What new MD Player can clone ToC to recover live recording?

[fallen_trumpet]

Hi,

I'm new to these forums, but hopefully am posting in the best topic area.

I presently have two older MD players (Sony MDS-S39 deck and Sony MD Walkman MZ-R70).

I recently recorded some live audio (cannot be recreated) but for some reason, it appears that the ToC was not written properly. (All players now believe this is a blank disc.) I have read articles at www.minidisc.org about the reasons this can happen and how it is possible to clone the ToC from a good disc and recover the good audio, assuming the audio is actually there.

I've been very careful NOT to record anything else on the disc, and I watched the machine while the audio was recording, so I am highly confident the audio (or at least most of it) is still there.

I have not been able to determine how to clone the ToC on my existing machines, and need to try to recover this audio within the next 1-2 days, if possible. (I had promised to transfer the audio to CD's for a friend to give as Christmas presents.)

I am able to go buy a new machine to accomplish this, but want to make sure I buy a machine that will help me clone the ToC.

I've read (http://www.minidisc.org/cloning_procedure.html) that many of the Sony decks (such as MDS-JE440, MDS-JE520, MDS-JE640, MDS-JB920, MDS-JB930, and MDS-JB940) have a test mode that makes it easy to clone the ToC, but other Sony decks (such as MDS-JE320, MDS-JE500, and MDS-JE510) do not have the ability to perform this function.

None of these machines that "can" do this function appear to be available at retail stores.

In local retail stores, the only Sony deck I can find right now (in stock) is the MDS-JE480, but I have not been able to find a service manual and cannot tell if this deck (an entry level model) has the test mode.

So, my question(s):

1. Does the MDS-JE480 have the ability to clone a ToC from a good disk to my bad disc? (In other words, does the MDSJE480 have a "test mode"?)

2. If not, what model (Sony or otherwise) is typically available from retail stores today that will allow me to clone the ToC to recover data from my "bad" disc?

3. Is there a way to clone the ToC using the two MD players I have? (I tried disassembling my MZ-R70 to try to find the switch that senses that a disk has been removed, but although I saw the switch on a drawing of the main board, I could not find the actual switch.)

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[atrain]

i can't confirm anything but the 480 is an update of the 440 model so it may work, perhaps you could take the disc to the store & try it there?

anyway there is a linkie to the manual here

http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-JE480.html

[fallen_trumpet]

Thank you for your reply. I will go to the store later today and look at the 480, but without a service manual, I'm only guessing whether it has a "test mode" and exactly what key sequence is required to get into test mode.

And re your other reply, my apologies for the triple post... I am new to these forums and thought perhaps different people monitored each subject area, so I posted in three topic areas that seemed applicable.

Regards,

Fred