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Disc stuck in Onkyo MD-105FX - help!!

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zzzuppp

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Does anyone have advice on how to remove a disc which won't eject from this standalone? I just played a disc which worked perfectly but when it came to Eject, the machine kept trying to eject the disc but failed. The little door-flap is open and I can see the edge of the disc, but it won't eject. I attempted to help it out by a couple of gentle nudges with a thin screwdriver, no go. I've tried unpowering it and Ejecting again, and now the MD machine reads' mecha error' (no doubt 'mechanical error').

I'm no electronic expert, but I wonder if I can remove the disc by taking the machine apart? or is this unwise? Any help gratefully received.

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Don't know about the internals of this machine, but sounds like a weak eject belt if it has such a thing.

I would try and give it some assistance from outside when trying to eject, maybe some tweezers or fine-nosed pliers. Not to pull out the disc, but to just try and help the mechanism when it tries to eject.

If it's stuck halfway then you might have to help it back in fully then try the eject again.

Otherwise it's a similar process with the lid off - usual warning about mains electricity.

Then it's locating and fitting a new belt it it is such in this machine.

To be continued...

 

SM is here: https://www.manualslib.com/download/754470/Onkyo-Md-105.html

Parts lists page -7- have "loading gear", but I don't see a mention of a belt yet...

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Thanks Kevin. I already tried the outside assistance, no use. It is fully IN rather than halfway out, but the flap-door is open so I can (theoretically) get at it. When I power it on now and press eject, nothing happens except the 'Mecha error' message, so it isn't any longer trying to eject it.

I'm wondering if there's a way I can get it out with the lid off, but with the power off (I'm really not happy messing with live electrics!)

Meanwhile that manual isn't the correct one, mine is the MD-105FX, i.e. the Hi-MD model which is somewhat different though I appreciate the loading mech. may well be the same. Doesn't seem to be a manual for it on that site.Thanks anyway.

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Sorry Kevin, that's not the manual for the 105FX, just its ancestor the 105. Up to now we've been unable to find one for the 105FX.

Looking briefly I would say there's no belt, so don't get your hopes up. In the 105's manual (the one linked) there's a reference to resetting the drive. I wonder if this is perhaps worth trying?

Is the cause of this something sticky on the MD? I am totally resistant to the full-covering and also the side mounted labels on MDs because of this type of problem.

 

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Hi sfbp, the MD will have had a label on the biggest surface (the indented part specially for labels). I've not ever experienced a problem with one before (though don't get me started on paper labels for CDs...grrr)

 

So... how does one reset the drive? and will that make any difference? at the moment when I power on it's straight into the 'Mecha error' display and no buttons are responding.

 

A thought -  the MD 105FX was one of only two Hi-MD standalones made by Onkyo, the other being the MD 133. I think the user manuals are interchangeable, so maybe the service manuals are also basically identical? Anyone know of one for the MD133?

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I have no idea if the "reset drive" even works for the 105FX. I read about it in the 105 manual just now. Sounds pretty nasty.

If you get the machine apart you might see if it's something obvious like a broken tooth on the gear/reck which does the ejection/insertion.

I have once or twice had apparently intractable problems where the 105FX failed. Leaving it powered down (not standby, but removing the cord from mains supply) overnight fixed the problem.

I don't think there's a SM for the 133 either.

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Not sure if this is any help - it's the older MD-105 unit, but has a similar "Mecha Error", albeit on the disc insertion initially. The guy strips it down and it seems like the eject / load mechanism has some kind of rollers on the side that he cleans and then something else underneath the drive mechanism that he cleans up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAP71DIGg-Y

 

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It is helpful, Richard, because it led me to put Onkyo MD-105FX into YouTube and there's a couple of videos of them being taken apart. None in English alas.

I'm well out of my comfort zone doing such things, but I'm girding up my loins to disassemble it later, in the hope of at least getting the disc out

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Success! I had to strip down the Onkyo a fair way to get near the door/eject mechanism but then managed to prise the disc out. And everything works properly again!

Phew....

And you were right sfbp, it WAS the paper label. Turns out I'd stuck a second label on top of an old one...*slaps wrist*

On trying to eject, the bottom end of the label was slightly caught on the lip of the door and subsequent ejection attempts by the machine made more paper ramp up until nothing moved and it went to 'Mecha error'.

I have learned my lesson and luckily I don't have a very expensive piece of junk. Beware of paper labels!

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Glad to hear it. More to the point, don't even consider the sexy-looking full-face labels that stick all over the MD. Mind you, I imagine that it's hard for them to have a loose edge which is in the end what caused your disaster. I'm just rather cautious.

Stephen

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Glad to hear it's working again - phew! I have to say I have never been a fan of putting labels on discs either. Mainly because I just like the designs of the discs themselves the way they come, but at the same time, I sort of think what is the point. If you put the disc inside the machine you are not going to see the label anyway.. Also because I am probably just too lazy to make proper labels.. 

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16 hours ago, zzzuppp said:

Success! I had to strip down the Onkyo a fair way to get near the door/eject mechanism but then managed to prise the disc out. And everything works properly again!

Phew....

And you were right sfbp, it WAS the paper label. Turns out I'd stuck a second label on top of an old one...*slaps wrist*

On trying to eject, the bottom end of the label was slightly caught on the lip of the door and subsequent ejection attempts by the machine made more paper ramp up until nothing moved and it went to 'Mecha error'.

I have learned my lesson and luckily I don't have a very expensive piece of junk. Beware of paper labels!

Did you need the machine to be powered on when you got the disc out? 

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No, fortunately - I don't like messing with live electronics. I was prepared to accept that I might have to if I couldn't get it out any other way, but I was able to get access to a a little bit more of the disc to coax it out. 

Why do I use paper labels? i think that's because a) for years I used cassettes a great deal, which invariably came with labels attached - the habit continued b) for years I never added titles/track names etc electronically to a disc after someone told me that labelling in this way shortened the life of the machine (Is this true?) - so I needed some kind of label. c) I  like making artwork!

 

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2 minutes ago, zzzuppp said:

b) for years I never added titles/track names etc electronically to a disc after someone told me that labelling in this way shortened the life of the machine (Is this true?)

Writing the titles is the same process as writing the audio data. On the basis of that argument, the best way to "save your machine" is to never record an MD. The audio data on an MD is around 200 megabytes (say 200,000,000 bytes). Any titles will be at most a few hundred bytes (say 200 bytes). Go figure!

Maybe this tale comes from the AMS knob "wearing out" selecting each of the letters. From experience, using that method is more wearing on the human performing the labelling process than the machine!

Glad your deck is back to life, heartening to hear!

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8 hours ago, zzzuppp said:

Why do I use paper labels? i think that's because a) for years I used cassettes a great deal, which invariably came with labels attached - the habit continued b) for years I never added titles/track names etc electronically to a disc after someone told me that labelling in this way shortened the life of the machine (Is this true?) - so I needed some kind of label. c) I  like making artwork!

 

I have never heard of that one (b) before.. Sounds somewhat far fetched to me.. However, I generally title all my discs on the computer. Even if I record something on my deck via optical or line in then I'll go and put the disc into a portable and title it via the computer. In the cases where there are not many tracks on the disc I sometimes title it on the deck and just use the remote.. 

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10 hours ago, kgallen said:

Writing the titles is the same process as writing the audio data. On the basis of that argument, the best way to "save your machine" is to never record an MD. The audio data on an MD is around 200 megabytes (say 200,000,000 bytes). Any titles will be at most a few hundred bytes (say 200 bytes). Go figure!

Maybe this tale comes from the AMS knob "wearing out" selecting each of the letters. From experience, using that method is more wearing on the human performing the labelling process than the machine!

Glad your deck is back to life, heartening to hear!

I think the advice probably originated from wearing out the (finite?) number of button pushes required from some more primitive forms of MD Decks, especially Pre-NetMD. The RM-D20P solves *that* problem, at least for decks. Trying to label things on a portable is IMHO a thankless task.

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15 minutes ago, sfbp said:

I think the advice probably originated from wearing out the (finite?) number of button pushes required from some more primitive forms of MD Decks, especially Pre-NetMD. The RM-D20P solves *that* problem, at least for decks. Trying to label things on a portable is IMHO a thankless task.

That makes sense. I had a few portable MDs for years before I got the Onkyo, and labelling using the portables seemed impossibly fiddly, even without the 'advice' I got that it would wear the machine out. On the Onkyo it's a breeze by comparison, though a keyboard would obviously be far better.

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12 hours ago, zzzuppp said:

That makes sense. I had a few portable MDs for years before I got the Onkyo, and labelling using the portables seemed impossibly fiddly, even without the 'advice' I got that it would wear the machine out. On the Onkyo it's a breeze by comparison, though a keyboard would obviously be far better.

Yes, I would second that. Even though I rarely do it, the ease of use of the jog dial on the Onkyo is great. Even the titling on the remote is relatively quick. 

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