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Well, do you think I was robbed?

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jim.hoggarth

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This will give you a chuckle:

Started work on a Sony MZ-N510 yesterday, and have just completed it now. I chose it as a possible B-Grade sales unit, thinking once the damaged display window plastics were swapped it would only need a tweak or two. I originally bought it in a job lot off eBay in February last year (2012), so I assumed there would be some problems as lots of 'spares or repairs' gear had often been messed with. The original stated fault was dead, but I should have realised what was to come when I spotted the display board had deliberately been left disconnected (the seller is unsurprisingly no longer a registered user on eBay.co.uk):

Display window plastics - badly marked

Key plastics - broken

Display board - LCD matrix fault

Outer chassis metalwork - bent (especially lid lock latch)

Sub-chassis disc lock release arm - bent

Head load transmission shaft - final gear slipping

Main circuit board - no motor drive

Optical pickup unit - laser fault

Motors assembly - inconsistent spindle motor speed

Upper slot mechanism and overwrite head - head tampered with and misaligned

Lower plastic casing - eject button hinge pillar broken

Sub-chassis step screw missing

Lid pop-up spring missing

Lower casing screws missing - all four of them

So, other than the plastic sub-chassis and top case, just about every other part needed or adjusting. Did you think I was seen off with this one?

Jim

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I have an MZ-N510 :D

Sounds like a pain in the backside, but interesting.

What boggles my mind though, is how that much damage came to be there in the first place. I mean "Upper slot mechanism and overwrite head - head tampered with and misaligned" That has to be deliberate, theres no way that can happen even with somewhat rough use, or would I be wrong?

Hopefully it didn't cost you too much :)

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No, just less than £5. But it was so unexpected I actually found it funny. It is quite obviously a bundle of faulty bits thrown together to sell for whatever can be got. Actually, the guy would probably have got more if the unit had been sold on its own - not too bad looking, but with a sting in the tail. Whoever worked on this before was a total amateur. But then so was I, the first time I opened up a portable MD unit!!!

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Yeah, we all gotta start somewhere.

I wouldnt even bother to attempt a repair on the discs mechanisms without finding out how and then double and tripple checking. Most of the bigger stuff is simple enough to deal with, like the recent one I did to my Sony deck. Desolder an old power cable and solder a new one. All that required was remembering where the brown and blue live and neutral wires went, which I marked on the PCB anyway.

But I imagine, at least in your case anyway, that when you repaired your first device you didnt destroy it in the process like the previous owner of the N510 seems to have :D

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Sounds to me like the guy took all his cast off bits and put them into a single unit. NO MOTOR!?!? Those motors have to be unsoldered last time I checked.

I dunno what statute you can have him under as it seems likely he bought from someone else.

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Yes, definitely a Frankenstein unit built from all the broken parts lying around. I get them every now and then, but never this blatant and complete a rip-off. I wish I could locate the other three units I bought in that batch, to see what state they are in, but they could be anywhere now. Anyhow, I am kind-of attached to this recorder now, and I don't know if I want to sell it. Perhaps I should put it in a glass case as a reminder to look at stuff as and when it comes in! I would love to be able to leave feedback for it now...

Jim

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Yeah, with anything marked as "spares & repairs" on eBay I regard it as somewhat as a lottery. You either have to read the description carefully or ask the seller lots of questions.

Still, it sounds like a challenge for your "mad skillz" Jim :-) Sounds like you're pround of the final product and for <£5 I don't think you were robbed. It gave you some practice right?

Idea: maybe you could get out some gold-ink markers, sign the back of it and crank out some "Jim Hoggarth Special Edition" units where you have had to put in extra "spit and polish" :-)

I very rarely give negative feedback on eBay to individual (non-trade) sellers but one instance I've have had to do so was a badly scuffed Sony MZ-N910 which was described in "good condition". I returned it and got a refund but be careful out there and always see a photo of what you're getting.

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Never ceases to amaze me how much trouble some people will go to (and cause) for so little financial reward. I mean, not only must it have taken considerable time to assemble this pile of junk but then the seller had to advertise it, then once sold package it up and take it to the post office. And all for what?

In my opinion pointless, absolutely pointless.

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well its like the very strange ppl who try and sell motherboard installation discs when u can download the stuff for free from the maker website?

I'd be more surprised if people buy them. There's always one I suppose. On the flip side, a lot of older boards are no longer supported online, so I could see the use in it. Common sense I guess is the way to go haha.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Jim

Interesting story about your MZ-N510. I purchased a job lot of four "faulty" N710's off ebay a year or so back and ended up swapping them with Jim for something else (I forget what). I remember one of them was working when plugged in, but will be curious to hear whether these units were in a similar condition to the N510 he described.

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Hi Jim

Interesting story about your MZ-N510. I purchased a job lot of four "faulty" N710's off ebay a year or so back and ended up swapping them with Jim for something else (I forget what). I remember one of them was working when plugged in, but will be curious to hear whether these units were in a similar condition to the N510 he described.

To be honest, I can't fully remember what I did with them. I do seem to remember fixing one, and then scrapping the rest. For units which do not meet the grade for refurbishing, I tend to strip them for parts. Every so often I go through candidates for stripping, test all the individual parts and label them up with the cost. I reckon yours went this way mostly.

Jim

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