Sony MZ-RH1 "Read Error" US-Version 1.090

[ajk0952]

Hi Minidisc Forum. I am new to these types of message boards. Nevertheless, I have had my RH1 for about 3 years (out of warranty, I know...) and have come across the notorious "Read ERROR" on my RH-1 several times. Now, mind you, the minidisc plays fine when I take out the medium and re-insert into the machine. However, if I leave the minidisc inside the machine for a long period of time and press play on either the remote or the player itself, SOMETIMES the minidisc will play while other times it will not and display the error. I have perused the HIMD message boards and have decided to follow Avrin's laser change settings (0124 I believe, and it is set on 39 currently...) and that does not seem to really resolve the issue. The scenario goes like this: I leave the minidisc in the RH-1 for a long period of time (more than 24 hours) and when pressing play, the machine will whirl in short bursts and make a "clicking" noise with each burst of the motor...however, when the minidisc is re-inserted into the machine, it will play fine...

Now, do I have a faulty loading mechanism like other members have experienced here? Or do I need to further calibrate my laser settings...or do I need to send it in for repairs? And finally, if this problem is serious enough, am I better off purchasing a new RH-1 or spend money elsewhere(keeping fingers crossed that it won't come to this...) I have read on this forum that a member replaced their OP Assembly direct from SONY factory repair for the MZRH1 and would I fall into the same category? Any constructive help would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading this message with care and enthusiasm.

[sfbp]

Have you tried running it off the wall instead of the battery?

The clicking noises sound like the vertical positioning motor trying to recalibrate. I have heard this when I had trouble with the mechanism (not the RH1, another HiMD unit) just after reassembly if I didn't get it exactly perfect. Usually sorts itself out. Could the screws need loosening and retightening?

[ajk0952]

Thanks for a reply! Hmm, to be honest with everyone, I have never even opened the wall adapter and have always used the USB 2.0 cable alongside my RH1. Is the vertical motor alignment fixable? To make this a known fact, I only know how to use the device from reading the manual and/or reading the message boards on here. I have never taken apart my RH1, nor do I have any mechanical knowledge of a portable minidisc player. I have also never dropped my RH1 ever since I purchased it, and hardly any scratches...to put it short, it's resellable as new (I keep electronics in mint condition--a lot of people may think I'm an idiot, but I tend to really care for my devices...)If this vertical realignment problem is fixable in another way besides opening up the RH1 (which means I'd have to send it off to SONY repairs for an exorbitant amount of money), I'm all ears...I'm just glad that we're narrowing down the problem further...any other questions, feel free to ask.

[Avrin]

Address 0124 only affects reading standard minidiscs. It has no effect on 1 Gb Hi-MDs.

[sfbp]

Try tightening all the little screws a bit. Careful, though.

Use the adapter and see if it makes a difference. I am thinking this weird behaviour has something to do with the Li Ion battery. Although it trickle-charges from the USB, I would first be inclined to run it down, and recharge it using the wall charger.

[ajk0952]

Hi all. First, to Avrin's comment: Are there any settings in the service mode for changing HI-MD laser settings for RH-1 (just wondering if it's necessary to lower it because of high power?) If the method is too complicated, then forget I even asked. Thanks.

I have decided to just leave the outside screws alone since the RH-1 looks sturdy and not loose (basically, the same way it came from the factory)...I will definitely try to charge via the wall outlet using the adapter and see if that does makes a difference. However, in your opinion, do you suppose this might be a larger problem that cannot be solved even via repairs? Just the sound of it -- vertical alignment motor -- sounds serious enough to hinder minidisc playback...I have used a SONY head cleaner once or twice just because they recommended it, and I have never cleaned the lens. I'm just giving advanced notice to narrow down the issue further. I am able to record via optical input and mic input so recording is not the culprit. Could the minidisc holding mechanism be broken?(I notice a round circular object inside the middle of the RH-1 and I reckon that is used to hold the minidisc medium in place and to make it spin?)

[sfbp]

IIRC the vertical motion is only important for the 1GB disks, or at least in HiMD mode. You can read about DWDD here

http://www.minidisc.org/keep/sony_dwdd_mddata2.pdf

I think this means no vertical motion in NetMD or SP modes.

BTW i did find my rh1's screws were loose after about 1 year.

Edited May 2, 2009 by sfbp

[Avrin]

Addresses 0211 and 0212 seem to control laser parameters for reading gigabyte discs. Check the service manual for the RH1. Probably, fiddling with address 0211 may help. But don't forget to write the original value down!

[carlesraf]

I have the same unit MZ-RH1 for 3 years also but mine it has the blankdisk error...ervery time the unit records on a disc it errase it.....it's a shame that this unit that it's the top-line has this errors.

I tried to cleean via minidisc laser kit but the problem continue... mayby the ribon cable it's broken again...like my firts unit MZ-N505 :-(

Sorry for the error-reading error mayby 3 years of intensive use, like me, it's a to much for this kinds of portable recorders.

[ajk0952]

Thank you for your tips and general help sfbp! And I'd like to give props to Avrin for all the technical info. To Avrin: Did you touch your laser parameters for the RH-1 regarding the gigabyte discs? I'd like to set it to your settings if possible. If you did not fiddle with any laser settings, then I'll leave it the same way.

As for Sfbp, so far, it seems like the read-error has dissipated ever since charging from the wall adapter instead of the USB 2.0 cable. I would like to tighten the screws (ever so gently) but what size should I use? The screw size is so miniscule that I don't even know if I have a working size driver available. Any reason why the screws would come loose? I figure that Sony would have made these units sturdy enough...quality control issue maybe. Anyhow, do you have any tips on minidisc maintenance that you would be able to give to me? I'd most appreciate it. Also, does it matter whether the USB cable is taken out from the RH-1 end or the pc end? I read on other threads that there is a certain order for attaching and removing the USB 2.0 cable to and from the pc for the RH-1. Lastly, when should I be worried about the eventual dead-end of my RH-1 (the only reason I can think of is if the minidisc won't play any sounds...)

Again, this forum rocks, and I'm learning something new on minidiscs:)

[Avrin]

I haven't changed addresses 0211 or 0212 yet, since both my RH1s operate correctly (I'm not actively using them anymore though - the workhorses now are the RH10 and one of the NH600s). Still have 2E @ address 0211 and 1E @ address 0212. The only address I have changed is 0124, since I got the "READ ERROR" message on a 80-minute disc the day after I bought my first RH1.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Avrin

[sfbp]

I think you should be able to buy some sort of screwdriver set with this tiny phillips driver in it. If not, let me know and I will try to find the one I have, online.

I think the biggest single tip I would ever give is: press the stop button on the unit before disconnection (from real USB, not from the charger), and make sure you get the message "Eject Disk OK". That message should really say: "Eject Disk or disconnect USB OK"

I think that any time you leave the RH1 connected for long periods to the USB bus you are asking for all sorts of trouble. Not sure why, but the way it charges from the wall charger (Avrin and Guitarfxr I think will have specific details, and the latter has designed a battery driver charger specially for it) is different from when connected to standard USB. Li-Ion batteries are strange animals, it's best to let them discharge a good way every so often (1x per month?).

[ajk0952]

Hi again. I just wanted to see what this would mean in laymen's terms. I checked the error log feature on my MZ-RH1 and it read "0003 -- 10001". Now, I did check the service manual of the MZ-RH1 and it listed the error as 0003 - Focus Error (no change) and 10001 -- Illegal cluster specified when error occurs. Now, I believe this error log might be the reason behind the problem of my RH1 from the start. If anybody can help me decipher the error message in plain, ordinary English, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your time and effort in reading this post.

[sfbp]

Focus sounds like vertical positioning to me. Any true experts? (I'm just guessing)

[ajk0952]

Hi again. I just wanted to see what this would mean in laymen's terms. I checked the error log feature on my MZ-RH1 and it read "0003 -- 10001". Now, I did check the service manual of the MZ-RH1 and it listed the error as 0003 - Focus Error (no change) and 10001 -- Illegal cluster specified when error occurs. Now, I believe this error log might be the reason behind the problem of my RH1 from the start. If anybody can help me decipher the error message in plain, ordinary English, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your time and effort in reading this post.

This is a previous post that never fully got answered. Sfbp, I believe, led me to understand that this was related to vertical alignment motor but just wanted some more opinions or expert know-how on this problem. This is just for my own personal reference so any possible deciphering would be appreciated from this MD community. Thanks.

[sfbp]

Focus error is definitely an indicator of the vertical movement getting messed up. So this should be happening only on 1GB disks. I do recall the RH1 doing this to me,... a long time ago before I discovered it's not a good idea to leave connected for very long periods. It's a scary sounding sort of noise, but generally doesn't recur once the poor thing gets its act together once more.

There's a way to clear the error log in the service manual, but it sounds like the suggestions I made in fact fixed it. So now what you see is a record of the error (does it have a date or "time since" associated with it? I don't recall) going back to the last time you heard the "clunk". Right?

Took me a while to figure out how to join the topics because there was no way to get them on the same page, would have been easier if you found the old thread and appended to it. No worries, though.

[ajk0952]

Hi again, Minidisc Forum. Sfbp: No, I don't think there is any way of finding out the time or date unless I have been misinformed. Furthermore, I know this isn't exactly related to the topic at hand, but would you give me an accurate description for which screws on the MZ-RH1 tend to come loose most often? My minidisc model was made in Malaysia -- is this considered an inferior build then? I have noticed that my old MZ-R900 was made in Japan, yet the best of the crop is made elsewhere. I'm also on the lookout for an MZ-NH1 model for purchase and if you could give me some tips on getting my hands on one, it would be greatly appreciated (besides Ebay).

How long do typical lasers last on a portable minidisc model?

[sfbp]

The RH1 I have is made in malaysia. There is a second build, silver in colour, which is sold only in Japan. Perhaps that is made there. I know several people on the forum have one, so maybe someone will jump in and answer.

Screws - two on the bottom, two on the back, and three more when you open the clamshell (the fourth is blocked but it was the outside ones that ended up loose in my particular case). I think the two on the back were the ones I noticed.

Off topic - on my EH70 (second hand) ALL the screws were loose especially the two visible when you open it.

Cannot answer the laser question.

[Avrin]

The RH1 I have is made in malaysia. There is a second build, silver in colour, which is sold only in Japan. Perhaps that is made there.

The silver RH1 for the Japanese market is also made in Malaysia. But there is also a third build - the "European Black" with no country of manufacture specified, and so, presumably, made in China. Lotsa loose screws in it!

[ajk0952]

Wow, I never could be more wrong... I finally ordered the philips precision screwdriver set for my portable minidisc and boy, were the screws loose! The two on the back were very wiggly and the bottom screws on the unit were not even close to being tight. I haven't tried out the unit yet (MZ-RH1) and will know soon enough. I guess SFbp was definitely correct. Not to sound blatant but could the loose screws also account for the erratic operation of the vertical alignment motor thingie? Or that has absolutely no effect whatsoever?

[sfbp]

The vertical alignment is some kind of servo (feedback) mechanism. Get far enough out of whack, and it will recalibrate. I mostly saw this effect on other units (IIRC the NH700) when I opened them up to do some kind of surgery, and the head was either too low or too far from the surface of the disk.

If this only happens after prolonged usage without charging the battery properly, I would guess that something in that feedback circuit "gets tired". Completely cutting power and/or putting a decent power source causes the recalibratory "clunk". Check?

[ajk0952]

Gotcha'. Sfbp: Do you think you can tell me the philips screwdriver you have that I may purchase online? I think I need to tighten my screws a little bit more but can't since I borrowed mine from a relative. Thanks a lot.

This is off-topic but can anybody let me know if they find any used MZ-NH1 (or new for that matter) for sale?

Lastly, I just want to thank Sfbp, Avrin, and others that have helped me in my minidisc journey. I don't know how I would be able to maintain my minidisc machine without you guys. Hope you help a lot more people in the future and continued goodness to all minidisc owners! Can you at least acknowledge my thanks?

[sfbp]

Kind words indeed. I got a lot of information here, the rest I picked up, and only too happy to share it.

This looks like what you want, and what I have: Google Jeweler's Screwdriver set

[Abby Normal]

Kind words indeed. I got a lot of information here, the rest I picked up, and only too happy to share it.

This looks like what you want, and what I have: Google Jeweler's Screwdriver set

You can generally pick up such an item at your local drugstore or even a dollar store.

[ajk0952]

Oh, and by any chance, is there a certain name for the screwdriver that I'm looking for? Yes, I do know that Sfbp said jeweler's precision screwdriver set, but I read somewhere on this forum about a No. 00 or No.000 screwdriver?

[sfbp]

0 or 00 I think. The set (i think it's very widely found) has both. I think 000 is tooooooo small

Ah, maybe you didn't click on the link I posted?

Anyway if it's working without any problems, I wouldn't overtighten the screws. Getting the set is great idea, useful for all sorts of things.

[ajk0952]

Haha, 'k gotcha. No, I did check out the link you gave me. I'm just one of those people that likes to check, double check, and triple check and gather all facts before making any informed decisions. I can definitely see how the precision screwdriver set would come in handy for several tasks indeed. Yeah, I'm always one of paranoia when it comes to expensive objects. I always tend to "overcare" if theres such a thing about my portable minidisc. And I'd rather learn more and try to repair things myself instead of shipping it off to Sony for an exorbitant price.

[jszjsz]

Hi Andy! I have exactly the same problem with my RH1 recently. Have you solved the problem after tightening the screws on the machine? Thanks!

[ajk0952]

Hi Andy! I have exactly the same problem with my RH1 recently. Have you solved the problem after tightening the screws on the machine? Thanks!

Hey there minidisc buddy. Sorry for the late reply. Don't know when you're going to be reading this but yes, I have solved the problem after tightening the screws on the machine. However, be forewarned: be very gentle with the unit and don't force the screwdriver into the screw if the screw won't budge afterwards. Credit should go to sfbp for this tip. Also, this is not a typical result, or a by-gone-be-all method for solving this issue. I happened to be lucky.

To minidisc community: Again, my minidisc portable is functioning amazingly well after using all tips from avrin, sfbp and others. Just wanted to let you guys know that you're the best community and thanks for all the information and opinions. Keep it up!

[azwris]

As I can see this topic is still alive so I'm taking the chance to kindly ask you if there's a handy and low-cost solution about a similar problem that I have:

I am the owner of two MDs, one of them is the MZ-RH1 of course which refuses to play tracks on every single disc that I have after a certain period of playback time (usually after 5-6 tracks from the beginning). That happens on new transfers. The old NET discs are still playable in their entirety.

The recording of the songs via Sonic Stage can still be done without further problems but as it seems something's wrong with the new transfers. So it should be a kind of a read error or a transfer issue after a certain period of time. A guy on YouTube mentioned something about playing with the screws torque or an electrical alignment solution which I haven't tried yet. I even removed the top and bottom part of the MS's body in order to reassembly it but there was no improvement at all.

Any thought or actual help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.