Sony’s self-destructing MD Recorder from 2070

[@a1white]

One can only presume that someone from that film watched this video and found out they needed to remove the batteries and that is why their MD recorder is still working in 2070

[@MetalTrabant]

Techmoan legit could be a reason why some of these devices will remain for the future in working order. I bet that all of about a dozen people who still have and use these and haven't changed those batteries yet, will start to do so after this :D

[@nickolaswilcox425]

@@MetalTrabant plus all of them that have only recently been killed and are still salvagable

[@rricci]

There need to be a credit in the film "A Special shout out has to go to Techmoan without whom this phone would not be possible."

[@RuSrsbro]

Random video on KZbin that played automatically without me selecting it is how I found out about the killer capacitor in the original Xbox 😂

[@anthonyg241]

Thank you. I have one of these still all working and didn’t know about the batteries. Extracted them and a little leakage but no damage yet. Sleep well in the knowledge you helped save a minidisc player.

[@amojak]

take some pictures of the pcb traces for techmoan :)

[@dorfschmidt4833]

Put lithium AA batteries inside, they won't leak, as far as I know.

[@gblargg]

I'd just leave the batteries out (and keep it unplugged when not in use) as the corrosion might still conduct electricity and keep advancing if there's a steady source of power there.

[@alexlail7481]

It is probably still worth trying to clean out the alkaline residue as its still conductive and corrosive to a limited degree... I have had success a couple times on various electronics removing the circuit board and gently and carefully (to not spread it around) using a tooth brush or Q-tip and distilled water rinse away the alkaline residue, Once or twice that alone solved the problem (apparently it shorted a circuit out) and another time a couple of obvious breaks in traces were revealed and so minor soldering and short wire overlays solved the problem. Just a thought if you want to protect it longer-term....

[@superhavi]

Use vinegar or lemon juice to clean the residue off. And then use isopropyl alcohol to clean that off.

[@KevReillyUK]

In all my years as an electronics/DIY enthusiast and professional technician, and despite having visited Japan twice, I had never come across the term "minus driver" for a flat-bladed screwdriver until noticing it in that disassembly guide (12:50). Having now Googled it, it seems that the terms "plus driver" _(purasu doraibaa)_ and "minus driver" _(mainasu doraibaa)_ for cross-head and flat-head screwdriver are common in Japan and clearly have been for decades. Every day is a school day.

[@andymouse]

Wow yes ! exactly the same here...who knew lol !

[@TrAlexei]

It's also relatively common in Russia too

[@zanizone3617]

Interesting. And thinking about it, it actually makes sense to describe them that way, visually speaking. I'm actually surprised it didn't catch in other places too.

[@andymouse]

Seems kinda obvious as a quick term every one would get !!@@zanizone3617

[@kaitlyn__L]

I knew about "plus driver", and had assumed but never actually seen "minus driver" in the wild. Nice to get confirmation all these years later (about something I clearly never cared enough to look up!)

[@GoodTofuFriday]

Hey I have and repaired one of these! It was a pretty damn intensive repair. I have a post going into detail. Lots of traces to fix and the LCD polerizer replaced. It can do so much! I love it. If you ever need it repaired let me know.

[@echelonrank3927]

this one has a damn intensive amount of damage / u really are a crazy guy LOL

[@Mister_Brown]

@@echelonrank3927 you should see what pinball people used to fix on old Williams pinball boards when the 3 AA's died and leaked all over i have a board with 1/3 of the tracks replaced with jumper wires and it works just fine

[@AlTheEngineer]

Tried browsing your YT channel to find the post, but I didn't see anything. Did you take it down? I'd like to see the repair.

[@SuperM789]

@@AlTheEngineer he never said anything about making videos on repairs. you are so quick to judge

[@AlTheEngineer]

@@SuperM789 he mentioned a post.... I tried to find it and couldn't. I didn't judge any thing....

[@NiGHTSaturn]

From discs to hardware, MiniDisc will always look futuristic.

[@Rau-Dr]

True!

[@POVwithRC]

​@@IamNigglerYes really. Stop being contrarian for no reason and go outside.

[@POVwithRC]

​@@IamNigglerSounds good. Let's rumble. It's gonna be hard tho because you are already comment blocked on my channel. Scream into the void you dweeb.

[@llMarvelous]

Agree, never had it, unfortunately, but each time I see it - I desperately want one it’s a fascinating piece of tech

[@richardbrobeck2384]

for sure !

[@adammcamis]

I have two of these docks that are both working, I had no idea there were batteries inside! This video was a lifesaver 🙏

[@andymouse]

Phew !

[@cc8530]

I think you owe him a beer :)

[@svenlima]

@@cc8530There are no "donate me a beer" sites - only "donate me a coffee" ...

[@KenFullman]

Maybe you could take some macro photographs of the circuit boards to allow techmoan to patch his missing tracks.

[@beardsntools]

So the superior digital port works. I see no problem here.

[@LenweSaralonde]

You might be able to fix the PCB by adding jumper wires to fix the broken traces. If you can find the service manual it will help. It's a time consuming process but with luck you might be able to fix it if no critical component was damaged too.

[@simonl7784]

or send it to a youtuber that does that

[@Bassquake76]

@@simonl7784 Recommend any? Ive seen Adrians Digital Basement but he usually does 8bit computers.

[@vibingwithvinyl]

​@@simonl7784I'd suggest Big Clive.

[@av_oid]

Even if not fixing it, cleaning the PCB with isopropyl to avoid more degradation from the battery guts would make sense.

[@Bassquake76]

@@av_oid White vinegar is good at removing leaked battery ooze as well. But clean up after with iso to remove acidity!

[@AlexandroMechina-yb3tf]

I remember Sony Mini discs being cutting edge tecnology back in those days and i wanted one SO badly, but they were unobtanium in my little south american country (Uruguay) they were only available in the official sony store and they were starting in like 600 dollars, a fortune back then. I just ended giving up and trying forgetting them. Some months after the junkie of the neighborhood appeared when me and a friend were hanging out and offered us a "walkman" for a couple bucks. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was a Sony MD in very good condition. I know it was wrong because it was probably 99% stolen from someone but i just couldn't resist buying it. So that's the history of how the neighbor junkie got me a piece of the most advanced portable audio at the time😂

[@svenjansen2134]

100% stolen.

[@MayaPosch]

Leaky batteries and capacitors can do more damage than you might think. If the liquid gets underneath the soldermask, it'll gradually destroy all the copper traces underneath the soldermask, without you being able to notice. Neutralising the liquid fully by full exposure to a neutralising agent (e.g. vinegar followed by IPA) is paramount for long-term conservation.

[@Dzubbs]

Oh, I never knew, one should neutralise severe leakage like that with vinegar. I would have thought, if all of the leaky content (be it fluid or crystallized) is removed with IPA, then it cannot degrade any further. 😅 Good to know, thank you!

[@MayaPosch]

@@Dzubbs Just a good clean with IPA can work too, but if any remnants are left (like under the soldermask), then those will continue to do damage. That's where neutralising it is the best preventative option. Even if you do not clean everything off afterwards with IPA, at least it should no longer do any harm to the copper traces.

[@Dzubbs]

@@MayaPosch got it. I have one game cartridge, where some traces got destroyed. Cleaned it with IPA, repaired it. Given the damage, there is a vedy good chance, some got under the solder mask. It is a Famicom game, so disassembly will be stressful, literally. 😂 Hencewhy I would not have checked that in quite some time (was it not for your comment). So you may have saved a copy of Kirby's Adventure.

[@karlkarlson3502]

Sorry, what's IPA?

[@0xbenedikt]

@@karlkarlson3502 Isopropyl alcohol (99% is best)

[@Gappasaurus]

From cutting-edge tech to obsolete curiosity to futuristic prop… what an interesting life this device has led 😄

[@Eequality72521]

A few years ago I bought a vintage oscilloscope from a local electronics repair shop in my city and I had an interesting talk with the guy. As general "electronics repair" has become less viable over the years, he had been buying out the equipment and inventory of fellow repair shops when they decided to leave the business so he really had a variety of vintage equipment. He said the majority of his business at that point was selling to film students and artists who simply needed cool retro looking blinky props

[@KeritechElectronics]

We'll see it in Back to the Future 13! :)

[@vdochev]

And it looks cool in both cases.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@Eequality72521 that makes sense, a bunch of analogue oscilloscopes were already relegated to prop duty even in 2005. It's nice that they're still being used at least! My favourite is always when a sci-fi control panel is just an old mixing and equalising desk, with the knobs set for Maximum Variety and therefore in nonsense combinations!

[@alephcraven]

Breaks my heart to hear that this gorgeous bit of kit is falling apart like that because that thing is one of the loveliest designs the MD line ever produced.

[@Momo5775]

Such a well thought out device (aside from the self-destruct). This little slot for charging an extra battery blew me away. It's just a small feature, and yet a brilliant idea.

[@andymouse]

Agreed !

[@tomd96]

I quite like the idea that you have a portable device that can play music but also functions as an integral part of a larger machine. The way the ports are concealed when taken out of the player is very clean design. I'm not a big fan of playing music out loud, but the concept is very cool, mechanically.

[@bambydeluxe]

BOY! I cannot believe you wrote a comment with these exact details, as I wrote nearly the same

[@nhand42]

People watching this in 2070 are going to be so confused.

[@Pickelhaube808]

Best keep them prepared!

[@Manigo1743]

They are going to have really leaky batteries. :-)

[@mcrobielord1503]

If we don't wipe us out ourselves out before then

[@thenoobcannon9830]

"Sony? I thought they were bought by metazon years ago?"

[@uncled39]

I doubt youtube, or any of this content will exist in 2070.

[@2Sorts]

Send that off to ‘mend it Mark’ It’ll get fixed. The man is a genius.

[@jonburgess4179]

Who is 'Mend it Mark' ?

[@adultmoshifan87]

Once I recorded a song onto MiniDisc for a school production in 2006 as I’ve known their sound system for including a MiniDisc player since 2001 and although they got that MiniDisc player working eventually, a staff member got at me saying they couldn’t get it to work and told me to record the song onto cassette! That staff member was REALLY stuck in the past, for a class project on The Phantom of The Opera, she gave us the film adaptation on VHS instead of DVD!

[@paulbeaucuse2092]

I noticed especially our female teachers were very reluctant to use any newer tech and sometimes simply refused to learn anything new. Not the best example to give to the students.

[@firsteerr]

i had the same problem when i was at school they simply couldn't use the wax cylinder edisphone and we had to have the actual string band the heathens

[@darkcoeficient]

A VHS in 2006 was not really shocking. Audio cassettes were shocking. Left high school in 05

[@adultmoshifan87]

@@darkcoeficient we were given the Phantom of The Opera VHS in 2005. 2006 was the year of Now’s last cassette release, Now 64. I left school in late March 2006 and started college after Easter.

[@miroslavseda9136]

Even if the Blu-Rays were available in 2006, but of course, an expensive cutting-edge technology, back then.

[@MA-go7ee]

I like that you mentioned its unique appearance. Sony used to make some really interesting devices. Their CLIE PDAs are still some of the most beautiful gadgets i've ever seen.

[@romulus_]

VAIO products looked so cool back in the late 90s.

[@Kalvinjj]

@@romulus_ Even the 2010s did, pretty nice machines, albeit much of the subdued aesthetics of the time hit it.

[@droelfdroelfify]

Get the service manual for the device. Search for L301 and IC301. These are the coil providing supply to the ADC/DAC and the ADC/DAC chip itself. The rotten trace just above the batteries happens to be the one with the supply going to L301 and from there the IC. Should be easily fixable with some wire.

[@proffessasvids]

I've already fixed mine. I had to remake a few corroded/dissapeared traces and neutralise the board. Problem is the leak spot on yours is right where the akm dac is. Mine was there too and around the headphone jack area. I could fix it for a fee of course 😆 xx

[@andymouse]

How much please ?

[@romank90]

Most my family could afford around 2000 was a portable cassette player of mid-tier. I can afford a lot more now but still yearn for the nice shiny things that I never will have had at the time.

[@j0hnf_uk]

I had a similar problem. I wanted a stereo system with radio, cassette, turntable and possibly a CD player, but any that were half-decent were out of my price range at the time. Years later, when I was more in a position to be able to afford to save up to buy such things, they'd become far less of a priority and the technology had already moved on.

[@Bill-eq5ov]

That's the exact reason I've a house full of film cameras and tape recorders.

[@testcardsandmore1231]

@@Bill-eq5ov I live in an apartment with eight portable TVs and two 15 inch semi portables...

[@Bill-eq5ov]

@@testcardsandmore1231 That knocking you hear is me, I've brought circuit diagrams and beer.

[@belstar1128]

yea but i skipped minidisc i thought it was a flop and cd was the way to go. i am surprised to learn how many people had minidisc. and i also see people trying to rewrite history into thinking nobody used cassettes anymore in the year 2000. and creating an idealised high tech version of the 90s but it was still mainstream .

[@Zalgol]

Dear Matt I fear I also suffer from “techmoanitis” and we share very similar views about aspects of technology. In particular this week's episode about the Sony MZ-R5ST, you may have saved me a problem, as I have one of these and I didn’t know about the internal batteries. So thank you for that bit of wisdom, Fortunately mine has only corroded the battery terminals and non of the board. A drop of white Vinegar and IPA has caught it all in time. Whilst there clearly is battery leakage in your unit, I have a suspicion the lack of analog output may be down to the actual MD player rather than the dock. The main clue for me was that you couldn’t get any output from the inline remote. With my unit I do get output with the player in the dock. I’m not sure how or if you want to get around it.

[@Keepskatin]

I bet he thinks you pulled a prank on him,you should apologize

[@andymouse]

He's getting output optically (digital) not anything else (analogue) the good money is on the clear and obvious alkaline damage.

[@Sigma-INFJ.]

What a better way to start a Saturday then to watch a Techmoan video. Thanks, Mat.

[@BIGGABANGZ]

2:41 sounds like a "robot voice" saying alkaline

[@lukasgayer5393]

The damage is not that bad, actually. This could be fixed. I´ve seen worse damage, especially in my Sony VCR power supplies.

[@kevinjokipii4260]

By any chance is your old man a TV repairman? I hear those dudes have an ultimate set of tools.

[@lukasgayer5393]

@@kevinjokipii4260 Nope. But I collect VCRs and have been through a lot with them. Sometimes the damages are pretty extensive. Sony was famous for their leaky capactiors on hifi boards in some of their VHS machines. I´ve had one where the traces were just gone. I also remember one Betacam SP machine where I had to use 2 cans of brake cleaner to wash the power supply board clean enough to be able to work on. It was horrible!

[@hatpeach1]

I continue to love your videos. You've evolved a really wonderful formula that's always comfortable and entertaining. And thanks especially for not asking me to "like" or "subscribe," "watch to the end of the video," or to answer an inane question in the comment section. As time passes, these things become unbearable.

[@rachelgray9307]

Very well said on every count.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

I always wanted to get into MD, but I just never had the money, and by the time I did it was already becoming rather obsolete. They still fascinate me, but I cannot justify getting one since I would almost never have a use for it other than playing around with fun tech. So thank you for letting me live out these desires through your excellent videos. :D

[@jameshodgetts7541]

Exactly the same for me. A friend of mine had an MD player/recorder. IT was the net MD variant, and could plop a load of MP3's from her computer to a blank disc, have a bag full of discs, and play whatever we wanted on the bus. At the time I could never afford such a thing. Just a few short years later, when I could afford something like that, HDD based players like the ipod had completely displaced MD, offering massive capacity without the need for removable media. There was the Hi MD which i was sorely tempted by (1gb was a massive amount of storage at the time!) but when the contemporary ipods and other players could hold 20-60gb, it seemed expensive for what it actually was. I do regret not getting one though!

[@TheUrbanCavalier]

"No point crying over spilt alkaline" - gave me a chuckle

[@christopherl.potter3915]

The turn of phrase, or the fact that it was a super silly sounding overdub of the word “alkaline”?

[@jasongaunt]

Absolutely love the use of Anders Enger Jensen - Discovision at 3:42 - apt and funky track ❤

[@real_yanoosh6553]

This is such a nice dock and player combo. Seems really well thought out, especially with that additional battery charger built in to the dock, making sure you always have one ready to go. And those totally unnecessary but fun effects on the screen! Really nice product. Edit: Well, well thought out besides that whole battery business, of course. Such a weird and out of place thing compared to the rest of it.

[@bluechainsawman]

When I think of movies and mini discs, I think of the 1996 film, Escape From L.A. In that film there was a tiny CD that was used to control satellites and could send out an emp burst to disable any tech or whatever. It would be interesting to see if there has ever been such a tiny CD with any use. I know the smallest consumer was the 8cm.

[@ek8710]

They make me think of Goldeneye as the control disc was a TDK minidisk 💽

[@SeanHendy]

Still think minidisc is the best format of the last 30 years. Portable, hard wearing, decent capacity, switch between devices easily, small enough, skip tracks instantly, what's not to love.

[@simcax6087]

If you have to have a moving/rotating physical media, then yes. Otherwise, flash memory it is.

[@SeanHendy]

@@simcax6087 here's the rub though, cloud backup notwithstanding, many devices don't have cloud back up, if the drive fails, you lose everything. If a minidisc fails, you only lose one album. Don't get me wrong, I suspect like many that are old enough, I have vinyl, loads of cassettes, mini disc, stacks of CDs, Ipod, ipod nano, and plenty of other mp3 players, and more I've probably forgotten about, but I keep going back to my LP mini disc, which is at least 20 years old. Currently contemplating hooking up my ipod to my car as well lol.

[@simcax6087]

@@SeanHendy You don't need cloud to backup your files, just a spare usb drive. It's still less prone to failure, than any physical medium coupled with the mechanical machines needed to play them. And not to mention the lossy compression of md vs. flac... I know it's kinda romantic to have a piece of our youth with us and vinyl is the best, but i'm glad my music doesnt take any storage space in my apartment. So the practical reasons are more important to me than this romantic feeling.

[@mattBLACKpunk]

Micro sd? Hell , even normal sd seems to be better across the board for that matter. Except for the shininess of an md of course

[@MetalTrabant]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you could only use the proprietary ATRAC format on it, which basically no-one else used... so you also needed proprietary software to handle the files. And if those are not supported anymore, it's not easy to do so. I don't like closed proprietary systems...

[@tangois]

Mini Disc was great! I still have a Sony MD Recorder/CD Player home unit and a Sony MD player/recorder walkman that I purchased for my son when he was only 8. The walkman was taken care of as good as an 8 y/o cared for it. Both units still work flawlesly. They've been in the family for over 25 yrs. Don't play it much these days, but I really liked that format. And even my son loved it, too back then. It was good, when it was good! Blessings!

[@buck6365]

I was hoping you'd show footage of vacuuming the black dust, and I wasn't disappointed.

[@StevenQueen-Crash]

I have 2 of these. I immediately opened them both up. Original Sony Ni-Cd's in both. Very little battery leakage in the first one. Easy clean up. No damage done. The second one had just a little in the battery ends and the compartment did not even need cleaning. Thanks so much for this video.

[@j0hnf_uk]

I've always liked the idea of MiniDisc. It's a shame it didn't last any longer than it did. This particular unit would have got a lot of use if I'd had the opportunity to find and buy one at the time. I'd be tempted to want to have a go at this particular example with some IPA to try and get some of the crusty copper compound off. Not that it may make any difference to it working, though. If the traces have gone, then short of trying to solder in new lines, (which is tricky at the best of times), there's not much else you can do, unless you start testing everything to see if there's any way of getting it working properly. Or, you could just leave it and rely on the digital outputs. Which, is no big problem.

[@kevinh96]

To be honest over 25 years is actually pretty good going for something that wasn't a huge success. It sold in decent enough numbers though that home and portable machines can still be bought on Ebay for reasonable prices with a little patience.

[@dolfandon7124]

Whenever I encounter this I use white vinegar with a cotton swab to neutralize the alkaline and then a quick clean. What usually happens is a trace on the board gets consumed by corrosion. Sometimes it can be saved depending on patience levels. Great Video!

[@Madpegasusmax]

Nice video , MD and Toslink features still gives 21 century looks ... hope one day some one makes a Toslink 2 protocol (more data bandwith) ,Fiber optics is the future :D

[@meechmushrooms]

What a nifty little device! I would have absolutely _loved_ something like this in my hi-fi. Those Apple iPod standalone 30-pin docking stations that have the 3.5 mm audio output and little tiny remote control are reminiscent of this kind of concept - you come home from being on-the-go, dock your iPod, and continue listening through your stereo, all while charging your device back up. This is something I still use to this day, and it’s funny to see Sony innovating _years_ prior to the iPod's heyday and consistently setting the bar for everyone else. You truly cannot go wrong with a Sony. Great video, as always. Your enthusiasm and dedication to this craft are much admired and appreciated. I look forward to Saturday mornings - the Techmoan notifications are always a pleasant surprise. Cheers. 🍻😊💙

[@johnsmythe9284]

It occurred to me that those analog input/output may have never worked. That unit may have been defective right out of the box, got set aside and was never sent out for repair. I say that based on the fact that there’s a disc in the machine with blank recordings, that you believe were created when the machine was new.

[@3rdalbum]

This would explain why the unit looked virtually unused and the remote control had never been unwrapped. It was faulty from the get go.

[@andymouse]

But the fact that a large trace 2-3mm wide that was probably VSS has been visibly eaten away by an alkaloid is still the main issue.

[@3rdalbum]

@@andymouse Yes, the eaten-away traces are still a major issue, but might not be the only issue. Just speculation anyway.

[@GroofusDoofus900]

I had one of these back in the day, it was such a cool device. Sadly, I sold it on ebay when the whole Mini disc thing took a dive a few years later. The mechanical function that ejects the portable unit from the base station is sooo satisfying... the sound it makes, etc. Thanks for providing me with some excellent nostalgia.

[@BrightSpark]

Such a shame that the leaky batts ruined the board like that. I hope someone (perhaps the peeps over at the Minidisc museum and their associates?) can come up with a replacement board to get any units with severe battery damage fully operational again - even if, realistically, I bet that a lot of those have either already been hand-repaired where possible, scrapped for parts where not, or even thrown out altogether.

[@medes5597]

Those boards aren't ruined. You could definitely rescue them pretty easily. It'd be annoying work but it'd be successful Given the position and how sony batteries tend to be a bit more forgiving, I don't think we need replacement boards yet. Just someone good at trace fixes.

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

Dang, the portable unit in there is obviously based on the MZ-R50 that I _still_ use as my regular MD player having bought it new in 1997. I didn't know about the 3D printed battery carrier, though! I've been using the screw-on alkaline add-on for decades. I'll have to go get one of those 14500 carriers now!

[@dancingwiththedogsdj]

Is there not a setup option for maybe turning on/off the analog input/output perhaps? No doubt it could be damage from the batteries, but certainly makes me wonder if there isn't just a setting or something... Great video as always!!

[@chupathingy5862]

That time machine function reminds me of something I used to do. My dad had a stereo delay guitar pedal that I liked playing with. I'd run the radio through the pedal and out to the cassette deck. I would set the delay time to a good amount, no feedback and all the way dry. When the song came on that I wanted to record, I'd set the fx mix to all the way wet and record the song entirely. Kinda miss doing that...

[@VFuzball]

That’s actually so genius

[@TheManLab7]

⁠@@VFuzballYou took the words out of my mouth because that's such an brilliant idea! Bravo @chupathingy5862. Bravo

[@ZGryphon]

"The street finds its own uses for things." - William Gibson, "Burning Chrome" (OMNI magazine, July 1982) :)

[@joshm7769]

That's brilliant!

[@softy8088]

What does "wet" and "dry" mean?

[@doubledecker1094]

Great video as always. Like many of your videos, it fills with me with a warm sense of retro nostalgia and catastrophic feeling of existential loss at the same time!

[@Longplay_Games]

Wonderful device! Sony really had their stuff together sometimes.

[@toyokawashigako1643]

Um they STILL have it together, what are you talking about?

[@frostedbutts4340]

Not even close. Sony used to be THE standard in luxury electronics. Cameras are still great, that's the only area they lead.@@toyokawashigako1643

[@enisra_bowman]

@@toyokawashigako1643 i guess a Typical "new bad" case

[@echelonrank3927]

@@toyokawashigako1643 there was no condom on the battery , not even a plastic bag

[@LakeNipissing]

Whether you decide to fix the damaged PCB traces or not, I would recommend spraying the corroded area with a multi-metal corrosion inhibitor made to spray onto electronics like ACF-50 to prevent the corrosion from progressing. It is distressing the number of vintage electronics that I have found damaged by have [NiCd] "memory backup" batteries soldered onto the PCB that have leaked and attacked the PCB.

[@NoMoneyG]

Great video! It is sad to see old batteries are killing old tech. I've lost a few things over the years from acid leaks.

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

Those symptoms scream “DAC broken” it’ll need a thorough cleaning, acid neutralizing, bodge wires to replace corroded traces, and possibly a new DAC chip

[@NandR]

I'm always looking at old tech thinking how it could be used on a movie set and the MZ-R37 is the one I'd use. Glad you saved this dock.

[@vxrdrummer]

That machine is stunning to look at. I have that microphone for recording my band in on my mini disc recorder in 2000. Thankfully the foam has not become dust. My mini disc recorder was my pride and joy of Christmas 1999 and I bought the mic with my own money from my cleaning job after starting college when I was 16. That double A adaptor was a godsend. Made it heavy but kept me listening. I can still use my mini disc with the battery adaptor. I wish I had had a dock like that though.

[@kaimauracher6758]

Despite I can't share your fascination about this one way device, it might be possible, that it weren't the batteries which caused the problem with the built-in amp . I'd rather think that the internal power supply is faulty and doesn't supply the Amplifier section of the doc. Also capacitors which weren't powered up for a long time sometimes become deaf, which means they don't transmit any current to the outputs. Maybe it is a good idea to check the internal power distribution.

[@raymondsalzwedel]

I was also thinking it could be the "pre-amp" components / circuits.

[@KDBAO]

Brilliant, just brilliant. I eagerly wait for your video each week and you never disappoint.

[@WilliamHaisch]

“As always, should you open the unit for any reason other than disposal, Sony will disavow any knowledge of these batteries. This machine will self destruct in 25 years. Good luck, Agent Taylor.” 😂

[@derekheeps1244]

I still have my MZR35 portable recorder which I bought new a good many years ago , back when I did sound for conferences and business meetings etc - it was very handy for playing walk-in and walk-out music and also for recording conferences , which by running it in mono mode , could get something like three hours of continuous recording on a single minidisc - very handy for transcription when there was no need at all for stereo . Although I don't use it so much these days , since most people ask for video recordings , it has been used regularly throughout my ownership and the LIP-12(H) battery in mine still holds a good charge ; the LIP12 looks pretty much identical to that LIP8 you had , although likewise I do have the AA attachment which fixes onto the side , but easier still just to run it off the mains if using it all day long . Never saw the docking station before , but honestly I see little point in it when I could have a full size MD deck in my hi-fi system if I ever wanted such a thing , and Sony also made MD car stereos , and indeed a changer for in car use , but if I ever wanted to use an MD in my car I just plugged in an FM modulator and tuned the radio in to it .

[@luisdanielmesa]

you can fix that...

[@Rondo2ooo]

You can see that this is still from an era where a lot of engineering went into audio products. I am fascinated by the small little features.

[@paulcook8449]

That is a really cool machine actually, such a shame about the batteries though. Great video as always!

[@caviar_dreamz]

I have the same minidisk player, it's a beautiful piece of technology. Just holding it you can tell it was a premium device when it came out. There's some devices that can convert optical to analogue so you can still record and listen to analogue sources.

[@knockshinnoch1950]

My dad and I bought into the MiniDisc revolution wholeheartedly. It was a terrific format- light years ahead of audio cassette tape. For the first time you didn't have to record in real time! We could rearrange the tracks, skip tracks and find a specific passage of the music all within seconds. it WAS the future! We didn't know anyone else who had a MiniDisc set up and friends and colleagues used to marvel when they saw it! The i-pod came along and of course the rest is history. MiniDisc became yet another casualty of technological progress and aggressive marketing- those early I-pod ads were iconic. Great to see this particular piece of kit being repurposed in a Sci fi movie- after all- to paraphrase a certain politician- it was the future once.

[@jlb4742]

Opened up my unit after seeing your video, and yes, batteries corroded. Thanks for the heads-up! Luckily, my unit still works and I was able to clean it up inside. Replacement AA NiMHs need to be flat-ended, as normal rechargeable AAs won't fit.

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

I highly recommend getting some white vinegar and neutralising the battery fluid’s. If you don’t, the acids will keep eating away the PCB and components.

[@tookitogo]

The battery electrolyte is not an acid, it’s a strong base (potassium hydroxide). That’s why using white vinegar (which is diluted acetic acid) is good advice for neutralizing electrolyte residues.

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

@@tookitogo true, I was just trying to keep my explanation simple.

[@tookitogo]

@@Cybernetic_Systems Simple is OK, but I really hate it when people “simplify” to the point of being absolutely wrong: an alkaline electrolyte is the diametrical opposite of an acid. And this matters because a reader needs to know how to neutralize it.

[@dono42]

This reminds me of my c. 2000 Sony MZ-R90 MD player. I was an exchange student in Japan and brought that with me everywhere I went. I got the SRS-Z500 speakers to plug it in for my dorm room, but still use them as my computer speakers even today.

[@Dorelaxen]

Only Techmoan goes into the FUTURE to bring us entertainment.

[@6581punk]

I gave a set of old headphones to one of the IT guys at work as when he was reinstalling Windows the restore disk he used played music which he couldn't mute. But he started listening to music on them and the foam had deteriorated and it was all over his ears :)

[@TalonLardner]

Seeing that windscreen disintegrate is always surprising to me, as I still remember interacting with those as a kid and remembering them being a completely normal sponge-like material.

[@somitomi]

Seems like the sponge material used in electronics will just do that, I've seen the same thing happen to little pads of sponge in battery compartments many times.

[@StackOverflow80]

Polyurethane disintegrates by interaction with water contained in the air. Many products nowadays contain polyurethane and sometimes I suspect manufacturers that they put PU in their products so that it "selfdestructs" after some time.

[@LennyNero2019]

​@@somitomiSame happening to earphone pads, like Sony's own MDR-DS5100 VPT wireless infrared from 2000, 2001's DS8000 used a different material that still holds. I'm using them for 23 years now (Bought a few new old stock over the years).

[@christophers.8553]

"Cool but falls apart". That is the story for me of all mechanical Sony devices right back to my shoebox cassette player.

[@BenvanBroekhuijsen]

It should be possible to somehow bridge those tracks with some wires. At least from what I saw in your video. If it is worth the hassle of course is up to you.

[@sammacomber8769]

Mentioning the rechargeable batteries for the portable, I pulled out my MZ-R2, has lip-12 battery, but that one is still working. The deck itself is getting a bit ‘creaky’ guessing worn connection somewhere, bump the top and it power cycles. Have to be very gentle pressing the buttons on it. And a few lines on the screen have stopped working. Otherwise still works, even the battery! Because the MZ-R2 is a bit delicate I did end up buying an inexpensive and more modern home unit(MDS-JE440) a year or two ago. Just because your previous MD videos reminded me how cool the format is. Had used mine daily right up until I got my first iPod…

[@TWX1138]

10:14 "Someone at Sony programmed this for no other reason than it looked cool." This has been part of the reason for Sony's popularity, they managed to do both reasonable quality and to add some coolness factor to consumer-grade equipment. It was on high-end of affordable, with some extra coolness that made one willing to spend the money for it.

[@rachelgray9307]

That's a very good point...

[@hugoromeyn4582]

Nostalgia! The first MD recorder I've bought was on recommendation of a radio pirate who'd later become a good friend of me. I Told him over the phone that my cassettedeck was bad and that I was planning to buy a new one, not knowing which one (I was thinking about a Technics) and he asked me... Why bothering about a new cassettedeck? Go for MiniDisc! He turned on his FM transmitter and asked me to tune in to his frequency. Then he played some music on air from a CD while recording it onto MD. After that, he played the copy on MD and I couldn't hear any difference. Then he started cutting out parts from that track, demonstrated a seamless repeat loop, combining spliced tracks, playing with pitch and all that stuff that was possible with MD. It was like magic in that days.

[@nsfeliz7825]

sony was the apple of the 80s . it was cool with the best designs. i wish sony would go back to its roots as japans aple.

[@JamesOKeefe-US]

You are the best Mat! Love your videos and appreciate all the work you put into these bringing us wonderful gear. Cheers from North Carolina in the US!!

[@atlanticx100]

One thing that has always puzzled me is why electronic manufacturers never appear to put leak protection in their devices. Giving at least a chance of not corroding all the innards.

[@filanfyretracker]

probably to save money. Though that does not excuse companies that make higher end products where the user can logically expect to get something more due to paying more.

[@andymouse]

Because with the best will in the world they didn't think 30 plus years ahead, in the case of alkaline eaten pinball machines 40 years, hindsight can be a cow ! :)

[@atlanticx100]

@@andymouse More than likely true for lower-cost consumer items. But I wonder if it is the same for very high-value items. After all the US missile command has just replaced floppy disks allegedly so. Even where I worked in the early 90s our telecom room was still using 8-inch disks at that time LOL

[@andymouse]

LOL :)@@atlanticx100

[@nickwallette6201]

@@atlanticx100 Well, if they had a Varta battery in them, we would've had to replace them a lot sooner. They must've been had a motherboard with jumper pins and an external battery pack.

[@harbars1]

wow! thank you! I had no idea and never read that part of the manual! opened up mine (owned from new since 97) and luckily no damage and just the beginnings of some corrosion on the battery terminals - phew!

[@martindooley4439]

Devices with clocks that aren't set really triggers me...At least the cells weren't soldered in....

[@raymondsalzwedel]

00:00:00 01/01/1990 😅

[@raymondsalzwedel]

Yes [flashes] 01/01/1900 00:00:00 😂

[@4stringz.]

such a cool unit. I have the portable component, but never knew the dock station existed. Always wondered what that connector was for! I first saw the MD in The Matrix and I’ve been hooked since. Still use it regularly and make mixtapes

[@pikapomelo]

Reminds me of game consoles. The Xbox has a capacitor also for a clock that is prone to leaking and my GameCube had a dead button battery that fortunately just caused the clock to reset whenever powered off. I'm surprised there aren't more videos on the channel of dead disc drives. None of my devices before the late 2000s have disc drives that still work. I don't know how any of these mini disc players work.

[@hypnotised-clover]

Nearly all vintage electronics with large capacitors need them replaced. Also, a lot of 1960s-1990s electronics used filter capacitors in the power supplies that are known for exploding dramatically after being powered on for the first time after however many years.

[@peterlarkin762]

90's and 00's CD players fail due to the laser diode burning out... The minidisc lasers were a different design that lasts longer, like and cd drives with a write function. CD players also suffer from failing DC servos, mostly due to bad design and cheap components. The best audio cd players to buy are Sony blue ray or DVD players... They will last a lifetime.

[@phillxor]

@@peterlarkin762 minidisc lasers do burn out too.

[@DD-ld1xq]

Using AA batteries on a mainboard is far different from button batteries. The bastards who designed this were well aware many units would be toast within 5 years due to guaranteed leaking AA battery corrosion. Pure greed.

[@hypnotised-clover]

@@DD-ld1xq More like planned obsolesence.

[@bolttracks]

This reminds me of a weird off-brand micro HiFi my grandparents had which let you disconnect the CD player and use it as a very basic, AA-powered Discman.

[@fgaviator]

But did you test the phone functionality? ☎😀 Or isn't this compatible with our current phone lines yet, so you need to wait another 47 years (since in 2070 it obviously will be compatible...)

[@Tob1Kadach1]

Funny you say that lol the UK is currently replacing all existing Analogue phone lines with Digital ones

[@SkinPeeleR]

Bought a second hand westone active guitar from 1984. Turned out it stil had the original two 9V bricks dated october 1984. Hadn't leaked, lucky me and the circuitry was in excellent condition. Two new bricks and everything worked without a his,crackle or pop. Great stuff those old Matsumoku build guitars. Love your vids! Greatings from Holland.

[@PaulFisher-uj9vb]

I have a west one thunder 1a, great guitar, has a wide range of tone options.

[@SkinPeeleR]

@@PaulFisher-uj9vb same one here. Thunder 1A. Also own a thunderjet i bought empty. Pu some Epiphone ES335 pups in. And a custumized raider 1 bassguitar.. Was red, bought it in parakeet yellow wich flaked. Sanded it to the wood, placed new electronics and great player.

[@ashleycox432]

the damage can probably be fixed with a lot of extra work, though I think those are multi-layer boards. I wonder for preservation whether anyone has considered reverse engineering the machine and reproducing the PCB. The components could then be swapped over, with any damaged components replaced.

[@Charlesb88]

If the damaged isn’t deep, then you might be able to soldier a few bodge wires to replace the damaged traces but I suspect the damaged is a bit beyond the “bodge wire”stage.

[@ashleycox432]

@@Charlesb88 These are multi-layer boards too so difficult to 'bodge', especially as once corrosion starts it's very difficult to stop.

[@BarretKruse]

5:02 "Not ideal, but it still serves a function" was on my last job review

[@hudsonfrank1121]

I'm glad my dad recommended to remove the batteries to anything I desired to store long term. That saved me from a lot of long term issues.

[@cherbet]

Pfff easy to repair.

[@DianteEx]

I loved the way this device looked. Thanks for the review. keep up the good work on your videos. I really enjoy them.

[@rockerseven]

This has got to be one of the coolest little devices I've ever seen! I mean they really thought of every little detail to make using it easy and hassle-free. Automatically charging when it's docked, extra battery charger, keeping in mind people will want to dock it without unplugging the headphones. It even looks aesthetically pleasing! Especially with those speakers paired up.

[@jdillon8360]

What a fascinating machine. I never had a MD player but always found them interesting. This video was a great explanation of all the features that one could enjoy in the 90s if one had the budget for one of these devices. While its now easier than ever to access, share and listen to music than before via online streaming services and portable mp3 players (or phones that can play music), or even just on our computers, I do feel like we've lost something by not having dedicated devices specifically made for audio and nothing else. There's just something satisfying about being able to hold the media in your hand, and being able to press real buttons on the player.

[@muppit666]

Still have my little minidisc walkman MZ-N710. Only thing wrong with it is the mains adapter for the docking station self destructed. The 3v output cable was rubber for some reason and just fell apart. Found a replacement on eBay, bought a new rechargeable battery whilst I was at it and hey presto, she lives again. I have full sized units as well. Minidisc was probably the best music innovation that never took off, and I fathom out why. It’s such a great format.

[@paulillingworth1242]

I still have a pioneer home MD MJD707 machine from 1998 still in use , prior I had a Sony portable and Sony home deck , I did have in my cavalier car many moons ago a Sony MD player, car long gone and car unit sold off some time ago.

[@patavinity1262]

When I saw the thumbnail, I was really hoping it would have a Mission Impossible-style self-destruct feature.

[@RADIOSUICIDIO]

I remember hearing that in japan, consumer electronics were sold with an expiration date. When reached, people would literally trow away fully functioning devices and buy newer ones, like they were some kind of expensive, longer term groceries

[@KevinCloss]

I inherited one of these from a local radio station years ago and still use it as a backup when I do remote recordings.

[@Stefan_Kawalec]

It's amazing how many ingenious features and functions are packed into this device.

[@shaunclarke94]

I always loved the physical buttons and wired remotes with controls and screens from this era, even more so as I never had one.

[@nprimetv8956]

Oh No! I’ve got one of these that I bought from new. As soon as I get home I will check to see if the internal batteries have leaked. I had no idea that was an issue. Thanks Techmoan 👍🏾

[@averyroscoe91]

I used to sell the minidisc portable when I worked for The Good Guys back in 95 96, but I had no idea there was a dock as well! Pretty cool!.

[@Kiwi_As]

I have a Sony Recording MD Walkman MZ-R700 and didn't realize how rare this working one is.

[@avrilsegoli]

the KZbin channel Cathode Ray Dude has a video called "An MP3 Jukebox for Everyone" about a product that feels very similar to this one - it's a home stereo unit for playing MP3 files that rips them directly from a built in CD player that transfers them to a portable MP3 player. the really wild thing about that unit is that for the portable unit, it writes the music to RAM, which means you do lose all the music you copied over if the batteries die completely, but it's so much faster than any other method of writing to portable storage could have possibly been at the time. on the one hand, it's certainly more convenient to not need these sorts of solutions nowadays, but both of these devices display some fascinating attempts to solve the problem of having a music player that meets both your home and portable needs.

[@JonnyMack33]

I love the look of that.. I think it's more than a suitable aesthetic even for today! Just goes to show how forward thinking SONY's PR&D team are!

[@RetroTechorDie]

Oh nice music choice at 4:54 ;)