100 Junk MDs - How many did I get working

[@andyflange]

Some of the ones with a TOC read error may have a similar issue to mine which was sat unused for over 10 years... the motor for the read head had seized. I lubricated the Worm gear and gently moved the read head back and forward numerous times by hand to try and unsieze it. Worked for a while but seemed to seize again 20 or so minutes into a disc so I re-opened it, cleaned the worm gear with IPA, re-lubricated and manipulated the read head again and it has worked perfectly since

[@Dolphination]

Good work!

[@ShakaCthulu]

I’ll have to give that a shot. I refuse to condemn my Sony MD deck to the trashbin.

[@ujustgotpwned2008]

Took me a while to work out why International-Style Pale Ale was useful in this, but Isopropyl Alcohol is probably more useful

[@stephenbeeby8850]

@@ujustgotpwned2008 Exactly what I was thinking

[@stylesuxx]

Haha, back in the high times of MD I was working as a repair technician for Sony, you would not believe how many devices were sent in for repair and just had the hold button in the locked position - we even had a special card that explained what the hold button does :-D

[@Kenny_P_abz]

I love how initially laid out all your repair materials but half way through you resorted to giving it a whack. Your videos are a Saturday highlight - cheers.

[@VinnytotheK]

👋💥

[@misterkite]

"Percussive maintenance"

[@kevwang0712]

Out of curiosity, if a machine relies on a spinning motor that's having trouble getting its spin starting, wouldn't it be possible that a good whack might just be the kickstart it needs?

[@AlfaGiuliaQV]

@@kevwang0712 Just like an old car might need a damn good thrashing from time to time.

[@alexanderthomas2660]

Giving it a whack is not as wacky as it may sound! I have noticed that the biggest problem with my old Sharp MD player (besides the gumstick battery being deader than dead after all these years) is that the carriage can get stuck when it hasn't moved for a long time. A good whack will usually remedy this.

[@mal2ksc]

Any time you get a salvage rate over 50% from a total grab bag, you've done well.

[@themlotproductions]

Yes, but at roughly £50 each it’s not quite a bargain!

[@mal2ksc]

@@themlotproductions £50? I thought it worked out to more like £10 per working unit when it was all said and done, and a couple of the salvaged units are really nice recorders.

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

I find them regularly at the recycling center and they pretty much all work, I also find 7/8th gen i7/i5 laptops that work. It's surprising how people don't care about outdated but perfectly fine tech stuff.

[@mal2ksc]

@@LaurentiusTriarius At least MiniDisc requires actual discs which are kind of rare -- unlike that 7th/8th gen laptop, which isn't obsolete by any stretch. I'm typing this on a 3rd gen Celeron! I should hang around your recycling center and snag an upgrade or three.

[@Jrodsly]

Indeed. I know Techmoan said not to buy these lots, but I'm still tempted by one of these lots. My Dad wants to split a lot with me at some point, so I want to try one out for fun.

[@Gappasaurus]

Me: “Perhaps Mat buying and repairing 100 MD players is just a bit too much?” 🤔 Luther Vandross: 🎶 “Never too much, never too much, never too much…” 🎵

[@Steakkiller]

When life gives you lemons, clean your Minidisc player 🍋

[@CathyInBlue]

Don't make life take the lemons back? Don't demand to see life's manager?

[@Steakkiller]

@@CathyInBlue Nah. I'd probably just bake some lemon cake. Not gonna lie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@BLenz-114]

@@CathyInBlue Oh I demand to see life's manager almost daily, but that guy's a wily one and hasn't made an appearance yet. Starting to wonder a bit . . . .

[@lemoneer7474]

@@CathyInBlue Don’t have the scientists develop a lemon that can burn your house down?

[@deanchur]

For the full early 2000's experience I recommend connecting one of the MD players to a Playstation 2 via the optical out and recording game music so you can listen to it later. Many good memories of recording MSX FM from GTA3 to Hi-MD via the optical out

[@TobyRieper48]

This is how I recorded all of my music back in the day!

[@victorvangrimgamming6784]

SONY: "wow look at how many minidisc players are being bought amd how much buzz their is about minidisc. Perhaps it's makeing a comeback?" Matt: "today I'm cleaning 100 minidisc players"

[@inactiveytchannel]

*This is the most Techmoan thing I've ever seen*

[@bsadewitz]

It does exemplify the paradigm, doesn't it?

[@bengelman2600]

Totally🤣

[@shantrannyduck]

yes totally certifiable :] and REALLY fun

[@CBitsTech]

Lemon smells better than white vinegar! Good tip, thanks.

[@johnqpublic2718]

Citric amd ascorbic acid vs acetic acid - basic chemistry classes teach them all.

[@senorcapitandiogenes2068]

But lemon juice contains a lot of sugar. Make sure to rinse it off with an appropiate amount of destilled water.

[@senorcapitandiogenes2068]

@@JamesTK Might I suggest Chlorine Triflouride instead? Its just more convenient

[@iaincowell9747]

@@senorcapitandiogenes2068 if you are using pure lemon juice then no it doesn't contain a lot of sugar. Lemons have a low sugar content

[@MoultrieGeek]

After watching your efforts with contact cleaning I got motivated to clean/change the batteries in my lounge wall clock. Thanks Mat!

[@kkgt6591]

Dude 😆

[@1969longshanks]

All ready for when the clocks go back

[@julianjv7325]

Jajajaja.

[@Darxide23]

In all my years of troubleshooting and repair, I've learned that "dirty laser lenses" is kind of a myth. Unless it was one of those stereo/boombox types with the lid that opened fully and some kid with jam hands was getting the lens all sticky with boogers and whatnot, then cleaning the laser lens is more or less a lesson in futility.

[@russelllukenbill]

Kind of like how when I clean my glasses, I somehow gain perfect eyesight. lol

[@testname4464]

@@russelllukenbill No because glasses genuinely do get dirty. Water, dust, and other gunk gets all over the lenses since they're exposed 24/7

[@russelllukenbill]

@@testname4464 Yes, but they rarely get dirty enough that you can't make out what it is your seeing, it is just a little blurry or whatever. I can't remember the last time that my glasses were so dirty that I couldn't see out of them at all, except when coming in from outside and they fog for a few minutes, but that is not the same thing.

[@testname4464]

@@russelllukenbill What kinda perfect world do you live in? I have to clean my glasses every few days or else everything gets blurry

[@russelllukenbill]

@@testname4464 I don't know what to tell you. I didn't say that I never clean my glasses, I said that they don't get dirty enough for me not to be able to see out of them entirely. Blurry is not the same as complete obstructed. I obviously live in the same world as you and it certainly isn't perfect. I won't keep arguing this with you, have a nice life.

[@retractingblinds]

Hey Techmoan, I work on a lot of CD drives for game consoles and one of the surprise culprits for them has been the sensor switches for lid, media or laser positions. These are usually little pressure lever based microswitches. Using the youtube standard deoxit I've had a lot of success cleaning these switches and watching the devices spring back to life. They seem to be prone to oxidization. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if some of these mini disc players have a sensor switch or two gummed up from the elements and are in need of contact restoration. Try it if you can, but shield sensitive elements like the laser lens from the spray.

[@mpersad]

"Schrödinger's mini disc" - priceless!

[@trzarector]

What is it about MD that still fascinates us!!! The amount of variations of design is amazing. Some great looking machines you’ve got there. Great video from a fellow MD lover! 💽

[@punksci6879]

I'd strongly advise using IPA after the lemon juice, organic residue left on it will cause problems again in short order.

[@TimRrstrm]

Indeed, clear vinegar is a better choice.

[@VinnytotheK]

Organic Residue seems like a nice band name.

[@pand3mic942]

@@VinnytotheK It sounds more to me like a term used in a bad hotel review

[@VinnytotheK]

@@pand3mic942 😧

[@hoffwell]

India Pale Ale?

[@croolis]

The way most of the Sony devices work is that the lid of the gumstick battery bay, with the positive contact, connects to the chassis through the hinge - if the hinge has corrosion in it, there is a good chance it won't connect. This can be tested using a multimeter between the battery terminal and the terminal for the external battery case as these are wired in parallel. Thanks for the great videos as always.

[@KarlAdamsAudio]

19:56 my Sony D-35 Discman had an episode of "scrambled buttons" that turned out to be a dirty hold switch that was making partial contact - a bit of exercise & it came good, thankfully.

[@russellhltn1396]

Some machines have a two wire control where different resistors are connected to request different actions. A dirty contact somewhere is going to throw off those values enough that buttons end up doing something other than what they are labeled for. This may be a fairly simple fix.

[@Ineedanameplease]

He said “you ain’t getting any of my mini disc players!” 😆 and I resonate with that

[@brysimm404]

It's amazing how many different MiniDisc player designs were actually made and sold - outside the USA anyway. My SHARP unit still works, and takes AA batteries instead of using a "gum stick".

[@surfacematter2098]

I wonder why we love these MD videos so much? I dont get it..but here I am, watching and wanting one for no reason other than they look cool and you make them seem really interesting.

[@burendasan]

I don’t have the time, money, or space to do what he did so I feel like I’m living vicariously watching him go through all the MD player models and try to fix them.

[@saoirsecameron]

To me they seem like the perfect technology for the moment. In an age of subscription where we own nothing, physical media is making a comeback, and minidisc seems like the perfect compromise between the sound quality of CD and the portability and read/write abilities of cassette tapes. I’m not good at fixing and troubleshooting old tech, but if they started making these again I would purchase one.

[@DJNeiloSF]

Suggestion: you might want to neutralize that lemon acid on the device when you are done cleaning, otherwise it may cause unwanted corrosion over time.

[@chaos.corner]

Do you know that from bitter experience?

[@RCAvhstape]

@@chaos.corner Kind of sours the deal, doesn't it.

[@kevinr.3542]

Maybe you just bought a lemon

[@andypyne]

The simple solution is to use partially corroded batteries so that the leaking alkaline neutralises the lemon juice.... 🤔

[@ericpode6095]

🤣😂🤣

[@minipolenet]

I bought MD recoder because I was interested in minidisc after seeing your past video, and I bought junk condition Sony netMD with battery terminal corroded because I did not want to spend a lot of money on discontinued devices. This was easily removed with a home rust remover containing phosphoric acid and then operated perfectly

[@rahb1]

Fascinating video! I am SO impressed by your patience and persistence! I am now *really* annoyed I gave away all my MD stuff. Absolutely perfect for community radio.

[@Blackadder75]

Or use a phone....

[@yahnsolo]

A thing to consider is that very very thin dust that comes from jean’s pockets. Especially those thin devices that goes often on pockets. The dust sneaks in the optical assembly, on the prism and make the reading to fail (TOC errors, or erratic play after some lucky attempts).

[@n2n8sda]

A lot of the Sony MD players have a hidden service menu where you can do laser and magnetic diagnostics. Some of the older portable recorders might play discs but will fail / choppy audio when trying to record.

[@WinterCedar]

How do you access it?

[@sweaterfish6311]

I've also had a problem on a couple units where any edit to the TOC (even just renaming or moving a track without recording anything new) corrupts the whole TOC and makes the disc unreadable. I assume this would only apply to recorders, too, since the players don't have any TOC editing ability.

[@countgent]

You can find the way in the user manual. Just find the pdf you need. I fixed some TOC issues that way. But not for long !

[@HeyPatch]

For the mz-r55 it’s like the conami code 😂 ff ww ff ww ff ww vol up vol down play pause play pause 😂 (FYI that isn’t the actual code, look for the service manual for your player the see how to access the diagnostics menu)

[@sohatyi]

You might have one of the largest collections of working MiniDisc players in the world.

[@TheducksOrg]

@@plan7a also Techmoan :)

[@MarcGrondin]

Great to see so many of them working. This is just the type of thing I would spend a week on lol.

[@paulmurgatroyd6372]

The madness of the 'barely different' battery adapters makes me seethe.

[@Chief89Music]

wow I like how fiercely you ended up staying on this topic and turned this into a series even very awesome especially also and as for me to see since I skipped that minidisc thing back in the day so all the more nice to see what it was about as for the now retro tech . . .

[@johnrose8145]

10 hours! You have the patience of a saint. Great stuff, love your videos, keep up the good work (because I wouldn't have the patience - and neither would the wife).

[@ampsmashed]

All Hail the Mighty Lemon 👐 Excellent weekend viewing whilst doing my soldering. Honestly amazed that any of these kinds of micro devices still work at all. Tempted to buy one myself. Some seem bomb proof.

[@phantom2012]

I and many of my friends had them in the day. There's a reason the corners are often worn. The corner smack was common to unjam the micro motor that spun the disc, or the carriage. I had a sony recorder and it failed once. One slap and it was sorted.

[@TheRolandS69]

Great video and I really enjoyed seeing the outcome from the previous video. I never did own a Minidisc and have no plans to, but still interesting.

[@meechmushrooms]

"The things are blind; they can't see the disc at all." That made me laugh harder than it should have.

[@whomee2]

Just a couple of notes from my CD experiences: 1) The external battery packs: you mention that some of them don't line up, being too narrow or too wide; I had one that those contacts could be slid along a channel to line up. It wasn't an official sony or other name brand product, I recall is was an off-brand, universal type of thing. Not sure if any of yours may have that option, or if you could even come across one on an auction site. 2) The Lens Cleaning Discs: first of all, that lens cleaner with the ribbon that you wiggle, with the little brush on the disc--that is how all CD lens cleaners work, they all have a brush of some kind stuck to the disc to spin around on the laser. If you opened up that official sony lens cleaning disc, you would (i'm 99.9% sure) find a little brush affixed to the disc in the same manner. Also, with my cd-lens cleaners, I always put a drop of isopropyl/rubbing alcohol on that little brush before i put the cd into to the player. It always seemed to get the player working for a good while before needing cleaned again.

[@SvenBollue]

Depends what one considers 'working'. Most of the old portables will play fine, but recording correctly, that's a whole different ballgame. Because in that case, the very frilly magnetic head that touches the top layer of the disc needs to still be perfectly aligned with the last underneath the disc, the tiny flat cable not broken and the magnetic head not clogged with dust/dirt.

[@AristarcoPalacios]

I was happy about the MD players that work. Then you dropped the bomb "I'm not selling them to you" and my heart shattered and broke into a million bits. 😢

[@sofa-lofa4241]

Not a bad result in the end, just shows how contact cleaner can help! Personally, I use De-ox it, it's not cheap but will save devices for years... Bad battery contacts, switches, pots, etc. It's been worth it's weight in gold over the years, saved many portables, amps, etc.

[@lancethrustworthy]

I use white vinegar instead of lemon juice. I was thinking it would be close to 50/50, but I'm glad to see the numbers were in your favor. Bravo.

[@glenngogoll6166]

Thanks for your great videos. As a 30 year, retired veteran of the Australian audio industry, youve shown me things that ive never heard of, let alone seen. Inwas, vaguely familiar with the Philips ski slope, but i dont remember actually seeing one. But then,these days, i dont remeber a lot of things. Cheers & keep up the good work. After 30 years in the business, it gets in your blood & I’ll always be interested in old stuff.

[@LboroWick]

Not quite sure why I watched the whole of this video and enjoyed it. It’s just some guy in England importing a pile of Japanese junk and going through it piece by piece. I guess Techmoan does it so we don’t have to. I genuinely love it. 😁

[@anonUK]

Shakespeare was just some guy in England who wrote stuff.

[@DavidSGrop]

You know why.

[@gregx5096]

Techmoan does it because we CAN'T!

[@UnholyTriforceDelenn]

The more videos you do on the MD format, the more I'm obsessed with it, Mat! I really love MDs, and I really want to get a Hi-Fi or Mini Hi-Fi MD player that can record discs with the metadata included, as well as a bunch of recordable discs and start burning them with my favourite music. I'll then take those discs, along with any pre-recorded albums I can get hold of, and play them on a portable MD player, making that my primary listening device when I'm out and about (whenever that becomes a thing again without lockdowns and such). I dunno if you're planning to do any more videos on MDs, but if you do, I'm looking forward to them!

[@skywind007]

Techmoan, you should have picked a single grand winner and then made a separate 5 minute video about it.

[@green929392]

If your ever looking to get rid of the broken machines Im sure Colin from "This Does Not Compute" would be happy to accept them. Hes diagnosed and fixed a bunch of players on his youtube channel.

[@wearetomorrowspast.5617]

I could watch Mini-Disc vids all day long. Just a perfect use of technology. Useful, compact, user friendly. Loved the the whole thing.

[@BigKelvPark]

Matt, the Sony at 8:37 may not like that battery (I used the same fleabay specials). One of mine (I can't remember which one) did the same. Furthermore, I can't remember where I read it but I had to drill a dimple in the base of the battery for it to work without issue. I think there is a very crude but descrete microswitch on the battery flap. I've moved house twice since I last saw any of my portables and I still have several boxes to unpack.

[@BigKelvPark]

Now I've finished the video, it's good to see you got it working. I really need to find my missing portables.

[@jaimemcnulty]

one of the purest hobbyist channels on youtube. thank you for your vids.

[@SplicesAndCelluloid]

20:41 It seems like the DAC is broken, I'd be interested to see if the digital out still works though.

[@grfeld84]

Glad to see that the majority of the players worked! Thank you for sharing the experience!

[@Frenchmisto]

You’re an amazing man! I enjoy watching your KZbin videos so much. Kind regards from a French man living in Japan!

[@natanbagley8949]

こんにちわ、monsieur.

[@sumplais]

I picked up a minidisc player at a thrift store and before I could do much with it, someone stole it (and the rest of my work bag). Much more recently I found a Sony MZ-NH1 and with its lil docking station at a goodwill, and because it didn't have a power cord it was very cheap. Thanks to your video I just learned it does Hi-MD, came with a 1gig disc and has a LIP-4WM battery (a variation on the gum stick battery). I thought it had a built in battery till now. That is quite the collection you have. I never realized how many different companies and models of portable minidisc players there were. Good luck on the dead ones if you keep working on them, and congrats on the working ones.

[@magicalpencil]

going through all of those broken MD players reminded me of the prison scene from A Fistful of Yen "who are they?" "Just lost drunken men who don't know where they are and no longer care" "And these?" "These are lost drunken men who don't know where they are, but do care! And these are men who know where they are and care, but don't drink."

[@svenjansen2134]

That's from Kentucky Fried Movie, the parody.

[@rooneyscape]

Bought a Porsche Boxster from new (back in the day) and insisted on having the factory fitted MD player as I was so into minidiscs. Kept the car for 16 years and felt obliged to pass on all my minidisc equipment to the purchaser when I sold the car. Wish I’d kept some of it. It was a great format

[@enzoperruccio]

"Because these two pegs here where the power goes through, certain machines have them at different widths to one another" That's the most Sony thing ever

[@jonny5alive123]

Yeah, if Sony want to know why they fell out of favour with a lot of people they only need to look at the nonsense they were playing with their power adapters and memory cards in the early 2000s.

[@jonny5alive123]

@@MarquisDeSang It has nothing to do with the tolerances, Sony of that era would just make random changes to power adapters between device revisions for no reason.

[@smorris12]

I've never been impressed with Sony stuff. And endless proprietary connectors, batteries and file formats just make it look even less appealing

[@awo1fman]

@@smorris12 Sony was awesome bang for the buck in the late 1970s through the 1980s. In spite of Beta/max... But their success really started going to their heads and in the 1990s onward they not only got too expensive, they went crazy with proprietary everything. Unfortunately, that seems to be the rule. Every company that starts out with great products at reasonable prices seems to sooner rather than later get cocky and start doing everything wrong.

[@smorris12]

@@awo1fman They get carried away with their own hype I suppose. I had a friend who spent a fortune on high end Sony stuff in the 90s and the reliability was appalling.

[@10p6]

Nice video. Warning though, Isopropyl Alcohol can melt plastic, so I would not recommend using it to clean Optical lenses, or flex circuits.

[@SayMcGillicuddy]

12:05 was definitely the opportunity to break out the 1-Grit

[@BavarianM]

Dankpods reference

[@jamiecullen9075]

Definitely was

[@alanfischer1948]

Because of your video, I went to check out all the MD portables I have. I have gotten 20 over the years 18 regular recorder/players, and 2 HiMD Sonys. All but 1 were Sony mopdels. After checking all of them (and thank you for the lemon juice to clean corroded battery contact idea), I have 15 that work with the AC adapter (I didn't check with a battery except for the one non Sony model which also worked) 3 that tried to read but couldn't, and 2 that I was unable to open at all. Thanks again for the video!!

[@GadgetUK164]

Great video! Huge amount of time required to test and clean all of those!

[@catnip420]

Long MD videos have become a monthly thing for me now, either new or rewatched old, I hope there's more to come!

[@crbielert]

I know its like 20 pounds for a tiny can, but the full strength "d100" deoxit whips through the really crusty green contacts pretty well.

[@startedtech]

I just use some random cheap brand they sell at the store. It works great.

[@MikeStavola]

@@tarstarkusz from my experience, the spray stains some plastic finishes, but the brush on stuff hasn't been a problem. I last used the spray about 15 years ago, so they may have changed the formulation.

[@crbielert]

I work in a job where nobody cares about discolored plastic and time is of the essence. Thanks though, didnt know it could discolour some plastics. Haven't experienced that, myself.

[@JonnyInfinite]

I used vinegar on my Minidisc player that had had a battery go bad in it. Worked a treat

[@crbielert]

@@tarstarkusz yeah, i primarily use it on electronics with metal chassis, vacuum tube sockets, and automotive connectors. Edit: they sell a different formula of it specifically for pots and faders.

[@Caviarhound]

One of my favorite formats of all time. Bang up video!

[@startedtech]

Hey Matt, great vid as always! From my personal experience I'd recommend using white vinegar over lemon juice, there's a lot less residue and impurities that get left behind.

[@tithund]

+1, Fixed up a bunch of stuff with the vinegar.

[@gregx5096]

+1 here too. Actually managed to get a "frozen" 9V alkaline battery's contact free from a unit's connector with a bit of a soak in a tiny dish of cleaning vinegar (6% acidity rather than the usual 5%, not much difference really)

[@hawkshaw2]

Your channel is a blessing. It's informative and helps me avoid buying junk just because I think I can fix it. Thank you!

[@mhoppy6639]

If you have to ask “why?” Then you’ll never get techmoan. Brilliant stuff Matt. As alway, thanks for creating.

[@inshadowz]

The only answer to “why” is “because Techmoan”, and that's why we're all here.

[@mhoppy6639]

@@inshadowz indubitably!

[@smorris12]

Misbehaving buttons happens to various Sony things. I think they must use a resistor ladder affair (*) and grot under the contacts affects the resistance. * All the switches are paralleled together, each with their own resistor in series. The processor measures the voltage on an analogue input to then determine which button is pressed

[@Kalvinjj]

Neat trick, used it on some of my MCU projects where I had a free ADC pin but not enough digital ones to make a matrix. Tho I do wonder why would they go with this strategy for like 5 buttons or so, even tho that's kinda a good quantity to use this technique for (too many and they will most certainly fail).

[@smorris12]

@@Kalvinjj My mother has a Sony radio/cd thing in the kitchen which gets continual use. Both unit and remote control buttons are temperamental but it took well over 10 years to manifest itself so I have to admit that that's definitely "good enough" from a manufacturer

[@RambozoClown]

Schrödinger's mini disc! I love it. You could probably test a few of those with some test leads wired to a battery or power supply.

[@berkkarsi]

This man now has the biggest Minidisc collection in the UK.

[@cageycretins]

Try two wires/ leads and a 1.5v battery (or whatever they need) instead of the proprierty extra-battery-jungle-dongles?

[@3D_Blu-ray_Bunker]

Schrödinger's minidiscs indeed. Good old Techmoan! Looking forward to the *next* job lot of MD players (assuming old Mat hasn't bought them all already...).

[@MrMattGrid]

MiniDiscs passed me by, never even seen one for real, ripped all my CDs to MP3 20 years ago - which coincidently, today is the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Apple iPod 🤓 Interesting video though!

[@andypyne]

At what bitrate? I did that too at 192AAC after doing my own A/B test to determine where to my ears the compressed sound was transparent to the original. Turns out my process was flawed and I have spent years re-ripping/downloading in ALAC (can be losslessly conveyed to FLAC)

[@j.lindback]

Well done! You sure did a great effort salvaging those lovely machines. MiniDisc was the format that made listening to music both easy and fun!

[@ForDemoPurposesOnly]

As always, very educational and engaging, with essentially a science experiment (demo of the lemon juice) thrown in.

[@darrenharman3362]

If I had the space and the knowledge (and the money) to do what Techmoan does, I’d be a very happy man.

[@synthaxx7313]

Signed working machines as a top tier patreon reward? Either way, great stuff as always!

[@neatodd]

I love videos, like this one, where the presenter really loves their subject and their enthusiasm shines through.

[@ryanjosef]

i was lucky enough a while ago to find a portable mini disc player/recorder.. it sounds good. also bought an optical cable for it to record . pretty decent. I do have to admit that I have a little envy for the stacks of awesomeness you have there !.

[@raythackston1960]

So 50% of them work just fine. 10% work with some outside help. Not bad for a auction buy of this kind. I bought a bunch of electric train stuff and all but 2 pieces did not work nor were they repairable. A fine haul Techmoan.

[@realmackle]

Honestly just having the high-md one working would make this entire endeavor a success in my book

[@kevinh96]

Not really, he paid £500 for this haul and a standard HiMD player in good working order can be bought on Ebay for around £120-£200 depending on cosmetic condition and accessories. Sure some of the more sought after models go for more but the more basic ones such as the NH600 or NH700 can even go for less if it's a bare bones unit.

[@realmackle]

@@kevinh96 I was just saying for the sense of accomplishment

[@gregx5096]

Wasn't that one not working on the initial attempts as well? Glad that it decided to wake up now!

[@murraykriner9425]

Recall seeing these for sale in many places outside the U.S., while traveling in the 90's. They were always rather costly, and many still are if you can find them on an auction site, usually missing the key ingredients necessary for them to work. That kind of explains why so many reached out to you for a proper trouble shot MD Player, since your doing all the work of getting them to operate for them. Great content. Thanks for sharing.

[@Five-O_Reviews]

Call me a fruitcake but I absolutely love these used MD review videos! Please buy more!

[@gerrywarwick8477]

Your Vidz are so refreshing and fun. Please never stop!! MD was my favorite format ever!! I get it....we can get all songs now...but ....back in the day you'd had to choose!!!

[@ZGryphon]

Oh hey, I think I had that rectangular Sony in the "working" layout (far right, second row from the top). Not that specific one, obviously, but I owned two MD players back in the day, and I think the first one was one of those. (The second was a very elaborate Sharp player/recorder that never came out officially in the US, which had a clickwheel around the center display like the early iPods. You had one that looked similar, but not quite the same, in the earlier "box o' junk MD players" video.) The Sharp died of electronic dementia, but the Sony was still working the last time I tried it. No idea where it (or any of the discs I had) might be now--I've moved a couple of times since then and lost track of the lot. Probably in a box upstairs somewhere, which I suspect is the fate of most consumer electronics. It was oddly satisfying to see how many of them you could resurrect.

[@stigyanblue1442]

How did I not know these existed? They're so cute and little! Obsolete but cute!

[@Nic5Cyprus]

When life gives you lemons clean corroded battery compartments with them

[@EdsEvilTwin]

I know this one of your older videos. I purchased an MZ-N520 back in 2005 from a secondhand shop for £20, I used this to record DJ sets and listen whilst on the go. The unit has been dropped, kicked across the floor, Sat on and abused by use. It still works perfectly, Rattles a bit when reading the TOC. I have lost the rechargable battery buit this units rechargable is AA sized and takes a normal battery with no add on pack needed. I was recently given a working sony MZ-R91 portable and a MDS-S40 Minidisc deck along with 60 minidiscs (happy with this as some were mixes I had given away and thought I had lost). I find it a quick method of recording without having to set up the PC. Another use is not using the disc as a player. I have a RTX 3080 in the PC and it's coil whine can be heard through the speakers (KRK 5) when using the PC audio with the Deck Controller plugged in via USB. I have tried every method know to man to fix the hum....... The solution was a new GPU (I tested with an older card, and the hum went) A new GPU is out of budget atm, so I put a disc in the recorder and tell it to record and pause the disc, I then use the TOSlink from the PC to the recorder and out to the KRKs. Audio ground hum gone. This is bit of a round the houses way of doing this as the other method was to get a USB fibre extender to give no electrical connection between the controller and the PC but at £600+ for a dongle (i would need two) is silly. Thanks for great videos. Now to drag out all the tape reels in the cupboard and get the TC630 serviced (think I have the Donny Osmond show from the early 70s somewhere)....🤣

[@burntalive]

I'm so sad that the orange camo one is dead. That one was my pick of the lot :(

[@MnACreations]

Glad you were able to get a few of them working. Thank you for sharing! It was neat to see all the different styles there were..

[@4tehlulz]

Loved the follow-up video and great to see quite a few working. Preparations for the collapse of the global economy when Mini-disk players become a currency is well under way!!!

[@toomanymarys7355]

Better than bottle caps!

[@karvast5726]

What kind of a apocalypse would use minidiscs player as currency lol

[@HeffeJeffe78]

I'm a fan of "percussive maintenance" on electro-mechanical devices. 25 years ago when I was an intern (at a famous insurance company known for sponsoring wildlife shows) someone in the IT repair department had figured out that it was statistically beneficial to "lightly drop" certain brands of printers and monitors when they were brought in for repair.

[@alextirrellRI]

I know with larger optical drives, there are adjustment pots for the lasers to compensate power/focus. I wonder if MD's also have these?

[@TheFilwud]

Yes, to squeeze more life out of the laser, maybe not all but a lot, even portables, in service mode there is a setting which can turn the laser up, of course turning the laser up will help it read discs but it will also burn the laser out faster, still it will get you a bit more life out of the machine without having to cannibalise another to get a replacement laser, which is probably just as worn out!

[@BenHelweg]

Good riddance to these things.

[@macsound]

It would be an interesting teardown to see if Mat can show how the internals work and even if there was a camera lens to show if the laser was turning on at all

[@fajarkurniawan9434]

I just love the sound of opening the lid, inserting the disc, closing the lid Couldn't afford MD player back then

[@RyanBuskirk]

"These hold one gigabyte; wow, it's the future isin't it!?" 🤣

[@TheFilwud]

It was!

[@Christopher-N]

Interesting video. I've got a telephone that I had forgotten the batteries inside, and they had leaked. Luckily, it was a sort of dry leak that didn't spread, but I did have to open it up to chase the corrosion crumbs out. White vinegar is what I typically use, and of course I also have some contact cleaner. I bought white vinegar on a recommendation for testing aluminium for magnesium content. Scratch the surface, add vinegar, and if it bubbles, magnesium may be present, and thus unsuitable for melting without an inert gas to keep it from causing an unquenchable fire.

[@AndrewMione]

These videos always make me nostalgic for my old minidisc player and making mixes.

[@AtheistOrphan]

Same here. I had a fancy-pants MD deck with keyboard for titling.

[@GldRush98]

Right? I wonder what happened to mine every time I see one of these videos. My basement flooded probably a decade or so back and we just tossed everything that got wet... I fear my Sony MD was in the lot of stuff that got soaked :(

[@skinnyhastrup4614]

For leaking damages, i use break disc cleaning spray on a bit of grinding cloth. Works every time.

[@tranmere292]

Quite entertaining in its own way! I've never had an MD - that particular format passed me by. However, the tip re lemon juice on corroded contacts was useful. I have a treasured elderly digital SLR with the problem and it might be the solution. It still works but I don't want things to get any worse.

[@rusuclaudiu1988]

I use vinegar. Is stronger and faster. The downsize is that i use it only when I dismantle the stuff because I am rinsing the piece in water just to remove any residue. Otherwise in couple of months you will see that it is more corroded than before

[@rusuclaudiu1988]

@@nonoyorbusness i am using a potentiometer spray. It's a mix of solvents and something oily. Vaseline sometimes is too much on these battery doors. We want to use these parts of the past and nobody likes greasy machines. But is quite effective this spray. The oily stuff goes into the remaining pores and seals it. Of course, is a temporary fix but for a long period six months to a year. A permanent fix would be replate it but....anyway i have never seen a corroded walkman if the batteries weren't forgot inside.

[@TheFilwud]

I have seen white vinegar used to dissolve the oxidation, followed by a good clean with Deoxit to remove any remaining contamination and acid.

[@MrRoeler]

Just lovely Matt. You're the best

[@SalomeDoyle]

somewhat heart breaking that the Cinnamoroll (the cute Sanrio mascot/character) player never made it back to life :(

[@nagualdesign]

Hearth breaking. ☺️

[@autumnwyvern489]

i know!!! i was rooting for that one 🥺

[@kennethhardcastle]

And made in 2004 it's one of the younger ones :/

[@bigbowlowrong4694]

I used to have the Kenwood one with the dimples at 8:20! What a nostalgia trip that was, considering I last touched it like 20 years ago😆