MDM-X4 Won't Play MD DATA Discs

C

Cleo3

New member
Hi, I'm new to this BBS, but have been reading several threads on MDM-X4 issues. My MDM-X4 (original version), stops randomly during record and playback in 4-track (or any system mode) on MD DATA (140MB) discs ONLY, and ejects if/when it decides to. Play button keeps blinking sometimes and never plays. If I'm lucky, it records about 3 mins, then just stops. Often won't record - record button stays lit instead of flashing, and goes off when I push Play. Playback stops after 2 to 6 secs for a while, then plays several secs, stops, etc...sometimes never finishes.

After trying new Sony and TDK MD DATA disks, and MD lens & head cleaner disks, no improvement. Purchased/installed the updated EPROM ver. 1.3, but the problem got even worse. I'm returning it and ordering another. I partially disassembled, inspected and cleaned the MD drive...still no improvement. System is set for 4-track.

Oddly enough, it records and plays 2-track minidiscs perfectly, even overdubbing, etc. When I insert the (2track) disc, the record/play head stays steady. When inserting the MD DATA disc, the record head "hunts", moving back and forth several times, then stops, then starts hunting again. I'm really ticked. I bought it new in '98 (?), used it briefly back then, <48 hours, then recently fired it up and had these problems. Any suggestions would be greated appreciated. Thanks.
 
Hi JJones. Good question. It's possible. I took the MD drive apart and re-assembled, but have the same problem. The drive record/play arm is fixed to a post and whole assembly slides along a bar, driven, I guess, by microcontroller. The range of lateral movement seems to be OK since it works fine on 2 track, but there could be other possible adjustments that I'm not familiar with. Thanks for your quick reply!
 
Cleo3 said:
Hi JJones. Good question. It's possible. I took the MD drive apart and re-assembled, but have the same problem. The drive record/play arm is fixed to a post and whole assembly slides along a bar, driven, I guess, by microcontroller. The range of lateral movement seems to be OK since it works fine on 2 track, but there could be other possible adjustments that I'm not familiar with. Thanks for your quick reply!
Click to expand...

Not a problem.;) I figured that was the most suspect scenario. The only other thing I could think of would be a bad batch of MDs. I'm not familiar with 4 track MD recording so I'm just throwing some things out there.

As far as the alignment, it might be possible that the lens is a little out of alignment. I'm not sure what the likelihood of that is, but just something to consider if the transport looks and functions okay.

I guess the true test would be to play your MDs on someone else's machine (if you know someone local with the same type) or play someone else's MDs on you machine.:cool:
 
I had some older MD DATA (multi-track discs) that had the problem, so I bought some new ones, and had the same problem. I've ordered another EPROM, so we'll see if that helps. Thanks.
 
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