smkranz

This short pictorial and review shows the Gomadic "AA Emergency Battery Extender" with the two different tips I have. One is the Palm Multi-Connector tip for use in charging my Palm T5, and the other tip I just recently purchased is for charging both a Motorola Razr v3 phone, and my MZ-RH1, both of which use the same mini-USB plug. (The beer is a very nice Spaten Oktoberfest. It is self-powered and does not require a charger.) Charging unit specifications from the Gomadic web site: Emergency Battery Back-up Unit: Cable Length: 6 inches Holds: 4 X AA Alkaline batteries Output: 5vdc * Compatible with NiCad, NiMH rechargeable and alkaline batteries * Integrated diode protects from reverse battery assembly These shots are the front and rear of the unit (rear photo with battery door removed). Also pictured are the two tips I have, which simply plug onto the end of the 6 inch cord. On the top of the unit is an On - Off switch, and on the front is a green LED when the power is on: I have previously used the Gomadic charger for my Palm T5 on an extended bus trip, and it worked fine to charge and power the Palm. Just recently, I purchased the additional tip for the Motorola Razr v3 phone and used it on a camping trip to recharge the phone. Again, it worked as advertised. For both the Palm and Razr phone applications, the web site says it will re-charge those devices from a discharged state 2-3 times on one set of batteries. I just recharged my MZ-RH1 with this device earlier today. I let the RH1 play continuously until the battery charge indicator began blinking...and I let it go on blinking for a pretty good while, but I shut it off before it totally discharged and shut down. Put a fresh set of AA's into the charger, connected it to the RH1 (which was powered off), and flicked the power switch on the charger to ON. The RH1's display came on and blinked "charging", along with the "time left" indicator which started at 60 minutes. Sure enough, after an hour the RH1 display turned off, and powering up the RH1 shows a fully charged battery meter. My guess is that since it only takes an hour to recharge the RH1, this device should provide at least 2-3 recharges on one fresh set of AA alkalines. I don't know what (if any) kind of extended run-time this device would provide to the RH1 if used in tandem with a fully charged gumstick...i.e. if it was connected and powered on while the RH1 was recording a long show, etc. The AA charging unit with one tip costs $19.95 plus shipping. Additional tips are about $5. http://www.gomadic.com/motorola-razr-v3-em...y-extender.html

This thread prompted me to look at an external AA battery charger I already own for my Palm T5. It uses exchangeable tips for a multitude of devices, including the Motorola V3 Razr. The charger uses 4 AA batteries and it works great for charging the Palm. The charger unit seems to be the same device, they just supply different tips for each different device it can charge...and you can buy additional tips for other devices you own. Now, I'll just need to order the additional tip for the V3 Razr for another $5 and I'll be set: http://www.gomadic.com/motorola-razr-v3-em...y-extender.html

Speechless, but ROFL... Can anyone top this? http://www.glumbert.com/media/tonguetwister.html

This lengthy (and very recent) thread discusses this. Bottom line is, get them through a Chinese eBay seller for about a third of the cost of going through authorized Sony channels or resellers such as www.audiocubes.com.

Well, hot-damn. I just bought a new black V3 Razr today myself...this phone is slicker than deer guts on a door knob. Now it's even more slicker ( ) by virtue of being able to use the same USB -> mini-USB cable to sync and swap files between phone and PC using the Motorola Phone Tools software...saved me $20 by not having to buy another of that particular cable. Thanks a heap for the tip.

There were numerous posts (as I recall, before the forum crashed a couple of years or so ago and was rebuilt in its current format...I can't find them any more) about using the higher capacity NH-14WM battery in the NH-900 which inexplicably came equipped with a lesser battery. The concensus was that the NH900 could safely (and fully) charge the higher capacity battery though the unit could get quite warm, and the battery could swell and cause it to get stuck. I don't remember reading whether the swelling goes down on its own after awhile, or if once swollen it is forever swollen (which seems to be the same fate as my waistline ). The safer alternative of using an external Sony charger for the higher capacity batteries was discussed, though I'd wonder whether they wouldn't swell by charging that way as well. Is the swelling caused by the charging voltage...length of time on/in the charger...don't know. Maybe the careful use of some needle-nosed pliers would help you extract the stuck battery without damage to the unit, if it is still stuck.

Same problem discussed in this earlier thread (below)...be prepared to receive the *silver* remote and not a black one. When you contact Sony, it helped me to use as a reference, the fact that it uses the same remote as the MZ-NH900 (different color, but...). This way, they were able to pull up the correct remote...maybe now that it's been a couple more weeks, they can find you a black replacement remote. And don't forget to take the ferrite core off the defective remote and put it on the new one in the same location. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=16285

The behavior you describe is not normal. When the music just stops, what is going on with the display...does it look like the track is still playing, is it stopped, etc.? Not that it should make any difference, but how did you transfer the music onto the disc...i.e. live recording, imported via SonicStage, from CD with Simple Burner, etc.? Before you send in the unit for repair, I would try two things: Buy a new blank Hi-MD disc, load it up with tunes, and see if the behavior can be reproduced (i.e. to see if it is a defective disc);If the behavior is repeated, see if your seller will take it back for exchange as defective, rather than sending it off for repair.Good luck.

Here are two LIP-4WM batteries, the bottom one is the original, the top one is one of the new ones from China. As far as fit and finish, they appear identical to the naked eye. First the fronts... [attachmentid=1909] Curious...notice the recycling notice on the original (for the U.S. market)...are the batteries that are sold outside the U.S. like the ones at the top with the generic "recycle" logo? Here are the backs... [attachmentid=1910] The only discernable difference to my eyes here are the three letters at the bottom right...the original is "FDA" and the new ones say "DHA". Any idea what those designations mean? OH...one more difference. Along one edge is yet another series of numbers, the original being on the bottom and the replacement from China being the top one. They are different only in the last two digits (11 vs. 21). [attachmentid=1911] Interesting...looks to me like they are the Sony part number. Go to the Sony Direct Accessories page, enter the number 175642521 as a Part Number and up pops a lithium battery ($49.95)...no photo, though. I had thought I'd seen that battery there for something like $80 in the past...? http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/web/productSearch.do Entering the same number with "11" on the end instead of "21" yields no results. Might that be the part number for Sony Japan?

The two batteries purchased from eBay seller "liebflea", arrived yesterday, 14 days from the date of purchase. Will charge them up and put 'em through some paces.

In addition to his excellent counsel and insights on forum issues, Bob is an upstanding, honorable and cheery fella to do business with. Thanks again...

Find a clear screen protector product such as for a PDA, GameBoy or PSP, cut it to the size of the screen and apply.

End of the story: a new MC38EL, the correct remote for my MZ-RH1, arrived today from Laredo, Texas. As expected, it is silver in color rather than black. That's fine by me. It works just like it's supposed to. The new remote did not come with one of the ferrite cores attached to it, so I took the one off the defective black remote, and put it on the new remote. Happy here...

[attachmentid=1889] This Case Logic MP3 Universal Travel Kit arrived the other day. Looks like I'll have to make something myself if I want it to be *just so*...this one is OK but it is considerably thicker when folded up, than the first case I found above. I will prolly use it...until I see something better. The stretchy elastic pocket on the right-hand side is clearly made for an iPod or smaller player. The RH1 does not fit in it. You can put the minidisk player in the larger (top) mesh pocket on the left-hand side where it is held fairly securely, and use the stretchy elastic pocket for something else like your remote or even some discs. The way it's shown below, it'll even safely hold my PX100 phones... [attachmentid=1895]

Also, please detail whether all tracks transferred except for the last one when you got the error message. In other words, if you got a 100% message then presumably the tracks which transferred prior to the error messsage should have made it over intact. Yes/No? Similarly, try playing the tracks directly from the MD using Sonic Stage...all of them. Does that work? Something similar to what you describe occurred to me one time, which I believe was a corrupt recording on a Hi-MD disc which I have used successfully both before and after this event. I was uploading a multiple-track recording to the PC using SS 3.? and one track just wouldn't transfer. Everything else did. Upon trying to play that one bad track directly on the MD through the PC using Sonic Stage, I determined that a segment of the track was bad...it would not play all the way through. I advanced the playback status bar incrementally through the track a couple of seconds at a time, and it eventually picked up and played through to the end. It was about a 15-second gap which would not play, but it has not happened since then, even using the same disc. I suppose I should pitch that disc and use another one for field recordings...I wouldn't want it to happen again to an important recording.

I agree, it's a pretty lame article...reads like the guy wrote it to fill space. But I guess I also don't share the propensity of some people (even here ) to bash the iPod and take glee in any negative news having to do with it. I don't have an iPod but my kids (three of them, ages 16-20) each have one, and if I didn't need my MD's for recording, I would probably own one, too. They play music...a ton of it (without having to swap discs )...and they do it pretty doggone well. They are definitely slick and cool. Each of our kids' has performed flawlessly, under conditions of use which frankly would have relegated either of my minidiscs to the dumpster a long time ago. There are tons of cool accessories (Apple and third-party brands) available *just* for them, only because there are sooo many of them out there in the hands of very happy consumers. And from our personal experiences with Apple, via internet purchases, telephone support, and the brick & mortar Apple Stores, their customer service is top rate in my book. [i can't avoid the obvious comparison with Sony Support's current -yesterday- inability to even identify the part for a replacement remote for my brand new MZ-RH1.]

First, I insist hope that you will upload a couple of recordings of your jams to the gallery...your instrumentation sounds like stuff I would enjoy. You probably would be OK using Automatic if you want to try it out, but I still think overall you will make better recordings with manual settings. If ease of use is your concern, the RH1 will retain the Recording settings, so you would not have to re-set it for Manual levels each time you record. Your results should be the judge of what settings you use...there's no reason not to increase your Manual level a skooch past 22 if the recordings come out too quiet, as long as you still have a little bit of head room. [Also, make sure you have a relatively strong battery in the mic.] Depending on where your MD & microphone are situated in relation to the player (instructor?) in class, you might want to consider using High Mic Sensitivity there (but not for your jam sessions), particularly if your instructor has a quiet voice. Play around with it in your living room...set it up and speak from across the room to see how it responds at different settings. Personally, I wouldn't judge my microphone-buying decisions on the recording mode you use. I would make that decision based on getting the best mic I could afford that suits my needs. That said, if you are generally happy with the results you get with the Sony mic you already have, keep using it. I use that same mic for recording acoustic music (banjo, fiddle & guitar) around the campfire, and I think it does perfectly well for that use. No stand-alone charger is available for the battery. Just make sure they're both charged up from the RH1.

New Remote Commander received today. Oops, it's the wrong one, the non-display model that comes with the RH10, not the RH1. Call to Sony...get transferred to someone else. Heh...she can't find ANY parts/accessories for the MZ-RH1. When she tries doing that, what comes up are parts/accessories for the MZ-RH10. How's that for cool? I suspect she was probably pulling the info from the same Sony Direct Accessories page that we can all access, because it does it there, too. I informed her that the remote I need is the same model (RM-MC38EL) that came with an older minidisc, the MZ-NH900. She was able to find that one alright, so I'll wait a few more days to see what I receive this time. Now, what I will no doubt receive is a silver-colored remote rather than the black one that matches Baby's color. But that's not really a concern to me, and actually I kind of prefer the silver one better because the raised lettering marking the various buttons is easier (for me) to read. What is more of a concern, though, is whether Sony - America even has parts to service the MZ-RH1 since their own support associates cannot access information to get me the correct replacement remote. If I hadn't known about the remote model # being the same as the NH900, I think it would have been a loonnng phone call.

Received a note from eBay seller the day following my purchase, that the batteries had been shipped. He also provided a tracking number and a tracking web site...but the web site is in Chinese and is useless to me.

Or, another one like the Quantaray case from Ritz Camera, that I already have for my NH900: http://members.aol.com/smkranz/minidisc/minidisc.htm I could get another of these, but I want something smaller and packable, that will slip into a briefcase or duffle for ease of travel. This thing is a piece of luggage all by itself.

Might be worth considering, though I'll have to look to see whether that can be done without totally destroying it because I don't know whether there is a "lining" into which something more rigid can be inserted. I've found something else online that might be a better option: http://www.caselogic.com/universal_mp3_tra...m?modelid=66180

Ahh...you're a young 'un. "Back in the day", Sony's Betamax was said to have the better technology, whereas the VHS crowd had better marketing. We know who won...kind of like Sony's Minidisc vs. MP3 players, iPods, etc. There just weren't enough Beta "purists" to keep up the fight, and Sony had to cave. [but I still vividly recall Sony saying that it would not abandon its Beta fan base...] And to be truthful, from what I could tell when we broke down and bought our first VHS machine, there was no discernable difference in picture quality anyway (which might be a function of the fact that we always had crap TVs ). For a brief time, I seem to recall that when Beta was in its death spiral, Sony still had a price advantage with its models with stereo sound, as VHS models with stereo sound were still very expensive. But that didn't last long. Our first two VCRs were Betamax...the first was an NEC brand which we bought with wedding money (1984, so I'm telling my age a bit), and the Sony model I still have is the second. But, I got the message when studios started cutting back on the number of titles released on Beta...then shortly thereafter all the rental stores stopped carrying them altogether, and the Beta holdouts like me were hosed.

There are two...the top one (VHS) is a cheap ($60) GE model from Wal-Mart. The bottom one is a Sony "Super Beta" Hi-Fi job. Still works, and every so often I come across an old Beta tape that I want to record into the computer and convert to DVD.

The only thing I would want from this case setup is a little more structure. It is a good size and very convenient, but it is also very soft and squishy. If the front and back covers were a little more rigid, it would also be more protective.

What a mess. But it's my mess...and I know exactly where everything is (mostly). Note the ubiquitous MAG flashlight. [attachmentid=1860]