tmsnyder

Those are some crazy mics! Flexible?! Very cool. I'd contact the company and see what they think. Personally, I think unless you're in an electrically noisy place it won't make a difference. Even then ,the unbalanced mics are still sheilded. On the other hand, the balanced connections are more professional and universal. I'd bounce the original question you asked off the c-ducer people. They would be the ones to know.

What mic? Some don't need it if they are battery powered themselves (Nak CM300's for instance)

The JE630 has optical-out. For best quality you could play this into an interface to your notebook. One option is an eridol ua-5 or UA-25. Capture it in real time, split it up with CDWave (free) into tracks, burn it to disc.

Hi Tim, After recording line-in on my MD player (assuming it's the same for the new Hi-MD units) I've come to the theory that the recording level on my Sony MD player is 0db at 15. So subtract 15 from the recording level to get the gain you are applying to the signal. Based on that the first scenario above is preferred. Add 10dB with the booster box, then if you need more gain you can add it by setting the recording level from 15 to 30. That gives you a combined range of +10dB to +25dB. The second scenario is not as good. You really don't want to add 20dB with the booster box and end up with a signal that's too hot to record at 0dB (recording level=15 on the MD). Todd in Buffalo

Dam, those are expensive, and no digital out :-( Maybe Sony will do the right thing and put one out. It's great to see Onkyo made a couple, but I don't see them on their website....

Definitely, it's not my website though, just a member. I just feel that you've done great work and it might be a nice option for tapers over on that website. I've posted your website there a couple times now. Can you tell me an example of how it might not be bit perfect?

That answers all my questions. If it's all right with you I'm going to copy this over to www.taperssection.com. It sounds like you've made digital-in recording on the HiMD a real decent option for tapers running external A/D. Not bit perfect, but very very close. Can you give examples of how the output file might be slightly different than the original?

Wow, cool. Thanks Tommypeters! How much extra work is it to render the file to .wav? Also, is the transfer bit perfect? Looking at the website for HiMDRenderer it doesn't appear to be.

It's not bootlegging if the band allows it. They're called trade friendly or taper friendly. Check www.archive.org for a good list of taper friendly bands. If you ask a band for permission to tape and they say 'yes', document it and add it to the list on the archive.

modded ua-5 or an AD20 Check www.taperssection.com, that sight is awesome for this info.

I don't care about the mic input, that's analog-in recording. I was asking about digital-in recording. You're saying you can record a dig-in signal and then can transfer the recorded lossless format to a pc, then get it off as a .wav? Is the entire process lossless?

Is it true that for field recording, if you use an external A/D converter and feed a portable Sony HiMD recorder a digital optical-in signal and record it as a .wav file that you can't get your recording off the disc? Is there any brand or model of HiMD that allows you to record uncompressed digital-in and recover the files? For instance, let's say I wanted to tape a band and I had some microphones and a box like a modified eridol UA-5 that powered the mics, provided the gain, performed the A/D and outputs a 16 bit, 44.1k digital audio signal. What portable HiMD recorder could I use to tape this as a .wav and later transfer by USB or firewire to a pc with no loss of quality? Do any of them do this? Sorry if this is answered somewhere else, but my searches didn't turn this up.

If it were me, I'd skip the analog transfering and just go digital. It'll save a lot of time re-doing your transfers later on. I started out doing my transfers with a new sony MDS JE480 deck going line in to a new creative audigy sound card which was supposed to be a pretty decent one at ~$200. What a waste of money and time. Now I go dig-out from my md deck, to dig-in on my creative nomad jukebox3 (I know, this is supposed to be an MD web site!) You could pick up a md deck (JE510 is one) from ebay with dig out for ~$150. Maybe someone could suggest a good way to record the digital audio. Probably there's a cheap soundcard out there with dig-in even if you have to figure out how to make the connection to the board itself.

Ok, thank you. Is it just me, or does a MD at 292kbps sound way way better than an mp3 recorded at 256kbps?

So if I record line-in on a regular 74 minute minidisc at SP with my Sony MZS1 S2 Sport (here's a page on it http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-S1.html ) what bitrate is this?

Thanks, I thought it was a cool project since the JE480 is the only one readily available new from SONY now, so anyone looking to get their .wav's off MD would either have to go analog or get an old deck of ebay. So for $150 and a little drilling and soldering you end up with a brand new deck with the dig-out. I'd be afraid of taking that pin 9 outside the case. Who knows what would happen if you shorted it out or snapped it with some static electricity. Here's the schematic from http://www.meyer-piening.ch/robert/je330/ to show how to get the coax output: [attachmentid=681] Schematic diagram for coax output. It looks to be even easier than adding the optical out. Hardly any drilling of the main board

If there's any interest in this I'll put together a webpage. Any way to get it on the construction projects page of www.minidisc.org? Todd Snyder tmsnyder@buffalo.edu tms (link fixed 15.2.2011)

Adding a TOSLink Digital Optical Transmitter to your Sony MDS JE-480 Minidisc deck This project was based on Robert Meyer-Piening’s instructions here: http://www.meyer-piening.ch/robert/je330/ Overview: A Toslink digital OUT can be added to a JE480 2 inches to the side of the digital IN. Power and ground for the transmitter are located on large traces running along the back of the main board. S/PDIF data is coming off the small board mounted underneath the disk reader/writer, thru pin 9 of the 23 conductor flat cable, and onto the main board. Pin 9 connects to a trace which runs a short distance onto the main board and terminates at an unused solder pad. The output from this modification is 16 bit, 44.1 khz audio over standard audio fiber optic cable directly from the minidisc. Part list: * 1 uF Tantalum capacitor * Sharp Toslink fiber optic transmitter GP1FA551TZ (GP1F32T no longer available) Digi-Key p/n 425-1101-5-ND (also, there are many types of transmitters with same specs, many with shutters so no protective cap is needed such as GP1FA511TZ) * 2 small lengths of solid wire (snip leads off of a resistor) * Signal wire, small gauge (24 ga), multi-strand, not solid wire. Cat. 5 ethernet cable works well. * A self-tapping screw the same as one from Dig-In port mount. (#6?) Instructions: * Remove the 5 black screws that hold on the cover and lift it off (straight up) * Remove the screw from the center of the Analog Out/In jacks * Remove the screw from the Digital Optical In receptacle * Remove the screws that hold the back panel to the deck, slip the power cord strain relief off the side to free the back panel and set it aside. * Touch the case to remove static and then by rocking the flat cables back and forth, gently remove the 3 flat cables and the power connector. * Ground your screwdriver to the case to remove any static, then remove the screws holding the main board to the case * On the back panel you have removed: o Measure from the center of the Digital-In screw hole to the right exactly 2” and drill a 1/8” hole the same distance ‘up’ as the other one. o Cut a square hole (3/8” by 3/8”) centered on the mounting hole you just drilled, exactly like the one for the Digital-In (you could probably also just drill a 1/2” hole but there would be a gap around the connector). See the photos for more information. * Mount the transmitter on the Main Board o Before continuing, screw one of the self-tapping screws into the new transmitter mounting hole. This will pre-thread the hole so you won’t have to use a lot of force once it's mounted on the board. o Looking down at the top of the board, you can see the black box which is the digital-in port. With the digital-in port facing you, to the right of this should be a blank area on the board. There are no holes drilled for the transmitter as on other models, but there should be a little “T” on the underside. We will mount the transmitter in this area, but be sure to verify there are no traces running thru this area. It should look like the photos, the little squares of copper are an area of the board not used by the designers, so this is an unused area on the board where we will mount the transmitter. o Layout the 3 points on the board for mounting the transmitter posts and drill them with a 5/64” drill (0.079”). See the layout diagram. o Layout the 6 points on the board for the connectors of the transmitter and drill them with a 1/32” drill (0.031” or similar, not super critical). See the layout diagram. o On the bottom side of the main board, use a utility knife to scrape off the unused copper trace material in the vicinity of the smaller holes you just drilled. These are the little squares of copper not used for traces, we don’t want a short to be caused by these. Be sure you don’t remove or damage any actual traces nearby . o Press the transmitter into place, make sure it mounts flush to the board. When satisfied with the fit, use a soldering iron to melt the mounting legs flat down towards the bottom side of the board. You can also use a small amount of (non-metallic) epoxy or hot glue under the transmitter before melting over the legs. o In an unused area of the main board near the 23 pin flat cable connector coming from the disk reader, drill a hole for your signal wire. See the photos for the location. Use the same size drill as you did for the signal wire near the transmitter so that the signal wire and insulation can pass thru. Make sure you don’t drill thru into any trace or component. * Getting power and ground to the transmitter o Ground: The ground trace is the nice fat one running right past our new transmitter. See the photo. With the board upside down and the transmitter facing you, the ground pin is the leftmost pin of the transmitter. Straight off this pin and on to the ground trace, carefully scrape a 1/8” by 1/8” square thru the green lacquer coating, down to clean copper using a small screwdriver. Tin the exposed copper. Depending on the size of your soldering iron, it will take a little time to heat up enough to take the solder because it is a good sized trace. Make a tiny hook out of the end of one of the pieces of solid wire and squeeze it onto pin 3. Solder it onto pin 3 (minimize the length of time you heat it to prevent damaging the transmitter) and onto the ground trace. Notice that the wire will pass directly over the hole you drilled into the board 0.400” away from the transmitter pins. This is where the capacitor will solder onto the ground later on. o Power: The power trace (which also feeds the Dig In receiver) is the next fat trace over the top of the ground trace. It's not as fat as the GND trace, but still pretty wide. See the photos. Line up with the center pin of the transmitter and carefully scrape another opening down to clean copper, then tin it. Use the other piece of solid wire, make a tiny hook out of the end of your wire and squeeze it onto the center pin, and solder it to the transmitter center pin. Slip a piece of insulation over the wire to cover the wire between the hole where the capacitor will be mounted and the solder connection at the trace. See the photo. o Capacitor: From the top of the board, pass the capacitor through the center (+) and right hole (GND). Since the cap must be installed according to its polarity, put it in with the + lead of the cap going thru the center hole. Flip over the board, bend the legs of the cap over the ground and power wires you just installed, snip off the excess wire from the cap leads and solder them onto the power and GND wires you just intalled. * Connecting the S/PDIF signal o Strip and tin the end of your signal wire. From the top of the board with the transmitter facing you, pass it thru the leftmost hole. Flip over to the bottom of the board. Make a tiny hook out of the end of your wire and squeeze it onto the remaining pin on the transmitter. As you look at the bottom of the board with the transmitter facing you, it is the rightmost pin. Again, minimize the amount of time you spend heating the pin to avoid damaging the transmitter. o Pass the other end thru the hole you drilled near the 23 pin flat cable connector. Cut it to the appropriate length, strip and tin the end, and solder it to the unused solder pad coming from pin 9 of the 23 pin connector. See the photo. * Reassembly o Screw the back panel on o Set the main board into place o Replace the screws that hold the Analog In/Out, Dig In, and new Dig Out connectors. This will pull the board back against the back panel and prevent stress between the board and connectors. o Replace the two screws that hold down the board o Carefully replace the flat connectors o Replace the cover and 5 black screws o Cross you fingers, plug it in and see if it works! o Make a label for your new Dig-Out connector Many, many thanks to Roger Krupski for his research on the minidisc player and the fine soldering and electronics work. Hopefully this is helpful to others wanting a digital output from their minidisc deck. Obviously this project will void the warrantee from SONY. Also, if you end up breaking your deck please understand that it’s not my fault. [attachmentid=535] [attachmentid=536] [attachmentid=537] [attachmentid=538] [attachmentid=539] [attachmentid=540] [attachmentid=541] [attachmentid=542] [attachmentid=543] Note: This guide will be updated in due time by tmsnyder or MDCF Mods. I locked the thread so that this guide could stay that way and not get confusing with a full discussion ensuing. Please refer to the new thread – click here – for discussions pertaining to this guide. Ishii

The soldering is not very fine, it sounds like you are more than able to do it. Laying out and drilling holes is probably the toughest part of this. I actually clamped the board in a Bridgeport vertical milling machine to drill the holes for the transmitter. But laying them out by hand carefully with a small ruler and drilling them with a pistol drill is probably fine.

So would I write out a list of instructions, and post it with the photos to a new thread?

Awesome, let me get a webpage assembled and I'll put the link here in this thread.

Success! And without using the Sharp GP1F32T (which is no longer available). If there's any interest in this I'll put together a webpage. Any way to get it on the construction projects page of www.minidisc.org? Todd Snyder tmsnyder@buffalo.edu