tetsuo1981 Posted July 31 Report Share Posted July 31 Hi all I've got a Japanese LAM-1 and it's ok-ish but I've got a few issues. Can't high speed record from cd to md but can do real-time. But either through net md or recording cd the recorded disc has intermittent skips on playback. I've cleaned as far as I can, is it worth going deeper and potentially breaking it to clean and relube or is it just dying? Cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBoy Posted August 1 Report Share Posted August 1 Hi @tetsuo1981. Welcome to the forum 🙂 Are the playback skips only when you play back on the LAM-1 or do you get them when playing those discs back on other MiniDisc players too? Are the skips always in the same place? Have you got any MiniDiscs that have been recorded on a different device? If so, do they play back okay on your LAM-1? I'm not familiar with the LAM-1 but can you reach the laser/head to clean them with some IPA without opening it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetsuo1981 Posted August 1 Author Report Share Posted August 1 6 hours ago, BearBoy said: Hi @tetsuo1981. Welcome to the forum 🙂 Are the playback skips only when you play back on the LAM-1 or do you get them when playing those discs back on other MiniDisc players too? Are the skips always in the same place? Have you got any MiniDiscs that have been recorded on a different device? If so, do they play back okay on your LAM-1? I'm not familiar with the LAM-1 but can you reach the laser/head to clean them with some IPA without opening it up? Hi @BearBoy, thanks for having me. Skips occur when playing back on both the LAM-1 and seperate device. They're nearly always in the same place. 99% sure other discs including pre-recorded discs play back fine. I did manage to dub from a cd to md once with no skips but the next time it want back to skipping, same as using any type of netmd software too. I've stuck a cotton swab in and cleaned bothe the lens and head numerous times with no real joy, It made it better but not perfect (less skips). I read somewhere, can't remember where now, that if the lens / write head isn't tracking properly while recording it can cause this and recording is more sensitive to this than playback. I'm stuck as I'm terrified of opening it up to get to the gears to clean and relube but think it's my only option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted August 2 Report Share Posted August 2 It's rare that cleaning ANYTHING makes a difference. Congealed grease, maybe. But you have to have the exactl right replacement first (Molykote). More likely a power supply and/or adjustment issue, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetsuo1981 Posted August 5 Author Report Share Posted August 5 On 8/2/2024 at 11:48 PM, sfbp said: It's rare that cleaning ANYTHING makes a difference. Congealed grease, maybe. But you have to have the exactl right replacement first (Molykote). More likely a power supply and/or adjustment issue, I think. Nuts, that was not what I was hoping for. Think I'm gonna cut my losses and sell it as spares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted August 5 Report Share Posted August 5 Sorry, maybe someone else here can provide direct experience. I recall one of our members who repaired things professionally complaining about the difficulty of servicing the LAM. Specifically he complained that it didn't really seem well-designed in the area of disassembly/re-assembly. I'll see if I can find the post. Yup, here you go: https://forums.sonyinsider.com/topic/28150-sony-sound-gate-cd-md-stereo-lam-z03-japan-mini-disc/?do=findComment&comment=183773 Mind you this isn't the exact same model but I thought it an interesting comment at the time. Kind regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted August 5 Report Share Posted August 5 Sorry for being late to the party and probably not adding much... The answers to the questions asked by @BearBoy above are important. Skips on playback are probably mechanical, due to the laser sled not moving smoothly on the guide rail. This means that the laser loses position, the memory buffer drains for a while and then becomes empty. In the meantime the servo mechanism is trying crazily to reposition the laser head to the last known good read address which it finally achieves as the laser "snaps" into position. On a disc that is recorded fresh sequentially (not fragmented due to edit deletes and re-records) it needs to be determined if the skip is always at the same laser position which could be due to dirt on the rail at one location or a deformation of the rail (less likely). Guide rail cleanliness and very minimal lube plus laser transport being moved fore and back across the whole disc radius is the first port of call. Skips in record can be for the same reason as playback, or could be due to loss of input data if recording digitally (SPDIF or TosLink loses digital sync or NetMD connection unreliable) or due to the machine being knocked or on an unstable base (less likely with a deck-type unit). Not being able to record at high speed could be due to weak laser. The high speed dub machines (like MXD-D4) use a laser that can be driven at higher power during the record phase in order to perform the erase/Curie heating function on a disc that is spinning faster. Or the laser is ok but out of calibration. Addressing both requires a Service Manual, some moderate knowledge and some kit like a suitable LPM and an Iop measurement connector plus a DVM. That's my 2p/2c worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted August 5 Report Share Posted August 5 I knew you would have a better answer, Kevin...... well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted August 5 Report Share Posted August 5 Pfffft not sure I've brought much to this party! Same old answer really! 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetsuo1981 Posted August 6 Author Report Share Posted August 6 @kgallen @sfbp thanks for the in depth answers. The skips are apparent in nearly the same places most of the time when recording on the lam and these are replicated when played in a different device. But pre recorded and discs recorded from another device playback fine. I was thinking problems with high-speed dubbing was down to a power issue, either my stepdown converter or capacitors failing but was hoping for a simple fix as replacing capacitors or adjusting / measuring the laser is well out of my skill set. There's no service manual i can find, even in japanese and only a few pictures on the wiki of the inside of it. The more I think the more inclined I am to cut my losses and sell it as spares repairs and put the funds to a 'newer' net md deck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted August 6 Report Share Posted August 6 The portable md units (non-HiMD) have in my experience a problem, and it relates to power. Whenever I tried doing NetMD without being plugged into the mains, it would fail in exactly the way you are describing. If I plugged in the 3V adapter it was fine. HiMD units never had a problem. Recording from aux or microphone never had a problem. So if the dubbing is important to you..... or maybe like the rest of us you end up with a few too many units of this generally-marvellous technology *knowing* that some things are to be avoided.....? Kind regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetsuo1981 Posted August 8 Author Report Share Posted August 8 @sfbp that's odd, I'm sure I've had my netmd walkman record off of battery before I'm gonna have to test again now. The brutal honesty is I've been spoiled by netmd and the ease of labeling etc and was after a small deck to use just as my burner. As for *knowing* that some things should be avoided, I was going to leave it be and cut my losses with the lam. Then a netmd bookcase unit and 100w transformer fell into my basket last night! 🤣 if this doesn't work I'm giving up!! But am interested regarding power issue you mentioned, will try the lam woth the beefier transformer when it comes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted August 9 Report Share Posted August 9 I don't think it's the mains transformer for the LAM. But I could easily be surprised. Kevin's theory about sticky sleds sounds pretty reasonable. But there are some power adjustments which affect the laser and the electronics of PORTABLE units generally. Which bookshelf, I am curious? some of them are really fun. I just spent 6 months messing with CMT-PX7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetsuo1981 Posted August 9 Author Report Share Posted August 9 @sfbp got a CMT-M333NT coming from Japan. Gonna have to sacrifice the speakers sadly to keep shipping costs down but can easily grab a similar pair from eBay/FB market place if I need them. It's going to be my pure recording device so I don't keep thrashing my nz510 Will report back when the new transformer arrives if the lam behaves any differently. Still half tempted to have it apart but I've not got the best track record so might just leave it for someone more skilled and braver than me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted August 9 Report Share Posted August 9 The CMT-M333/373NT is a very nice machine. The tape deck produces almost as good dubs as my Denon 800 (though the latter has a few tweaks for badly behaved cassettes, subjectively the sound from the Sony is cleaner and brighter). Good decision - keep the LAM for playback! There's probably nothing much you (or anyone, given the difficulties reported by Jim) can do to improve it. The PX7 comes from a much sturdier generation of engineering before Sony decided to cut costs - most everything is metal, not plastic. The M333 is somewhere in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetsuo1981 Posted August 10 Author Report Share Posted August 10 @sfbp I'm tempted to keep the lam but the Mrs is giving me stink eye about it! Happy wife, happy life!! 🤣 I dunno, I might keep it yet and take it to work for a player. I don't want to let it go cos it's cool but at the same time if I'm not gonna use it, then it's dead money. Glad to hear my choice was a good one, got some replacement belts on order to make sure it's all good when it comes 👍🏻 Just waiting for the hit on shipping from japan, even without speakers it's not gonna be cheap. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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