MiniDisc Sharp Equipment Notes

• Record Position Sharp recorders automatically append new recordings to the end of the logical medium. Overwrite recording can be accomplished by putting the unit into PLAY-PAUSE at the point where recording is to begin, then pushing RECORD.
• Recording Level Sharp units have no Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuit, the manual recording level may be set while recording is under way by using the the |<< and >>| track positioning buttons. The recording level setting is remembered between disc changes.
• Microphone Sensitivity Selection Microphone preamp sensitivity selection is built-in to the recording level control and has two settings: HIGH (0.25mV, corresponding to recording levels 0-20) and LOW (2.5mV, corresponding to recording levels 21-30). Note that a momentary dropout occurs in the recording when transitioning between levels 20-21 (or 21-22 depending upon machine) as it changes the preamp sensitivity setting.
• Date and Time Stamp Sharp machines do not generally record date and time information when recording.
• Name Stamp Sharp portable recorders allow titles to be copied from one MD to another providing the target MD has the same number of tracks as the source MD.
• These Sharp remotes are each interchangeable with each other:
  1. The 701/702/301/302/401/501/601/311 remote;
  2. The 312/722 remote - 2 jogs, alarm, clock, 2-layer display;
  3. The 721/521/821 remote - 3 jogs;
  4. The 321/322/421/831/531 remote - long, 2 jogs;
  5. The ST55 remote - the cheap-looking one.
  (2), which is the original 722 remote, only appeared on two Sharp models, and not in clones either. So it's always made in smaller numbers than (1), (3) and (4). (1) was in production for almost 2 years, so now is about the time to retire (2) too. Economies of scale, plus the 722 remote costs more. (2) also requires a button battery to keep the clock running. Sharp may assume that most users don't necessarily want clock/alarm on the unit, especially when it doesn't act as a playback timer.
  Leon
• Pete De Bonte has photo details of the rechargeable battery trick for Sharp portable MD recorders.
• Karsten gives a tip for undoing the effects of Sharp's service mode.
• Sharp has a page listing all of their current portable MD recorders. A similar list can be found at Sharp's German electronics page.
• A table lists Sharp portable MD accessories for older models.

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