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YouTube MiniDisc Repair - Panasonic SJ-MR230 - Flaky Battery Door Contact - Testing then Fixing




The Panasonic SJ-MR230 is a fun, MDLP-capable recorder that's known for its signature speakers and dock that resemble an answering machine or 10-key. Jokes aside, the small speakers sound surprisingly decent and it's a nice little dock for enjoying MiniDiscs at your desk. It looks nearly identical to its NetMD-enabled big brother, the SJ-MR250, though the NetMD dock does have the USB connector on the rear and different buttons on the front.


Interestingly, the sleeker looking SJ-MR240 (MDLP, no NetMD) and SJ-MR270 (MDLP, NetMD) came out at nearly the same time, but look much more modern and used a different dock (same speakers).


Often, these show up without the dock or in an unconfirmed state because of power issues. I have a few of these, and it typically is the hinge at the battery door causing problems. The hinge is crimped/clamped into place and after years of use, it can get loose, making poor contact. We can test this by jamming some copper in there to help the electrical connectivity. Once we confirm it, we'll want to fix it more permanently and that's where some thin copper sheeting (cut to fit) can come into play.

In this video, you'll see a bit of troubleshooting to confirm the issue, then fixing it with a thin piece of copper cut from a roll. I used 0.1mm thick copper, but I'm sure you could go a bit thicker. I've also seen some people remove most of the original battery door contact and replace it with a strip of brass or nickel.


For the copper listed in the video, I used:

Copper sheet roll 1000mm x 100mm x 0.1mm

https://amzn.to/3L8K23A

As always, purchases from Amazon links or via this page help support the blog, videos, and giveaways!





Chapter markers

00:00 - beginning 

00:28 - "no battery"

1:19 - examining the battery door

1:38 - test copper in the battery door hinge

2:10 - closer look at the hinge

2:59 - disassembly - bottom case

3:41 - a bit of cleaning...

5:20 - testing with a longer piece of copper foil

6:28 - reassembly - bottom case

8:16 - setting up the dock and speakers

9:45 - copper piece from a roll of thin copper

11:54 - testing 

12:40 - take the battery door cover off

16:02 - bend the copper over the "finger" on the battery door contact

17:50 - image - soldered in place from the rear and near hinge



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