MZN1 "TOC edit" Problem

[dbaronio]

I have a Sony MZN1. Recently it developed an odd problem. When I’m recording, it will go into “TOC edit” and stay there and won’t come out. I have to take the battery out to get it out of the "TOC edit" mode. And then I lose everything I just recorded. It doesn’t do it all the time but at least 50% of the time.

Any ideas what the problem could be and how to solve it?

Thanks in advance!

Dan Baronio

[Modernaire]

Me too!

I'm an MZ-N1 owner and have had the exact same problem. I've owned the MZ-N1 for about a year or two.

I've had the problem now for about a year. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.

The main problem is the recording, especially in LP2. Mine goes into automatic TOC edit after about an hour or half an hour or so. Its hard to catch because I can't be staring at the thing all the time. Then it just clicks and never ends its TOC edit.

The other problems are slow advance to other tracks, like it hangs for a while when I go to another track.

And the other problem is sometimes, not all the time, it stalls while in playback mode. In the middle of a song, it just stops and after a few seconds or almost a minute, it continues playing.

Just the other day I pulled off the top cover to see what was going on. I studied it as I tricked it to play and record. I noticed it moved from track to track faster and fast forward and reversed faster. So I thought perhaps its the cover or parts that are not moving freely inside or correctly.

I lubricated, very very carefully, not that I recommend this, the parts that I thought got affected. I then closed it up and noticed it was again slow at advancing. And the recording problem didn't go away.

I checked the MD I was using and it had a scratch. I inserted a fresher one and the recording problem did go away. It recorded fine at LP2. But when I edited tracks it would hand and give me a Disc Read Error or something and stop, then the edits would be lost, they weren't written to disc.

So its sensative to a bad MD disc or the recording heads and lasers are jamming inside. If you listen to the MD while its recording it makes a motor noise every 1:40 minutes as its recording. Then complete silence...then the noise. I believe this is when the MD is recording to RAM and then to disc.

I'm not expert, but perhaps then it could be a RAM issue. Maybe when the recorded dumps RAM recording and burns them to the MD, maybe there's a problem then, after a certain amount or time.

I did use and MD cleaning disc and I see no difference.

Sorry for the length of my (first!) post, but I wanted to share my observations in hopes that our MZ-N1 could be diagnosed!

[dbaronio]

I swear that everything you just said describes my MZN1 exactly! This must be a common defect with this unit. I hope someone out there can tell us what the problem is and how it can be addressed. Or what part needs to be replaced.

d

[Modernaire]

I don't know of what part needs to be replaced or if it can be. I've been reading these N1's have a common problem. SOme say its the recording head, the very fragile looking thing, that may need to be replaced and cost like a new MD recorder!

But let me share with you another observation.

I've been studying my MZ-N1's internal sound. Yep, I noticed that in a few cases when recording in LP2 the machanism sounds of the unit recording and spinning the MD inside, stopped every 1:40 or so minutes.

This sounds like perhaps the unit recording initially to the internal RAM, hence the silence, then "burning" to mini-disc, hence the motorized noise of things working.

So did test in recording modes, in LP4 and it worked fine, no TOC Edit hang and click.

Then I recorded in LP2, then the problem came back. I can't tell at what point, it could be in one hour in or less, not sure since I can't be staring at it. Unless one takes a camcorder to the thing then maybe. I bet its at a same point though.

Then I recorded in SP again and listened carefully to the mechanism sounds I mentioned. This time the internal sounds, and MD spinning were constant. No stop and go type thing like in LP2.

So, what I did was record a few minutes, I'll test seconds later, in SP mode then change to LP2 mode and the internals are constantly making noise, no stop and go! I do hear a slightly louder buzzy noise like it is burning to MD every minute or so. But the internal sounds are constant.

Now the trick or workaround maybe to record a few seconds in SP mode, then record in LP2 mode. I use the MD primarily in LP2 mode, I record in Sp mode only when I want an album recorded in optical.

So this may or may not be a workaround, I'll post again here if it works.

Try this out yourself, you may have to hold the MZ-N1 to your ear for a while and be patient. Post here your findings or tests!

Good luck! :smile:

[Modernaire]

I don't know if anyones reading or checking this thread, but I'm trying to figure out a workaround or trick to get these suckers to work!

Here's my latest findings:

For most of the day I recorded in LP2 and for about 4 full recordings in LP2, I haven't had a problem!

The constant sound I heard did go away, I don't know what that was about but, it now just does the recording internal sound every 1 minute and 40 seconds, which is fine.

So I think in the case of these buggy MZ-N1's that there may be a trick with formatting the disc in SP before recording in whichever speed you want.

This is just me trying, again, to figure out steps, or a trick/workaround to get the dreaded TOC edit problem not to appear again.

I'm using an a TDK 80 minute MiniDisc (the funky BIT CLUB series from Japan) and I noticed that I first recorded in SP mode, THEN in LP2 (where I was getting this TOC edit problem) the problem stopped!

I recorded with nothing attached to the MZ-N1. I went about my weekend errands with my MD in my pocket, every now and then checking the status of recording, see if it was in TOC edit mode with clicking and just hanging and nope! Nice smooth recordings in full 160 minutes in LP2! I recorded about 4 or 5 times in LP2 and smooth recording each!

Hmmm, so can the trick be that "formatting" a mini disc in SP mode before you record in other speed help eliminate or minimize the TOC edit Problem of hanging on TOC edit and then just clicking?

Try this, of course do use a fresh MD if you can and then use the disc you used before with problems. I think that if the mini disc you use has a slight defect or scratch the recording head and/or reading lens will jam.