spitfire71 Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Hi, I don't know if anyone has any ideas on this, but everytime I go to eject a minidisc, I get a 'Mech Error 1' message up on screen. I can't reinsert a disc. I have to power off the unit, then push a disc in gently, power it on and the unit then accepts the disc - most annoying! I have taken the case off to have a look if any thing's wrong, but all seems OK. I guess it's down to a faulty sensor or something. If I could replace the mechanism with another Denon unit, I would do this. Are the mechanisms in all Denon units interchangeable? If so I will pick up a cheap one and replace the one in my deck if it's worth doing. Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Hi, I don't know if anyone has any ideas on this, but everytime I go to eject a minidisc, I get a 'Mech Error 1' message up on screen. I can't reinsert a disc. I haven't worked on this machine before, but I think I recognise the fault. Can you take a photo of the drive unit and post it so I can see if it has the drive I think it may? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire71 Posted August 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Sorry for the late reply Jim, been enjoying using this deck for a while before taking it out from the rack to take some photos, but here they are as promised: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Thanks for the photos. It's not the drive I thought it might be, sorry. The overwrite head looks very Sony, so it's possible the laser unit is a Sony one too - probably the same optical pickup as the JE510, S39, JE320 etc. But the rest of the drive is possibly pure Denon. The fault does sound like bad switch contacts. These drives usually have up to four switches that feed back positional information to the drive processor. States such as disc-in detect, disc loaded, write head engaged. When the processor initiates an action, such as ejecting a disc, and the switches don't send back the expected info after an expected time, the drive will shut off and display a 'mechanical error' message. Grundig's are famous for it. Often all the switches are mounted on a single board. If you can locate a plastic cam gear driven by the disc load/eject motor, the board should be above/below this. Giving the switches a quick squirt of switch contact cleaner may do wonders. Just be careful you don't spray greasy crud all over the drive unit. If in doubt, get an engineer with some experience of this type of gear, such a VCR technician, to look at it for you. Alternatively you could pull the drive out and post it to me. I am sure I have two DMD1000's in storage somewhere, both with faults but I can't recall what. Perhaps it's time I learned how to strip them down! I am in the UK, give me a PM. It is the DMD1000 isn't it? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire71 Posted August 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hi Jim, Yes it is the DMD-1000. I just noticed I missed a 'zero' in the title of the thread! Silly me... I will have a good look for those swiches first. If I feel that it's going to be a little tricky to fix, I will take you up on your offer if that's OK? Richie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 I just noticed I missed a 'zero' in the title of the thread! I just fixed that for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syndil Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Curious to know if this was ever resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted October 21, 2011 Report Share Posted October 21, 2011 Not as yet, as far as I know. However, I do now know that the drive unit in the Denon 1000 is a Sharp unit, although if I remember correctly it uses the Sony 280 laser assembly. I have not as yet had time to delve any deeper, or indeed obtain any Sharp units to check which, if any, models have the same drive unit. As and when I do find out more, I will post the information here. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syndil Posted October 22, 2011 Report Share Posted October 22, 2011 I have a DMD-1000 that occasionally misbehaves. Sometimes it will refuse to eject an MD, sometimes it will spit one back out after inserting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire71 Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 Well lately, touch wood, the Denon player has been working OK, just once last week it gave me a Mech Error! Maybe it's because it wasn't in use much from the previous owner... If it starts to play up on a regular basis again, i'll try Jim's advice with the contact cleaner. Richie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davros Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 Thought I'd resurrect this thread as it is the only thing that shows up on Google for Denon Minidisc "Mech Err 1" - I have the same drive in my Denon DMD-F100. After several rebuilds I finally found the problem with mine was that the clutch gear was seized solid. Even though the limit switches on the load/eject mechanism were working fine, it seems like the player still relies on a certain amount of clutch slip at the ends of its travel. With no slip the torque from the worm gears tries to push the drive apart and jams it solid. I dismantled the clutch to free up the plates and now it is loading and ejecting perfectly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imkidd57 Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 Excellent - thanks very much for adding to the knowledge about this unit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.