In a time when it is becoming increasingly hard to find someone who can or wants to repair MD players, thank god there is YT and folks like you for these videos! I did exactly this, took me 15 min, and my MZ-R900 is up and running again! Even a non-technical person like myself could do this 😊
I just want to tell you that your videos got me into MD players. The prices are ridiculous now on EBay so clearly they are making some kind of comeback. I purchased 4 immaculate ones this month and I’m loving them. I also started buying higher end Walkman cassette players and I’m about to replace the belt on a WM-F10ii. I’ve always been a Sony fanboy, thanks for turning on to this hobby, and I forgive you for making me spend so much money. ;)
I got ordered 2 minidisc players a mz r909 and a mz r900 and some discs like 52 discs three of them is new the rest is used. Now the reason for three new ones is I’m going to review each disc and if there is any music that I want I will move it to a different disc until I get a disc I’m okay with erasing. And two recorders don’t have a clue how long they will work before I have to fix them and I’m a truck driver so it could be a good bit of time before I get to my tools now I’m thinking of watch oils and grease and I do already have them. And the amount of discs I have a lot of music
To be fair this unit was in very good condition other than needing a lube. The batch you got from techmoan have been through the wringer, I dont envy you trying to fix then.
@@sjm4306 Thank you. I might try that one again and if it gets stuck on the TOC then I'll give it a tap as your suggest. If that works, then it might still be sticking.
Thanks for the elaboration and details of your videos about MD. Please answer the following queries: 1) I noticed silicone-based grease usage for MD application, particularly the Molykote EM-30L. Have you used it and recommended it? 2) I recently got a mint condition MZ-NF810. It is all great except for the recording; the result is jumping during the song. Is there any specific recommendation you should check out? Thanks in advance, and keep sharing your records with the MD community. Subscribed ❤
I have that MZ-R900 and it's a nice little machine but my favourite is still my trusty old MZ-R35 which has far better amplification than the later models and I prefer the layout of the buttons. It uses the LIP-12 battery rather than a gumstick but, incredibly, you can still get those. A shame the same can't be said for the LIP-8 as I'd have liked an MZ-R50 but with no new batteries available it would only be usable using the mains adaptor.
A quick google search shows there are aftermarket lip-8 batteries and I'm pretty sure I remember seeing others modding old ones to accept modern lipo batteries.
@@sjm4306 No, everywhere you go, and I've looked for a couple of years, show out of stock all the time. The moddings I've seen don't include the LIP-8. There are several for other batteries that are no longer made.
That's really annoying, I was recently trying to help someone find a usb dock cord for a mz-n10 and had the same problem. There were lots of links to the exact thing we were looking for but all of them were sold out with no hint of if they would ever be in stock again.
@@ianz9916I just managed to get a Lip-8 adapter for use with my R50 on Ebay. Makes it able to use a 14500 3.7v Li-ion battery. I did get the last one, but by the look of it, the guy prints them himself so they could be back on at some point. Title is "LIP-8 Battery adaptor adapter 3D printer for MZ-R50 minidisc minidisk"
Hello and a nice job! Do you restore MDs professionally? I have a Sony MZ-NH1 recorder which I bought new in 2004. I’ve used it very little and it even smells like a new piece of electronics! However, the other day I took it out of its box only to discover it is muting audio on its own. It isn’t skipping like a CD player can, it’s just that the audio pauses for a brief moment and then continues where it left off. While playing the first disc, some tracks were played perfectly but on some it paused quite frequently. I’ve played several discs since and the situation has improved significantly and now it pauses very seldom. I wonder what the problem is as it has never left the house and it’s in perfect shape otherwise. Any thoughts? Thanks! Cheers!
I've seen this on units that sit for a long time without exercise. The grease used to lubricate the laser sled dries over time, especially if unmoved. The pauses are the sled momentarily getting stuck, the laser losing tracking and thus audio dropping out after the buffer empties and then eventually the motor pushes the sled unstuck so it can continue playing. The reason it gets less frequent with playtime is you are respreading out the lubricant. This isn't a permanent fix though and can even cause uneven wearing of the bushings and rails as the semi-gummy grease is forced back and forth. I'd suggest getting the old grease completely cleaned off and applying fresh grease. I can offer this service if you are interested just shoot me an email at sjm4306@gmail.com
@@sjm4306 Hello and thank you for a quick reply! What you are saying makes perfect sense to me - I was about to say it appeared as though the laser was struggling to read the data. As if it was “late” to pre-read the data into the buffer on time. I am a fan of the technology but I lack the knowledge and motor skills to carry out a repair like this. I can repair a water tap but not this! :) I have sent you an email. Thank you!
do you think you do a video of lubricating the other gears in an MD? I just got a MZ-N707 and the player will vibrate for 30 seconds or so before calming down. If I skip tracks, it'll play and vibrate and then die down again.
thats normal, the player is storing the musicdata in a buffer (40sec G-safe or what its called) and stops... safes power... ones buffer is empty or change track it will read data again....
I've got a MZ-N505 that has trouble reading its own recordings. Other players will read it better, but still occasionally skip. I tried cleaning the lens and record head, and will now try lubrication although it is not noisy and does not skip on playback (with disks from other recorders) I've read about a calibration procedure, but I'm not sure how that would work. Do you have further advice? Thanks
So calibration has two parts iirc, for the first you need at least a blank disc that has never been written to (basically just buy a sealed disc). Run through MO (magneto-optical) calibration with this disc inserted. This will calibrate for rewriteable discs. When it gets to the second part it'll ask for a pressed disc (prerecorded expensive albums). This is only necessary if you plan on playing these, otherwise iirc you can just exit out of the calibration and it'll still play regular recordable discs.
I have a Sony MZ-40 that when you play a disk, the audio is all distorted and unrecognizable. What could be the issue? It reads the disc, it skips and tells you how many tracks and time.
This may sound like an odd question, does it sound like you are underwater? Does anything change if you rotate or press lightly inwards/outwards on the jack?
Hola estimado soy de Perú Vaselina podria lubricar o q me recomienda estoy en Perú Y aveces se apaga cuando voy a levantar el volumen se podrá solucionar con un limpia contactos Gracias
I would never use vaseline near anything plastic, it's a petroleum byproduct and will absolutely damage most plastics. Use white lithium grease or silicone lubricants to be safe. As for shutting off when increasing volume I have a feeling the battery contacts may be to blame (increasing volume increases current draw from the battery and having dirty/corroded contacts will cause the voltage to drop all of a sudden when current spikes).
In a time when it is becoming increasingly hard to find someone who can or wants to repair MD players, thank god there is YT and folks like you for these videos! I did exactly this, took me 15 min, and my MZ-R900 is up and running again! Even a non-technical person like myself could do this 😊
I just want to tell you that your videos got me into MD players. The prices are ridiculous now on EBay so clearly they are making some kind of comeback. I purchased 4 immaculate ones this month and I’m loving them. I also started buying higher end Walkman cassette players and I’m about to replace the belt on a WM-F10ii. I’ve always been a Sony fanboy, thanks for turning on to this hobby, and I forgive you for making me spend so much money. ;)
I was skimming through HackaDay n seen your project on there. I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work my friend
Thanks much for this, solved my player's playback issue immediately after the relub. 💪👍
I got ordered 2 minidisc players a mz r909 and a mz r900 and some discs like 52 discs three of them is new the rest is used. Now the reason for three new ones is I’m going to review each disc and if there is any music that I want I will move it to a different disc until I get a disc I’m okay with erasing. And two recorders don’t have a clue how long they will work before I have to fix them and I’m a truck driver so it could be a good bit of time before I get to my tools now I’m thinking of watch oils and grease and I do already have them. And the amount of discs I have a lot of music
You make it look so easy 🙂
To be fair this unit was in very good condition other than needing a lube. The batch you got from techmoan have been through the wringer, I dont envy you trying to fix then.
@@sjm4306 Thank you. I might try that one again and if it gets stuck on the TOC then I'll give it a tap as your suggest. If that works, then it might still be sticking.
Thanks for the elaboration and details of your videos about MD. Please answer the following queries:
1) I noticed silicone-based grease usage for MD application, particularly the Molykote EM-30L. Have you used it and recommended it?
2) I recently got a mint condition MZ-NF810. It is all great except for the recording; the result is jumping during the song. Is there any specific recommendation you should check out?
Thanks in advance, and keep sharing your records with the MD community. Subscribed ❤
Hey I have a MZ-R70 that might be useful for parts if you need it. Before it gets tossed out. Even comes with the controller
Yeah, I'm always in need of parts! Shoot me an email at sjm4306@gmail.com
I have that MZ-R900 and it's a nice little machine but my favourite is still my trusty old MZ-R35 which has far better amplification than the later models and I prefer the layout of the buttons. It uses the LIP-12 battery rather than a gumstick but, incredibly, you can still get those. A shame the same can't be said for the LIP-8 as I'd have liked an MZ-R50 but with no new batteries available it would only be usable using the mains adaptor.
A quick google search shows there are aftermarket lip-8 batteries and I'm pretty sure I remember seeing others modding old ones to accept modern lipo batteries.
@@sjm4306 No, everywhere you go, and I've looked for a couple of years, show out of stock all the time. The moddings I've seen don't include the LIP-8. There are several for other batteries that are no longer made.
That's really annoying, I was recently trying to help someone find a usb dock cord for a mz-n10 and had the same problem. There were lots of links to the exact thing we were looking for but all of them were sold out with no hint of if they would ever be in stock again.
@@ianz9916I just managed to get a Lip-8 adapter for use with my R50 on Ebay. Makes it able to use a 14500 3.7v Li-ion battery. I did get the last one, but by the look of it, the guy prints them himself so they could be back on at some point. Title is "LIP-8 Battery adaptor adapter 3D printer for MZ-R50 minidisc minidisk"
@@JamesW81 I know, I got one a couple of months ago. I saw it on a Techmoan post.
Hello and a nice job! Do you restore MDs professionally?
I have a Sony MZ-NH1 recorder which I bought new in 2004. I’ve used it very little and it even smells like a new piece of electronics! However, the other day I took it out of its box only to discover it is muting audio on its own. It isn’t skipping like a CD player can, it’s just that the audio pauses for a brief moment and then continues where it left off. While playing the first disc, some tracks were played perfectly but on some it paused quite frequently. I’ve played several discs since and the situation has improved significantly and now it pauses very seldom. I wonder what the problem is as it has never left the house and it’s in perfect shape otherwise. Any thoughts?
Thanks! Cheers!
I've seen this on units that sit for a long time without exercise. The grease used to lubricate the laser sled dries over time, especially if unmoved. The pauses are the sled momentarily getting stuck, the laser losing tracking and thus audio dropping out after the buffer empties and then eventually the motor pushes the sled unstuck so it can continue playing. The reason it gets less frequent with playtime is you are respreading out the lubricant. This isn't a permanent fix though and can even cause uneven wearing of the bushings and rails as the semi-gummy grease is forced back and forth. I'd suggest getting the old grease completely cleaned off and applying fresh grease. I can offer this service if you are interested just shoot me an email at sjm4306@gmail.com
@@sjm4306 Hello and thank you for a quick reply!
What you are saying makes perfect sense to me - I was about to say it appeared as though the laser was struggling to read the data. As if it was “late” to pre-read the data into the buffer on time. I am a fan of the technology but I lack the knowledge and motor skills to carry out a repair like this. I can repair a water tap but not this! :)
I have sent you an email.
Thank you!
Thanks for the video. Which kind of oil did you use?
I used white lithium grease
do you think you do a video of lubricating the other gears in an MD? I just got a MZ-N707 and the player will vibrate for 30 seconds or so before calming down. If I skip tracks, it'll play and vibrate and then die down again.
thats normal, the player is storing the musicdata in a buffer (40sec G-safe or what its called) and stops... safes power... ones buffer is empty or change track it will read data again....
@@LBM78 thank you!
I've got a MZ-N505 that has trouble reading its own recordings. Other players will read it better, but still occasionally skip. I tried cleaning the lens and record head, and will now try lubrication although it is not noisy and does not skip on playback (with disks from other recorders)
I've read about a calibration procedure, but I'm not sure how that would work.
Do you have further advice? Thanks
So calibration has two parts iirc, for the first you need at least a blank disc that has never been written to (basically just buy a sealed disc). Run through MO (magneto-optical) calibration with this disc inserted. This will calibrate for rewriteable discs. When it gets to the second part it'll ask for a pressed disc (prerecorded expensive albums). This is only necessary if you plan on playing these, otherwise iirc you can just exit out of the calibration and it'll still play regular recordable discs.
I have a Sony MZ-40 that when you play a disk, the audio is all distorted and unrecognizable. What could be the issue? It reads the disc, it skips and tells you how many tracks and time.
This may sound like an odd question, does it sound like you are underwater? Does anything change if you rotate or press lightly inwards/outwards on the jack?
I had used synthetic motor oil...
Hola estimado soy de Perú
Vaselina podria lubricar o q me recomienda estoy en Perú
Y aveces se apaga cuando voy a levantar el volumen se podrá solucionar con un limpia contactos
Gracias
I would never use vaseline near anything plastic, it's a petroleum byproduct and will absolutely damage most plastics. Use white lithium grease or silicone lubricants to be safe. As for shutting off when increasing volume I have a feeling the battery contacts may be to blame (increasing volume increases current draw from the battery and having dirty/corroded contacts will cause the voltage to drop all of a sudden when current spikes).
@@sjm4306gracias amigo
Si cuando de casualidad toque por la parte de la pila se apagó también gracias
This was the same issue I had with mine.
do you lube the gears?
Yep
What kind of lubricant do you use?
White lithium grease
Md Probleme disc err
That could be caused by a number of problems. First inspect, clean and relube the mechanism.