fuzzytic Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Hey there! I recently picked up a Sony MZ-N10 player to play around with, really enjoying it so far - but wondered if anyone here could set me straight on a few things. Does anybody have any idea of how susceptible to moisture damage this unit is? It doesn't seem to have any info in the manual - obviously trying to protect it from rain etc. is a given, but if the unit is in my rucksack and gets damp is that likely to kill it quickly? Also at the same time, any idea about the water resistance of the remote part? Does that need to be kept absolutely dry or is clipping it to the inside of a hoodie pocket fine? I am still waiting for the USB data sync cable to be delivered (the person who sold me the unit forgot to include it in the package) so currently am experimenting with doing recordings directly from audio source. Initially I was using some of the large stack of fairly old discs that came with the unit - but I kept having really odd issues recording, such as skipping, volume dropouts, random panning (suddenly all of the audio would be in one ear for a moment and then flip back to normal). I did a successful record in LP2 mode today with absolutely stunning audio quality (I was expecting a much more obvious drop in quality from that mode, to be honest) - the only difference to the previous records being that this was on a brand new minidisc. Are minidiscs particularly susceptible to degradation over time, or did I probably just strike a bit of bad luck and get a couple of dirty/damaged ones. Another thing I wondered about is if the jog protection makes much of a difference while recording - one of the other things I tried on today's successful recordings was isolating it from my desk (I am quite heavy fingered when I type) - wondering if maybe the vibrations made a difference to the record before. I had some other stuff to ask but it's slipped my mind now - thanks in advance for any advice/info you can provide! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trott3r Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 " Are minidiscs particularly susceptible to degradation over time, or did I probably just strike a bit of bad luck and get a couple of dirty/damaged ones." Not at all vulnerable. IIRC they are the most robust recording media available as they are magneto optical disks like the old syquest cartridges. As to water resistance not any more or less than other removable media devices like cassette players. If the lid/top doesnt fit close to the bottom/main part of the player it could be more vulnerable to water but that depends on the condition of your player. martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzytic Posted September 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Any idea on what might have been causing the odd recording issues using old discs then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjollo Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 well the record head does touch the disk - so they can over time wear out I suppose or the contact area get unstable? Also the record head can wear out I suppose ( like the tape heads on tape recorders )The disk has a lubricant on the top surface for this reason & I have wondered whether this can dry out over time or go off. The play back head doesnt touch the under-surface so once recorded should last a long time. The discs them selves therefore dont like water or washing! With some discs u can see this lubricant as smearing on the top surface. I once took some discs back to Richer Sounds for that reason before I knew any better lol I thought they were scratches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkrockaddict Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 the discs don´t like water ? where do you think do you know this from? I´ve cleaned a lot of old discs in the dishwasher and they started to work afterwards in case they had read errors for example. I don´t think a magneto-optical disc can be influenced by water.how could it ? ever had a wet cd-r? and see what happened after it dried ? i guess nothing^^ so listen what to do with that particular discs that don´t play or record well -> try to clean them with water and/or dish soap. After they´ve dried i assume they´ll be playing and recording nicely. Just try out .. ps: that won´t be helpful if your device is in fault of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjollo Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 the discs don´t like water ? where do you think do you know this from? I´ve cleaned a lot of old discs in the dishwasher and they started to work afterwards in case they had read errors for example. I don´t think a magneto-optical disc can be influenced by water.how could it ? ever had a wet cd-r? and see what happened after it dried ? i guess nothing^^ so listen what to do with that particular discs that don´t play or record well -> try to clean them with water and/or dish soap. After they´ve dried i assume they´ll be playing and recording nicely. Just try out .. ps: that won´t be helpful if your device is in fault of course The point is that you risk washing off the lubricant from the top surface of the disc!!!! read what I said about lubricant & record head and therefore in the long run ruin the record head of your recorder or even make the motor work harder as the record head has more friction on the disc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkrockaddict Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Afaik that lubricant is a silicone grease and therefore water + dish soap can´t wash it off. I´ve washed that many discs.. really old ones i´ve recorded in 98 and none ever had caused problems afterwards. Have you ever experienced a bad disc cause of washed or worn out lubricant ? and btw the owh doesn´t get in contact with the disc at all when recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjollo Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Afaik that lubricant is a silicone grease and therefore water + dish soap can´t wash it off. I´ve washed that many discs.. really old ones i´ve recorded in 98 and none ever had caused problems afterwards. Have you ever experienced a bad disc cause of washed or worn out lubricant ? and btw the owh doesn´t get in contact with the disc at all when recording. well other people will have to make up their own minds on this matter.dont know how to resolve it. I always understood that the magnetic record head did contact the upper surface of the disc. other wise no reason to have any kind of lubrcant on the top surface and explains the marks I saw on the disks I got from Richer Sounds long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzytic Posted September 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Thanks for the info, interesting to know that you can get them wet - some of the 80 minute ones that I'm keeping have labels on that I'm going to want to get off, had a little experiment at cleaning one of them up and it looks as good as new! I've sorted through the rest and I'm planning on selling the fifty 74 minute ones on eBay (have a couple of brand new 80 mins and a bunch arriving in the next few days) - any idea on a good price to sell a big pile of MDs like that for? They're assorted quality and I haven't tested any of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjollo Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 You dont need water to get rid of labels on mindiscs - lighter fluid does the job better ( assuming you can get it where you are). just put a little on the label and cover it up to stop evaporation and leave it a few minutes. it will soften the glue on most labels, u can then use a tissue with some to remove any remaining glue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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