Please help! Minidiscs and X-Ray machines

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey up

I've just got back from a trip to America where I went through a total of ten X-Ray machines with my minidisc player (Heathrow, LA, LA, NYC, NYC, Toronto, Toronto, NYC, NYC and Heathrow!) and the discs themselves. I was out there to do a really, really important interview (I'm a music journalist) which I did on my minidisc player.

Now, having got home I just came to transcribing the disc and although it would play, every time I paused it and then tried to unpause it, it flashed up 'DISC ERROR' and refused to play any more. Which was mighty, mighty scary. Anyway, I managed to hook the player up to my stereo and play the interview all in one go (without pausing) and recorded it onto a cassette tape. So now I have it (phew - you can not imagine the trouble I'd have been in if I'd lost this interview. There's no way I could've redone it).

So, I'm wondering if the many X-Ray machines were what screwed up the minidiscs (Sony Premiums)? I noticed in LA that whereas before camera films were fine to go through X-Ray machines, they're now telling people any camera films WILL be wiped and to take them out of your bags. It sounds as though they've got harder X-Ray machines now.

Now I'm hoping someone out there will tell me it could well be down to the X-Rays - then at least I'll know what went wrong. Otherwise, for fear of losing an important interview, I'm gonna have to ditch my beloved minidisc player (a Sony MZ-R900, which I've used loads without any problems) and go back to a horrid cassette dictaphone.

Any help much, much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Guest Anonymous]

I've just remembered that the X-Ray machines they said would wipe films were the ones for the luggage that you check in - rather than your hand baggage. The minidisc I've had problems with was always in my hand baggage with the player. But, as I say, they did go through 10 times in total.

Thanks.

[Christopher]

I've been through numerous X-Ray machines in airports across the world with a Minidisc player and haven't experienced any problems whatsoever.

[Bazirker]

I have also been through a bunch of x-ray machines with my MD equipment and I've never had troubles. And I mean a BUNCH, same MD recorder, same discs, no troubles. Speaking from my limited knowledge, I think it's essentially impossible for an x-ray machine to mess up a recorded minidisc. The reason is that the magnetism of the disc can't be changed or disrupted unless the disc is heated to its Curie point, which an x-ray machine can't do.

Have you tried another disc in the MD recorder to see if it still has the same problem with pausing and stuff?

[mAjEsTiC]

i agree with Bazirker...since x-rays are classified as emr it does induce a magnetic field but md's use MO technology which need both heat and magnetism to change the data stored on them...x-rays cannot induce heat so much that it's able to heat the md up to it's curie pt (from what i've seen so far) ...

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks for that help. It looks like that one minidisc had just corrupted somehow. Good to know that I can still go through X-Rays without fretting!

[Guest Anonymous]

I work in the x-ray field and Ive worked with my MZ-S1 on and nothing

has happened to it. x-ray can't hurt'em , sony ericsson phones nor clie's

which I have in all my pockets all the time while x-raying patients.

[mojo1287]

Metal detectors WILL hurt them. And badly. As in "never work again" badly. X rays are fine, however.

[PaulBennett]

I designed industrual X-Ray equipment at one time and can guarantee the magnetic leakage from the transformers (NOT the X-ray tubes) used in some X-ray cabinets CAN (not will) definately cause reduction of magnetic bit-fields on minidisks. Although you think of digital as having definate 0's and 1's, in actuality adjacent areas have a little more or a little less magnetic field. Take a few bits from from 51 pct to 49 pct in the track directory area and the recorded information can become toast. No redundancy as in CD's technology.

Caveats. 1) More recent security cabs have improved magnetic leakage because it was erasing credit cards of the 8hr/day operators. 2)Some designs place the transformers at a distance. 3) If the disks are in the MD player they are NOT at risk.

Pre and post exposed film should be placed in a film bag as a precaution against X-ray exposure. Degradation is cumulative and a trip to Europe is garanteed to take it's toll. (go digital magnetic). I would suggest household aluminum foil is a decent low cost deterant for reducing mild exposure of both film but is likely to trigger hand inspection. If I were a pro and dependant upon the disks, I would go to the home heating supply shop and get a couple 3" x 3" pieces of galvy used for heating ducts and wrap it in duct tape and use rubber bands to fasten the disks. Or go solid state Network Walkman instead of MD.

Lastly, you can request hand inspection in lieu of X-ray inspection, if you have the time to wait. (Am I getting paid for this?)