REPAIR: MiniDisc MDS-JE320

Episode 10:
In this episode I repair a broken MiniDisc deck. It was a bit of trial and error at first until I discovered a common problem with these particular decks. The general issues results from wear over time and causes the loading tray to not make firm enough contact with a microswitch. This can result in erratic behavior of the loading tray. The issue is easily fixed with some shrink tubing.
I also applied silicone grease to all the gears while I was in there.
Works great now!

[@ShazeemKhan]

Thank u kindly. You say there are "redundant" videos here on YT like this, IMO, this was great, great editing, tutorial & tips, just used it a second time to grease my transport & redo the switch issue. Blessings.

[@RetroToilet]

Thanks for the compliment! Much appreciated. I'm glad to hear this video was useful.

[@alexandreparent9472]

Had the same issue. Watched another video to get the fix. Just wanted to see a redundant video.... Keep up the good work!

[@THOMMGB]

Hi, From what I've heard is that the microswitch can sometimes have some corrosion on the contacts. That can be checked using the ohm setting on a multimeter. Put the meter leads on the switch connections to check for continuity and high resistance. If the connection is poor with high resistance, clean the switch contacts with contact spray. If the gears are nylon you may not need to grease them. I would only grease them is there was old grease on the gears originally and that grease is now hard and/or sticky. Before doing anything, be sure to clean the old sticky grease off first.

[@fhaquuu]

Good job.

[@IHSisable]

just seen your video - i just sprayed the switch with F100 contactspray and oila - but nice job

[@LachezarDolmov]

so no heat-shrink (and this entire disassembly) needed?

[@mother3crazy]

My unit won’t record to a minidisc. It acts like everything went fine but the “finished” discs are always corrupt and then say Blank Disc.

[@RetroToilet]

The write head is a separate mechanism from the playback head. You may have a damaged write head.

[@mother3crazy]

@@RetroToilet Is it possible to repair a writehead?

[@RetroToilet]

@@mother3crazy possible. Depends on what the issue is. I suggest searching for some videos or articles on the subject. Its not something I've fixed personally (yet).

[@johnr4459]

your lucky, you could have fried the laser as i diddent see you wearing an anti static wrist strap when removing and inserting its ribbon