, MD units are pretty scaled down. Lasers, mechanisms, assemblies and electronics are far smaller than with the majority of CD players. Also I've seen CD players fail within 3 years as well, though yes it is less common than MD units failing after that time period. At the same time, many people have had MD units last longer than 3 years even under pretty good use. Still I'd still say 3 years isn't horrible--not great but nothing shocking for an MD portable.

There are various reasons for this. I've run into quite a few US sellers that won't ship to Canada for example. However, I've also run into a lot of sellers that just list the auction as "Ships to: USA" and lists no other countries. Emailing them (particularly if they are a private seller and not a company) and asking usually (but not always) results in a "yes I can, it will cost $xx.xx to ship to Canada." Have you tried emailing the seller and asking, or are you just going off the auction? Shipping is rather expensive from UK to North America though, IMO; but then again everything in the UK is expensive

Hmm, it looks like it is up to the manufacturer to decide whether the analog output of the player is limited in its resolution or not... So since we haven't seen either players or discs yet we can't really say how widely used this [somewhat strange] analog video limitation will be. How many HD-capable TVs actually don't have either DVI[-D] or HDMI, anyway? It can't be that many. I think the only time I ever saw that was with 1st [HD] gen sets. Other than that any HD capable set I've seen has had DVI or HDMI (or both), so I don't see how it is that big a deal.

Yeah every unit is like that. I find it kind of annoying as well, particularly on Sony portables because the default is not track title, it's playing/elapsed track time. I wish that they would have started "remembering" or allowing you to set the default at some point, but they never did

On eBay they can be had for $20 US ($5 + $15 shipping). Sony DAPC USA charges $34 US + ship for the N10 cable and $47 US + ship for the NH1 cable. They use different part numbers though I believe they are electrically identical. Someone mentioned the cables might be different lengths though. Fairly ridiculous considering they could have used a mini-B on the dock at the very least, making a cable cost like $2-$5 (actually nothing for most ppl because most ppl have a mini-B for something or other) and it would also be available at a local store.

LOL MP3 playback. What a laugh But the JE580 was never released in the US so I doubt US customers would ever get to see the "benefit" of dropping that misnomer. Not only is it a mystery why it is any more expensive, but if it doesn't have an optical output, it's also a mystery why they named it the JE580 and not the JE490. I think that must be the first 500-series deck without an optical/digital output. Previously only 300 and 400 series decks have been without the optical output.

Is the disc itself getting blanked by the unit (meaning if you then put it in another unit it is still blank) or is it just that the unit can't read discs? If it is the former then stop using the unit as it will blank more discs--the OWH is at fault but if you disconnect it you could still use the unit as a player in most cases. If it is the latter it is the pickup that is gone and you've pretty much met the end of the useful life of the unit, unfortunately. Repair will be more costly than replacement with a similar used unit, and nearly as costly as replacing it with a brand new unit like a Hi-MD model. 3 years with moderate to heavy use is fair for an MD unit--if it is your only unit, used for record and playback of everything that would likely be in that category. Though you may have units lasting longer than that, 3 years isn't too bad really. The calibration procedure can be done in the service mode, yes, but it requires disassembly of the unit to find voltages at certain points on the board so you do have to know what you're doing; but, even doing this, it will not likely get your unit working again. The R700 is a unit that uses more advanced calibration (than older units I mean) so the unit auto-adjusts within a tolerance as the operating environment changes, the laser gets weaker, etc. Doing the calibration routines will likely just end you up with an "NG" message meaning the pickup is too weak/old to operate. I'm sorry to inform you but you will have to find a replacement for it.

I hate to say this but had you done even a little bit of research (checking this site/forum for example) before you purchasd the M100 you would have known all of that before you just went and bought it and figured that out on your own. I hardly think that is the case. Though your title says "Sony Suck b/c is it not Mac Compatible", I would say "Mac sucks because it is not anything compatible", LOL. Though you might not like Sony and blame them for your own unresearched purchase, I can guarantee you I dislike Apple computer even more than that

Yeah I know I can get one of these on eBay but I don't really feel like paying $15 US to have it shipped from China If anyone has a USB cable for either an MZ-N10 or MZ-NH1 (it's the same cable) lying around (perhaps from a broken unit or something) and wants to sell it, let me know.

Nope, no warnings it's good stuff. Manufacturer is actually GP (Gold Peak) one of the few good non-Japanese cell manufacturers, IMO. Not a bad price you got either

JE580 eh? Never heard of that till just now! Funny that it even looks like the JE480. I'm guessing that the only difference would be an optical output? Since it is a 500-series deck it would normally follow that it would have an optical output. But for $300 more? LOL they have to be kidding. Not like you can't add a optical out to a JE4x0 for like $20 anyway I'm guessing that unit was not relased in many areas? Certainly didn't get released in the US.

MD Decks have been discontinued in Canada for some time. I think the MDS-JE440 was probably the last MD deck marketed officially in Canada. I agree that cassettes on boomboxes and shelf systems are retarded though, but that happens in both Canada and the US. MD bookshelf systems that were offered in either country were few and far between and you certainly can't find any these days, that's for sure. What's worse is cassette functionality in these types of equipment is severely limited/flawed and pretty much just thrown in there for compatibility, or something to add to the CD so it isn't there all on it's own, lol. Pretty much an afterthought. Usually the cassette sections are only capable of Type-I cassette equalisation, have no Dolby NR, 1-motor drive, and horrible rated frequency response, nevermind the actual FR which is even worse, LOL. Now not that anyone wants to use cassettes--those things are just dust collectors; but if there's the rare chance someone might want to, they'll be sick from the terrible quality (and likely blame it on just being a cassette eventhough it's probably just the deck in that unit being garbage). The same also extends to double DIN car stereos. All the North American ones are CD and tape; in Japan and in other parts of the world they are all CD and MD. The question is, then, Why not MD? It doesn't sell no, but I would bet that if a lot more mini/shelf/boombox/portable stereos had MD in the past, a lot more people would have actually been using it. In Canada, MD barely ever was--worse than in the US. For most of the format's life it was always pricey here. That coupled with poor marketing/sales pretty much doomed it. Now it's just too little too late. Hi-MD other than the few portables we have is likely never going to be a reality in Canada--there aren't even many other (non-portable) Hi-MD units out there period, even for other countries.

What OS are you using? Do you have a version of MCrew specifically designed for your OS? I'm not 100% sure how MCrew works but I would think that it would install a sound driver for the MN20 for the OS. If we're talking about a Windows PC you'd have to make sure to select that device as your sound output device in the control panel's "Sounds and Audio Devices" section. I would think if you're using MCrew software to playback it would have the default as using the MN20 to output sound though... Still I'd check on the sound card selected for playback. Though I can't be sure, It does sound like some kind of driver issue to me.