walkdude Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Ok, so I've got a MDS-JE470 which has a similar board to this here 480 model... In theory, grabbing an optical out plug from one of my junk Sony CD changers and soldering it on like so would be simple no? I'm wondering if you'd recommend hunting for a closer 5 volts/closing those neato jumpers closer to ic661... Here it is in its currently unmodded state, making sweet, sweet dubs from my CDP-C745 via optical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 BE VERY CAREFUL! Nearly all of Sony's decks were made with 3.3V LED's. However 3.3V diodes are essentially unavailable these days. This is good news and bad news. The good news is you can get 5V diodes very cheaply (from Mouser or other suppliers). The bad news is they need a 5V rail (power supply). In most cases this is not a problem because it's not so hard to find 5V (eg CN103). I think if you plug a 3.3V diode to a 5V rail you may get premature death. If you plug a 5V diode into 3.3V it may not work properly. Since this is the most critical path for your precious sound, you would be well advised to consider the problem very carefully. For example there's a REG.+5V and an H.+5V and an M.+5V. If you know what these all mean, then good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkdude Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 BE VERY CAREFUL! Nearly all of Sony's decks were made with 3.3V LED's. However 3.3V diodes are essentially unavailable these days. This is good news and bad news. The good news is you can get 5V diodes very cheaply (from Mouser or other suppliers). The bad news is they need a 5V rail (power supply). In most cases this is not a problem because it's not so hard to find 5V (eg CN103). I think if you plug a 3.3V diode to a 5V rail you may get premature death. If you plug a 5V diode into 3.3V it may not work properly. Since this is the most critical path for your precious sound, you would be well advised to consider the problem very carefully. For example there's a REG.+5V and an H.+5V and an M.+5V. If you know what these all mean, then good luck. As you've explained, yes these are damn impossible to find ~online~ However, the junked Sony Brand CD Changer I will be using for the donation does in fact use a 3.3v signalling level output diode (confirmed by multimeter) as it was built in the same era, basically, I don't even need to do the wire mod, just add a nice matching resistor to the existing 3.3v.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilippeC Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Sony decks with MDLP and optical out MDS-JE640 MDS-JE770 MDS-JE780 (Type-S / Net-MD) MDS-JB930 MDS-JB940 MDS-JB980 (Type-S / Net-MD) MDS-JA333ES MXD-D400 (TypeS + MD/CD deck !!!!) some Sony bookshelves too have one. Sony MXD-D5C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Philippe: I don't know about non-US models, but my Sony MDS-JB930, while it does have optical out and otherwise is mainly a really nice deck, isn't MDLP-capable. I do have an MXD-D400 which is most assuredly Type S and MDLP. The MDLP sound is improved even further because I'm sending it via digital out into an MDS-JA20ES. Thanks for the list, even though it confirms my fear that there aren't many easily available LP decks with optical out (that also don't cost a lot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilippeC Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Never tried an optical connection between two MD decks. Interesting. You could try also a modern external DAC instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieronkirk Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 The Sony MDS-JB930 is not MDLP capable, but does have an optical out. It is possible to connect two MD players, optical to optical, or co-ax to co-ax to make/edit a second copy of a recording. Chiarain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Philippe, I did consider an actual standalone DAC, but it just didn't seem like a good use of $$ when I could just use the JA20ES's DAC for the same purpose. It's a very good DAC and even improves the SQ of LP output from the MXD-D400. I am also going to take the coax output from an Aiwa CD-R and pass that along to the JA20ES's coax in. Walkdude, good luck with your project and I hope you will report here how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 The Sony MDS-JB930 is not MDLP capable, but does have an optical out. It is possible to connect two MD players, optical to optical, or co-ax to co-ax to make/edit a second copy of a recording. Chiarain. Yes, but with heavy qualifications: 1. you need a pro deck that either strips SCMS or ignores it (as source or destination) or; 2. you need an SCMS stripper; or 3. under some circumstances you may be able to make one copy of an ANALOG recording. I've never figured out what these are, the intent of the protection is to prevent you from making any digital copies (ie digital out from an originally digital signal) What exactly were you proposing (or describing) in your post? If there's some new trick, I'm always game to try it...... Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieronkirk Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 "What exactly were you proposing (or describing) in your post? If there's some new trick, I'm always game to try it.." I record concerts from BBC Radio 3,FM or DAB in analog because my JB930 goes into SCMS mode if I attempt to do so digitaly. I use MD80s in order to get the recording onto MD. After editing if it appears that I could have used an MD74 or MD60, I transfer the recording between two JB930s SPDIF to SPDIF. Chiarain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimma Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 I have my MDS-JE510 and MDS-JE530 linked up optically and use them to make digital copies regularly with extremely good results. When I produce new dj mixes, they are recorded from the line out of the mixer into the line in of the recorder (usually an HHB MDP500). I can then produce digital copies of this master disc using the two decks as described above since the original disc was recorded from an analogue source. Since I mainly supply my mixes to people on MiniDisc, this is very useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkdude Posted May 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 OK I did it and it works! First I pulled the board out of a CDP-CE375 made Circa 2006 as it was a dirt common, broken 5CD Changer... Then I pulled a 4.7uf 50v cap, a jumper, and a resistor that matched the color of the Digital In resistor, off the CD Changer board. Soldered it in accordingly... Note the jumper plugged into L641, If it is any resistor value besides 0 ohm (i.e a chunk of wire) the voltage drops too much to run the capacitor/resistor chain cloned from the Digital in side. Then I cut and filed a hole for the plug where it would usually go on a JE770 model. And here it is working. And here it is processing it's own signal... this trick takes plugging it into an optical out from something else first, like a TV. I just compared service manuals and voltages... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkdude Posted May 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 SCMS Defeated on output? Not sure yet, it seems to be, I'd have to get an TOSLINK adaptor for my pocket MDLP to make sure I can make a 1:1 copy. How did I find exactly every part I needed off a newer CD Changer? Pure Friggin' Luck. How long did it take? About an hour of careful soldering. Why? Sony has a way with their market segmentation, they simply tear down a high end model and sell it for less, so there's always room for aftermarket upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Great pix...thanks for taking the time to post them. I would guess that SCMS is going to pass through intact. That's what happens on my HHB BurnIT CD-R, which when recording is set to strip SCMS, and does. However, when it's used in Monitor mode, it passes along the SCMS encoding all too well. Good luck with it, though. BTW, yes, you will need either an adaptor or an optical cable that is mini on one end and full-size on the other if you're going deck-to-portable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkdude Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 It works fine, even SCMS, I can hear music coming from the deck through the walkman! so I bet I could probably rip MD's back into the computer with an Optical In Equipped soundcard or hook it up to a digitally equipped stereo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Yup, just don't give anyone the idea that they can get optical out FROM the walkman though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkdude Posted May 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2020 Hi! Still around? I'm happy to report that the mod has successfully completed 5 years and 25ish days of service with no ill effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perus Posted April 16, 2021 Report Share Posted April 16, 2021 Thinking of adding a DLT-1150 (found in a bad working optical switch) to my JE470 - that should work since it handles 3-5VCC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted April 16, 2021 Report Share Posted April 16, 2021 4 hours ago, Perus said: Thinking of adding a DLT-1150 (found in a bad working optical switch) to my JE470 - that should work since it handles 3-5VCC From these two datasheets (one for the DLT-1150, one for the Cliff OTJ-5 [known to work and fit]), the pinout and pin pitch looks the same, but the mechanicals for the DLT-1150 are a little different - the plastic support pins are in a different position and there is no self-tapping screw hole for support. So you'll have to cut off the plastic lugs then be relying on the 3 soldered PCB connections. So electrically it will probably work (I didn't compare the electrical characteristic), but it will be mechanically weak - inserting a TOSLINK plug will tend to want to cam the connector on the PCB. Good luck - let us know how you get on. DLT-1150 Cliff OTJ-5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perus Posted April 19, 2021 Report Share Posted April 19, 2021 Yeah, it's missing the screw hole for support but do have two additional metal pins instead which should work as support I hope. Thanks, /Per Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted April 19, 2021 Report Share Posted April 19, 2021 29 minutes ago, Perus said: but do have two additional metal pins instead which should work as support I hope. I think you know what you're doing - but it looks to me like you will need to drill the PCB very precisely to take these pins. That is assuming there are no other PCB traces in the way and that the copper fill planes on top and bottom are the same signal (GND hopefully) otherwise you will create a dead short, possibly across a power supply (say +3V3 is on the top and 0V on the bottom). Risky. Do lots of physical and electrical checks and good luck...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkdude Posted April 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2021 11 hours ago, kgallen said: I think you know what you're doing - but it looks to me like you will need to drill the PCB very precisely to take these pins. That is assuming there are no other PCB traces in the way and that the copper fill planes on top and bottom are the same signal (GND hopefully) otherwise you will create a dead short, possibly across a power supply (say +3V3 is on the top and 0V on the bottom). Risky. Do lots of physical and electrical checks and good luck...! I agree, it would be smarter to use a dlt-1180 or similar component, although the optical cable itself is robust, the plugs are built to RCA cable standards and specifications, so, like a screwless lug RCA jack, it's going to be at the behest of the solder joint alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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