El Barto

I have a Sony MZN-510 that I got free through a contest. I wanted it mainly to record, and I chose it knowing that it did not have a mic input. Now I'm wondering if I should sell it and get a second hand unit which does have a mic in, or should I build a mic preamp, such as this one. I'd like to keep it all as simple as possible, but if I can have more control/better quality out of a homebuilt preamp, then perhaps that's the better way to go. Any alternate suggestions or preamp "howtos" are also welcome. Thanks.

Greatings, I'm a newbie here and to minidiscs in general. I have been wanting to buy a minidisc player for quite some time to record music (to audibly "jot down" ideas...I have a nice recording setup, but I wanted something simple to just click "record") and now, to record my standup comedy sets. I just won a contest in which I can pick between a number of prizes, and to my luck, the MZ-N510 is one of those prizes. I know this particular unit doesn't have a mic in, but I can somehow record through the line-in? Is there a downside to this? Will these homemade mic plans on this site make for a good mic for these situations, or is there a low cost alternative? And forgive my total ignorance, but I believe I'll need either a battery pack and/or a preamp...what are the differences? Any other suggestions you may have will be appreciated...thanks! Great website by the way...sorry if this information is often repeated...I did a search but the information received wasn't detailed enough.