Sony’s self-destructing MD Recorder from 2070
Added 2023-12-04 17:25:53 +0000 UTCIf you watched the last Patreon update, the subject of this video will already be familiar to you. After I’d mentioned I had one of these machines, I thought that now would be a good time to take a look at it.
I was wrong - it might have been better if I’d made this video a few years ago when I first bought this. Then again it’s likely back then the Minidisc Wiki wouldn’t have been around and after making a video I’d have packed this away, none the wiser that it was in the process of silently self destructing from the inside.
Hope your December is off to a good start. I’ve fallen a little bit behind where I’d like to be, so if there is a gap between new video uploads it’s nothing to worry about.
Take care and (if it’s appropriate), stay warm.
UPDATE 1 : Seamlessly removed any utterances of the word ‘Acid’.
Comments
Eek, old NiCd batteries (and more laterly, Duracell AA's) are the bain of my life. Sinclair Microviion TVs used them as did Tektronix's 214 oscilloscope and they always leak. I've repaired many units with much worse leakage damage than you're facing. You'll need to remove the copper screening shield with a soldering iron then get rid of every trace of blue - start with IPA then use a glass fibre brush. Next, download the service manual from minidisc.org - that has board diagrams which shows where the tracks should go. You'll need to go around the affected area point-to-point with a multimeter in continuity (beeper) mode to determine which traces are open, then bridge them with short lengths of cable - solder won't stick to traces which are corroded so don't try, follow back to a place where the track is clean. If necessary, scrape off the solder reists (the green varnish) with a watchmaker's screwdriver to expoase the copper. Single core tinned copper wire is good for repairs like this - insulated stuff is easier to find, you can easily strip off the insulation. Search eBay for "1/0.6mm wire" - if you can find an old (even part-used) roll of RS/Farnell/Rapid wire, go for that - a lot of the cheapo stuff from eBay/Amazon isn't copper. If you can't find wire, let me know I have loads of it and will send you a few feet..
Gordo
2023-12-23 20:19:25 +0000 UTCFascinating. What a brilliant unit. Exactly the sort of thing I'd have bought if I'd known about it. :-) Shame about the analogue side of things, I'd have it open and clean all that stuff off with IPA and have a look around.
Stephen Bell
2023-12-13 16:36:23 +0000 UTCGreat Video. Great unit and glad you reviewed it. Sorry to see it was self-destructed. However glad that is still usable at some level.
Benjamin Giguere
2023-12-07 04:03:39 +0000 UTCI agree. I also thought it was weird. That being said, maybe Sony was just SUPER into being eco friendly and wanted people to dispose of the batteries properly, OR it was intended to be an easy service when it was brought in for repair. I have cracked open a lot of electronics that are definitely not supposed to be user serviceable, lacking screws and things, and sometimes stuff is just commodity parts in slots. But that isn't usually what Sony does. Sony usually massively over engineers something and uses their own weird shit.
Funkmon
2023-12-05 15:06:39 +0000 UTCThese batteries seem rather large just for powering an RTC circuit. Judging from the way they are integrated, one could get the impression that they were meant to be user replaceable at some point in the design process. I would have expected something shrink-wrapped with solder tabs, but not individual cells encased in a dedicated compartment. It almost looks like a trapdoor in the case is all that is needed to make this user serviceable and that the engineers scrapped that idea at the last minute. Planned obsolescence? Well, consumer tech isn't exactly built to last (at least not for decades), but design choices like this give the impression that the damage a leaking battery would cause was pretty much anticipated.
Tunix
2023-12-05 13:40:27 +0000 UTC
