SONY MDS-JE 520

[Crepajac]

Greetings!

I own a SONY MiniDisk Recorder, model MDS-JE 520, and it served me well for the past 10 years.

I generally use it as a AD/DA converter and/or as an input for the following equipment:

- on the Digital Optical Input is my E-MU 0404 PCI SoundCard;

- on the Digital Coaxial Input is my Audio CD Player;

- on the Analog Input is my Turntable VIA a NAD PP-2 Phono Pre-Amplifier.

So far, it didn't give me any trouble, but recently (during recording from my Audio CD Player), without touching the input selector switch (upper right corner of the unit's photo), it would electronically switch from "Coaxial In" to "Optical2 In" and back, during which there would be breaks in the recording.

When I manually switch to "Optical In" (e.g. from my SoundCard), there would be no such problem.

Is the switch getting dirty on the "Coaxial In" position or is it more likely an electronical problem?

The strange thing is the number "2" in the "Optical2 In" (at least that's what's on the display during the malfunction).

I tried different Audio CD Players on the Coaxial input, with no success.

I also tried connecting my SoundCard's Coaxial Output to the input, but the problem persists.

Is it time for putting the Deck to sleep?

I like my MD, it's more user-friendly than a computer, and I would be very sad if its electronics is dying...

Any similar experiences by you folks, and how did you resolve the problem(s)?

Thank you in advance for any response.