Hungerdunger

That's the best price I've seen, and way below the price you'll pay in a Sony Centre (£250 when I last checked) Yes the restrictions can be lifted, but when I did it I didn't notice any difference. There's a thread here about how to do it, but I'm in a bit of a rush and can't find it right now.

You might want to expand on that phrase for our American cousins who probably have no idea of the joys of spending a week or two in such a high class holiday experience as Butlins.

I agree with you completely, but then I'm getting on a bit (in my 50s) so maybe it's an age thing. I already take my Etymotic ER20 ear plugs to music concerts, and I'm thinking of trying them on my next visit to the cinema - maybe they will help balance out the sound.

Well, you've got another six days until the auction ends, by which time maybe you'll have found out whether you need a machine which plays Hi-MD discs. The N1 was a good machine when it was launched - if you have too much time on your hands you can read a very detailed review of it here. If your son is able to check what type of discs the Company uses, tell him that if they are not Sony discs they are NOT Hi-MD. If they are Sony discs but do not have "Hi-MD 1GB" on the front of the disc they are NOT Hi-MD, in which case the N1 will be able to play them. Incidentally, if you decide to go for the N1, don't install the OpenMG software which was rubbish to say the least. Come back here for advice on where to download its successor SonicStage.

I'm probably not the best person to ask, but as no one else has answered yet here are a couple of comments: First of all, you should be aware that MiniDisc is a dying format, in that the only machine still being produced is the MZ-RH1. Having said that, many of us will keep using them for years to come and there should be plenty of second hand machines around for a while. Trying to keep things simple, there was the basic MiniDisc recorder. With this you can record 80 minutes onto an 80 minute disc. Then later models (like the Sharps you mention) had a long-play facility so that you could record 160 minutes at LP2 or 320 minutes at LP4, sacrificing a certain amount of quality. More recently Sony launched Hi-MD. These machines could not only record and playback in the previous formats mentioned but could also use new technology to "squeeze" more recording time onto the 80 minute discs, and could also utilise new Hi-MD discs which have far more capacity than the previous ones. The non-HiMD machines cannot play Hi-MD disks, so if that is what the Company uses, he would need a Hi-MD machine. The only Hi-MD portables were made by Sony and can be recognised by an "H" in the model name, e.g. MZ-RH1. As a general rule you will pay more for these than the older models. When looking for discs, if you choose not to buy a Hi-MD recorder, then you must not buy Hi-MD discs. Stick with the original type of discs which generally are available in 74 and 80 minute capacities. If you buy a Hi-MD machine, you can use any type of disc. Your son will be able to record live stage shows on most models. However, if he wants to transfer these recordings to his computer, then I think I'm right in saying that the MZ-RH1 is the only one which will do it in faster-than-real-time via the USB connection. With other units he will need to make the recording on the computer by playing back the MD recording, so a 60 minute recording would take 60 minutes to transfer onto the computer. I would be very wary about the Sharp MDMT88 and 270 advertised on Amazon. If you look at the seller's feedback, one of the comments is: "PDA was advertised as 'new' but arrived in a very 'used' state. Packaging was damaged and all seals broken. Product appears to have been used previously." These are relatively old machines, so I doubt whether they are completely unused. For what it's worth, if you think your son is going to use the machine regularly, and if you can stretch your budget to buy the RH1 I would say that you should do this as you will get a new machine with much more flexibility than the older machines. If, however you think it may be a passing fancy, then go for a second-hand machine so he can give it a try. Even then, if you can find a second-hand Hi-MD machine I would go for it over older models. Currently there is an MZ-NH1 being sold on ebay here Finally, now you've found these forums, you might find other pages on the web site useful, such as the equipment browser. Microphones: I know very little, so you'll have to wait for someone else.

I don't really know what I'm talking about, but I suspect they mean "Business days" (This is the term they use for domestic deliveries). So if you ordered last Friday, you can't count Saturday or Sunday, nor Christmas day and Boxing Day, nor the coming Saturday and Sunday, so they still haven't used up the five days. It is certainly unacceptable if they haven't replied to you (assuming you sent your emails well before Christmas), but I can't see they are outside the terms of the agreement (yet!)

From http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm :

I can't really help, but just a couple of thoughts: What is the power supply like in Sierra Leone? If it's unreliable, I should make sure that you choose a model which runs off AA batteries (like the NH700 or NHF800) or has an external AA battery case (e.g. NH900; RH10) DON'T bid for the NH600D currently on ebay in the UK. (It's advertised as NH6000, but I think he means 600D). It has no microphone input.

When I can get a machine which records nearly eight hours of internet radio at a high bitrate while I'm sleeping and then allows me to edit the the tracks when I play it back; let's me play back at faster-than-real-time (ideal for spoken-word podcasts); and when I can get a compatible deck to use in conjunction with a timer to record radio programmes while I'm out of the house, then I might think about dropping Minidisc.

I've got a couple of MC38s but I prefer the MC40, partly for its 3 line display, and partly because I find it easier to operate "blind" - i.e. when it's stuck inside my overalls. And partly because the remote itself is fine; it's just missing its clip.

Recently the clip on my RM-MC40ELK remote has come adrift several times; the "pin" (I'm sure there's a technical name for it - it's the small metal pin which attaches the clip to the remote) works loose and lets the clip fall out of place. Until today I've managed to rescue it in time, but today it has dropped off completely and I can't find it anywhere. My local Sony Centre were far from helpful, so I'm wondering whether anyone here has any ideas on where I can get spares from. Alternatively, if anyone has a broken RM-MC40ELK, and wants a reasonable amount of money for the clip, spring and pin, please PM me.

I found a Quorn Toad in the Hole in Waitrose last week - very nice.

Thanks for your reply, Storm Shadow. Since my original post I've taken all the casing off the machine, and with some gentle persuasion managed to get the disc out. I tried other discs, as well as the first one, and although the MZ-1 seemed to make more effort than originally it still wasn't happy. However I found that by holding the machine vertically (i.e. with the slot at the bottom) it would eject 50% of the time. I presume gravity was helping it along. Obviously I wasn't too happy about this, but as my main reason for having the machine was as a collector's item, I think I'll keep it. At least all the playback and record buttons operate normally.

I emailed Sony UK about Version 5 and have received this extremely unhelpful (and ungrammatical) reply: I seem to remember getting a similar answer when I asked about the possibility of a Hi-MD deck being produced a couple of years back. I'm surprised that Sony UK are considered so unimportant that they aren't given information about future developments or the lack of them.

I don't own this machine, but the manual says on page 49 that you should put a fully charged battery in it when you connect to a computer, so the implication is that it won't charge from the computer.

Thanks for the reply Guitarfxr. Unfortunately I've tried your suggestion of pushing in and holding the EJECT button. It gets the motor going, but for some reason it can eject the disc. I'm not sure what you mean about opening the door. The slot where you insert the disc is covered by a flap which says "Disc is inside", but without forcing it, I can't see how to push the disc back in. One final thought - there's a hole in the casing on the Optical/Line In/ Mic socket side. I can't see a mention of it in the manual but I was wondering whether a paper clip pushed in here might activate the ejection. (Like some CD Roms have). But again I don't want to risk anything in case I need to return it.

I finally managed to buy an MZ-1 on ebay and received it today. I put a recorded disc in to test it and everything went fine with play back, changing tracks etc, but when I tried to eject the disc, all I got was a lot of whirring and the display alternating between "Loading" and "Eject". I've notified the vendor who says this has never happened to him. I'm hoping this may be a one-off and once I get the disc out I can try it with other discs to make sure it's OK. Trouble is I can't see any way of manually ejecting the disc. If this was my own machine that had suddenly gone wrong I'd probably try to take the case apart to see if I could get the disc out, but obviously I don't want to do that, so I'm wondering whether anyone else has had this problem and managed to find a solution.

I don't think he knows what he wants.

Sorry, I can't advise you about amps, but can I suggest that if you have an adjustable equaliser on your player, you give this a try first. I find with my ER6s that they sound terrible on the Normal setting, but OK if I have the settings as follows (from left to right): 100Hz: +3 250Hz: +2 630Hz: Flat 1.6kHz: -2 4kHz: -1 10kHz: Flat If you do get an amp, I'd be interested to hear which one, and how much difference it makes.

I know you don't need Simple Burner (although I find it very useful), but aren't I right in thinking this doesn't work under Vista?

I'm curious - why do you want a broken MD recorder, with no mention of which models or even which generation of recorder you are looking for? [Nov 5th: In case anyone is confused by what I wrote above, the OP originally left a message asking for a broken player - no other details. Now for some reason he has not just edited but completely re-written his post]

It's a regional thing. Looking at the online manual it says on page 26 to press "Sound" until "local" appears. In my UK manual it says to press it until "Mono" appears.

On my machine this just toggles between Stereo and Mono.

Just to update on all the suggestions people have made: Portable radios with built-in telescopic antennae work pretty well here. The NHF800 also works OK in mono, if I can find a suitable position and don't move, but obviously the whole point of it is that I want to listen while moving around. I've tried plugging the headphones into an extension lead and this seems to improve things a little but not enough. sfbp - are you sure about the DX Switch? I don't think there's one on the remote. If you know different please tell me.

I'm looking to buy a replacement battery for my NH1. There are a couple of online retailers who are asking around 20 UKP (approx 36 USD) for one, which seems quite expensive; certainly much more than I've paid for any gumstick battery before. On Ebay I can get one from Germany for 10.50 UKP (including P & P), or one from China for around 14.00. However, the huge difference in price make me concerned that I may not be getting the genuine article. What would you advise - spend out more to fairly safe, or take a risk on a cheap battery?