Soundbox Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Perhaps it is the post-Christmas lack of funds but I am seeing quite a few Sony MD recorders and players for sale at the Cash Converters. I was wondering whether anyone here has also found any recent bargains there? Do share your finds. This week I passed by a JE530 (like new but a bit steep at £49). I also saw a player that had a 'rainbow reflective' inset on the to panel (MZ-E60 I think) for £20 with a few discs. There were a Sony and Panasonic '4' way system (MD, CD, TAPE, TUNER) in one which were very nice at £45 each with speakers but I already have a system. They sold fast. I did buy MZ-N710 (boxed with all parts) for £20 and a MDS-JE780 (barely used but missing the remote) for £25. I have the JE780 hooked up now - very nice sound with ATRAC-S doing its work. I asked about the MD recorders and the bloke was very enthusiastic and said that they get at least one in per day and sell them almost straight away so just luck who gets what... So what have you found or bought? Any good bargains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trotter Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Havent seen a minidisc recorder in CC for months now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 I just bought a Kenwood KMD-44 (head unit) on Ebay for USD 102.50. Used but looks to be in very good condition. I bought it as a future replacement for the Kenwood KMD-673R in my wife's car in case the 673R dies. The units are very similar. The 673R is actually a Euro or UK unit, but it works very well here in the States. They are both hard to find and both have LP. The LP functionality is critical because my wife listens to a lot of audiobooks, all recorded to MD by me on an MXD-D400 or MXD-D40. I also listen to MD-ized audiobooks while driving, but my Sony MDX-C7970, which I also bought on Ebay (NIB) doesn't do LP. I use Mono for them. It seems incredible to me that MD decks can still be found on occasion in stores. But then, if that were going to happen anywhere, I'm not surprised it would be in the UK, where you are far less likely to get a blank look when you say "minidisc" than you are here! BTW, congrats on your JE780 acquisition. Great find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 I wish there was a "Cash Converters" store in my town ... It sounds like you got some great deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugbahr Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 The CC stores in Melbourne, Australia rarely get MD stuff these days :'( and their prices are usually not worth paying. Definitely no bargains like that '780 - great pickup!! I won the same unit in Australia off ebay this year ($51 bid win, but I had to pay heaps for shipping), finally set it up yesterday - C13 read error! Damn :'( On the other hand, I won a Sony dcm-m1 md camcorder from the UK yesterday. £11.50. Item # 121050849853 - check it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 I won the same unit in Australia off ebay this year ($51 bid win, but I had to pay heaps for shipping), finally set it up yesterday - C13 read error! Damn :'(Danny, before you wave your hands in horror, try setting the IOP value to the one written on the optical head. It's quite critical to the operation of decks, as I found out. You may not even need any real tools to perform this service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugbahr Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Hi Stephen, can you send me instructions on how to do that. Assume I'm pretty ignorant Thanks in advance :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Hey Stephen, My JB940 started doing this the last time I powered it up. Admittedly, since I got my MD-MX400 I have not used the 940 but eventually I'd like to do a search for the topic and solicit your assistance (as well as Jim H) to resolve that if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Hey Stephen, My JB940 started doing this the last time I powered it up. Admittedly, since I got my MD-MX400 I have not used the 940 but eventually I'd like to do a search for the topic and solicit your assistance (as well as Jim H) to resolve that if possible. Hi. This model has the MDM-7x drive, which is plagued by the C13 error. In my experience it is usually the spindle motor sticking, or a fault on the optical pickup, or as Stephen points out, it requires realigning. It goes like this: When a disc is inserted, the drive electronics sends the sled back to home, if not already there (which it should be!), then moves the objective lens up/down until the focus servo reports it can (at least partially) focus on a disc. Otherwise you get the message 'NO DISC'. The drive then spins up the spindle motor to max speed and tries to lock on the track. If the servo comes back with an error, or the initial data read from track zero is nonsense, that's when the C13 READ error appears. Or for some reason it can also give a C14 TOC error, but I am not quite sure why one or the other. A marginal focus alignment caused by a low or crappy laser can decide that the disc exists, but cannot then track the TOC info. Similarly, if the disc does not come to speed, the drive cannot read valid TOC info. And that's why both faults can cause the C13. If you pop off the hood and push a disc in, you may be able to tell if the disc is spinning up or not. I have a special clear disc with a black felt-tip line drawn on the upper surface of the disc just for this job. If not, eject the disc and delicately touch the spindle motor capstan (the disc that spins the disc) so that it moves slightly. Obviously if it won't rotate, the motor is totally fubar. But if it then kicks into life when a disc is now inserted, you know it is 'stiction' causing the problem. In which case it may work again for days, months or even never fail again? I have seen one particular unit that fails only once every year or so. A good jolt sorts it out for the next few months at least. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Wow Jim, thanks for the detailed troubleshooting directions! I'll put it on the bench as soon as possible and let you know what I discover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Wow Jim, thanks for the detailed troubleshooting directions! I'll put it on the bench as soon as possible and let you know what I discover. Good luck. If it gets you up and running without further problems, that's great. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundbox Posted January 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Thanks for the input. That Sony camcorder is different indeed and I never knew about them at all - do post about how you find it. I keep looking for in car MD decks but only ever see CD. I do remember Halfords having a whole rack of MD car equipment and I almost bought one - but plumped for tape instead (oh folly). They was a good range and I rember the LP kit but did not understand it back then as I was strictly an SP user. As to eBay bad luck we have all been there I think but fortunately not too often. I am chuffed with the JE780 and it works fine. My remote for the Sony JB980 works it and even the manuals are almost the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zokuchou Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Slugbahr's 780 fails to spin the disc after it's been inserted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 But it tries? I see where you're heading, the laser may be blown altogether. But I have also seen C13 when it wasn't actually blown, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sony_Fan Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Check your local craigslist for MD or Hi-MD units. Alot of people own these units and they don't know how much they really are worth or just want to make a quick sale. I bought an MZ-N10 for $20, and a Hi-MD unit for $50. It's a good place to buy a unit for cheap or to turn around and sell it for more. When you search, use different keywords: - minidisc - mini disc - minidisk - mini disk - Sony MD - Hi-MD - sony walkman 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.