Sick JE-530

[highlandboogieman]

Hi. I have a Sony JE-530 deck which has worked fine for years. This morning I was doing some recording and the play function jammed. It wouldn't budge. so I tried to switch it off and back on again to clear the problem. All I get now is the power light on, plus the red LED "TOC" light flashing on and off. That's all. I have a backup JE-480 for gigs, but I would like to at least retrieve my minidisc from the machine.

Does anyone know if my JE-530 is worth fixing? I'd appreciate any ideas. I'm a piano man, just moved to Almeria, Spain, and heaven knows where my nearest Sony service will be.

Thanks from Jim.

[sfbp]

Oh boy. Generally in this sort of scenario the machine never speaks again. Replacing the so-called "BD Board" (see the service manual) will cost way more than buying another deck second hand.

Some things to try are:

- disconnecting from the wall for 5 mins - ie not just the off switch.

- check the timer switch hasn't accidentally got tweaked (next to power)

- take the lid off and see if you can see what is jammed.

I had my first deck (a 510) die on me, and attempts to revive it were doomed. You may be luckier, I don't know.

One option to consider is buying a bottom of the line (eg 330) deck and putting the drive assembly from that in, assuming I am right and the head electronics is dead.

[highlandboogieman]

Thanks for your comments Stephen.

I guess it's totally knackered. I have a spare plus another on order from ebay which I won for only 32 quid, so it's not the end of the world.

Fechty wachles and lang may yer noots be mirky.

Frae the highlandboogieman

[sfbp]

Well if the 530 is one of the nicer ones you own, maybe swapping the drives (BD Board) is a good option. Any unit made in Japan has the reputation of lasting longer and being better made (than the ones from Malaysia).