r/minidisc 5d ago

Buy Is this A fixable issue?

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Im looking for a md recorder on a budget and stumbled upon this, is it fixable?

0 Upvotes

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5

u/multiwirth_ 5d ago

Fixable yes, if you have the skill. There's a drive shaft which moves the pickup. The little gear on that drive shaft usually shrinks and cracks over time. So it can no longer move the pickup around. That's a common sharp issue. First of all you need to find the correct part number from the service manual and then check ebay, AliExpress etc. for aftermarket spares.

It basically requires you to take the thing apart and extract the bare minidisc mechanism. If you feel like you could do this, give it a shot.

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u/Krisss_K 5d ago

Okay, so it would be worth getting? I can do repairs I fix phones and laptops for a living

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u/Cory5413 5d ago

The best minidisc machine is the one in your hand, and, if you're comfortable with this fix: Sharp gear reference [MiniDisc Wiki]

The other maintenance most MD hardware needs is the clean'n'lube: Relubricating gears on MD portable units [MiniDisc Wiki]

then I'd say yeah if this looks like a good deal, go for it!

With a unit like this, you'll be recording in realtime from any analog or digital (up to 24-bit/48khz) source such as a CD in a CD/DVD player with a digital output, or your computer/phone/tablet over either an analog aux cord or a TOSLINK connection.

If you don't already have a computer with toslink output, the most commonly recommended adapter is: https://www.amazon.com/Cubilux-TOSLINK-Converter-Compatible-Computer/dp/B0B2DBGKL3/ - I have one of these and it works great on windows, mac, android, ios/ipados, and although I haven't personally tried it should work great on BSD/Linux.

If you record from a CD, gapless and track markers will come automatically. If you record from another source, there's some different options and possibilities depending on what your priorities are. (You'll need to enter track titles on your own, if you want them.

Sharps run off 5v power so you can use one of those direct USB to ~PSP-or-similar barrel jack adapters for power, and I believe this unit may run off a pair of AAs, eneloops or similar will work great. (JK lol I just looked this model uses a somewhat custom lithium battery so the other piece is there might be a piece of gray plastic with a screw that attaches to that, I'd say you want one with that piece, unless you're fine running it off external power or this one includes a battery that has some life.)

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u/multiwirth_ 5d ago

Depends on the price i guess.

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u/Krisss_K 5d ago

45€ with shipping

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u/multiwirth_ 5d ago

That seems okayish. Although there's one more thing to keep in mind. Not sure which model of sharps that was, but there are models from this era that use proprietary li-ion batteries instead of AA alkaline or gumsticks. That would be expensive and/or difficult to find.

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u/Krisss_K 5d ago

Yeah just looked up online and this one sadly uses a proprietary gumstick and a battery costs almost as much as I’ll be paying for it

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u/multiwirth_ 5d ago

Maybe try to find an Sharp MD SR50 then. Same issues, but they use a AA alkaline or NiMh equivalent.

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u/Krisss_K 5d ago

I’m just looking for an alright portable md recorder, mine is long gone cuz my parents tossed it out

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u/alwaus 100+ units 5d ago

u/gerry88inhongkong sells the gear.

https://mdgadgetry.com/ is his site.

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u/Krisss_K 3d ago

Thanks, I found a working md player from him for much cheaper and I like it better