SONY VRD MC5 DVDIRECT DVD BURNER RECORDER

or

are there "missing" devices outlined/labelled on the overlay? the traces from the /some 3.3,1.8,1.25 probably go to those missing devices if you trace them along

After spending some time checking various other marked test points to make some notes, also checked the ESR of the aluminum electrolytic surface-mount caps (absolutely fantastic tool.. thanks, Bob Parker).

Out of the 8 caps marked 10uF 16V, 5 of 'em had ESR readings of 9 or 10 ohms. The larger value caps (100uf, 220uf 16V) had reasonable ESR readings.

One of the larger caps(?) is clearly marked 220C UD.. I dunno what that's supposed to mean, but it looks identical to the other 220uF caps, including the black semicircle for the negative terminal. Anyone familiar with these markings?

I'll see if I can get some replacement caps, and report back with any changes.

That's a possibility, but I won't be able to trace the double-sided (populated both sides) surface mount board since the traces are fairly complex.. passing under components and a multitude of opposite side vias.

Ya gotta admire the process of developing products like these, but they're not very service-friendly. Some components are as small as a few grains of common table salt.

Since you asked, unlike many modern devices, there is only 1 omitted large IC and relatively few scattered smaller components.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 08:39:05 -0500, "Wild_Bill" put finger to keyboard and composed:

I couldn't locate a free service manual, but FWIW I found the following documents during my search.

Technical Bulletin - No Sound when Dubbing / Error Message Appears:

Technical Bulletin - Format Error / No Sound:

Instruction Manual: ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/manuals/consumer/VRD-MC5.PDF

Operating Instructions Supplement:

Quick Guide:

I'd look for 3-terminal linear regulators, something like an LD1117-33 or LD1117-18:

Alternatively, look for switchmode step-down buck regulators. These will be located near coils. I suspect that 3.3V and 1.8V may the Vio supplies for the main microcontroller and for the SDRAM and flash memory ICs. The Vcore supply may be 1.25V.

If I'm right, then it could be that the device is in fact in standby mode, and it may require a common enable signal to turn on each of these supplies.

A photo would help a lot.

- Franc Zabkar

You always seem to find info that few others are able to Franc, thank you.

I'd seen the consumer/user manuals on the Sony site, but hadn't found anything else not even from the eservice site. I was a bit surprised that none of the various Sony VRD-MCx models had been mentioned in the SER archives (attributable to the throw-away society mentality, I guess).

I haven't been doing repair work for quite some time, but I sometimes buy as-is stuff to see if there's anything interesting to discover (a 2007 model is far newer than equipment I was familiar with). I have experience with voltage regulators, and your recommendation is a sensible approach, if the devices are clearly marked.. I've got magnification, but odd numbering methods quickly turn a repair into a major research project.

I'll see if I can get some decent pics posted to Flickr. Replacing caps may turn out to be a waste of time, but then I'll know better than to buy any more of this particular model.

-- Cheers, WB .............

On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:57:25 +1100, Franc Zabkar put finger to keyboard and composed:

Oops, I mistook that for an English manual.

There are also manuals in other languages, but I can't find an English one: ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/manuals/consumer/

- Franc Zabkar

For those who may be interested, the operation/user manuals are on the Sony site:

Other related info:

-- Cheers, WB .............

I've posted several pics of the VRD-MC5 circuit board with brief descriptions in a Flickr set.

Some photo viewer programs will allow considerable enlargement with the zoom feature, enough to make all the silkscreened designations on the board easily readable (pics taken in 3MB mode are about 800KB in size).

On Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:35:48 -0500, "Wild_Bill" put finger to keyboard and composed:

For those that wish to avoid a click-fest, here are your hires photos:

I couldn't find any data on the Mediatek MT1888E DSP/RF or MT8108ADE, but the following service manual has some useful circuit diagrams:

Daewoo DVD Recorder Service Manual (models DW-K3AD2N-DS, DW-K3BD2N-DS, DW-R631/DW-R632):

The above unit contains a Mediatek MT1888E DSP/RF and MT8105B MPEG codec. I suspect that the MT8105B might be functionally similar to the MT8108ADE (or MT8108BDE), but that's only a guess.

Both chips require +3.3V and +1.8V supplies. The board has a ISL6227CAZ dual PWM controller adjacent to the 3.3V and 1.8V test points, so I suspect that this IC is responsible for these two supplies. Each PWM controller has its own enable pin, so I would check these.

There is also a MOSFET (RSS040P03) near the DC power socket which appears to function as a high-side power switch. I would confirm that it is switching +12V.

The AT1796-50A part appears to be responsible for the +5V supply.

The switches are a bit of an enigma. I would have expected that there would be a microcontroller associated with the display, and that this would be responsible for waking the board from standby. So why are the switches on the main board on not on the display PCB? AFAICS, neither the MT1888E nor the MT8108ADE could be controlling the dual PWM controller IC (since they are both dependent on the supplies from this IC). Alternatively, could the power button be connected to some simple latch logic?

Here are some datasheets that may be helpful:

AT1796-50A, Aimtron, 150kHz, 3A Step-Down Switching Regulator:

ISL6227CAZ, Intersil, Dual Mobile-Friendly PWM Controller with DDR Option:

RSS040P03, Rohm, P-channel MOSFET, -30V, -4A:

- Franc Zabkar

On Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:35:48 -0500, "Wild_Bill" put finger to keyboard and composed:

I believe U15 is the 2.5V regulator for the SDRAM.

G950T65, Global Mixed-mode Technology, 2.5V 1A Regulator:

G2996, Global Mixed-mode Technology, DDR I/II Termination Regulator:

BTW, T3 looks more like a common mode line filter rather than a dual

- Franc Zabkar

On Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:10:26 +1100, Franc Zabkar put finger to keyboard and composed:

This device appears to be responsible for the 1.25V supply. It has a shutdown pin (SD). It might be an idea to see where this pin goes. I suspect it will go to the same chip as the enable pins for the 3.3V and 1.8V supplies.

- Franc Zabkar

or

Before getting bogged-down in hardware fault scenarios, did someone try de-zoning it , via firmware upload?

Before you spend a lot of effort finding and replacing caps, I suggest you bridge the suspected caps with standard leaded caps and see if the system can be revived.

Consider this scenario. You have a buck converter that converts 20V down to 5V. As the caps age and increase in ESR and/or decrease in value, ripple starts to appear. The end-stage is an open cap and

Problem is that the 20V killed the IC's some time ago. No amount of cap replacing will fix that.

Thanks Mike, I agree with the scenario you presented as being a possibility.. so troubleshooting with an oscilloscope would likely be much more revealing.

I was expecting to get lucky since the unit is nearly completely dead, but that seems less likely now.

-- Cheers, WB .............

You've delivered a great amount of information Franc.. thanks for your efforts.

There is only the one board in the VRD-MC5. Not included in the pics, but the LCD display flex cable connects to the slim brown connector in the upper left sector (below the coil marked 820 of pic VRD-MC5e). The 4 switches (north, south, east, west) around a centered switch are for navigating the displays' menu selections.

I wanted one of these units to use for transferring my body-worn DVR and camera images directly to DVD without needing a computer.

I received a previous model of this unit this week, the previous years' VRD-MC1. The MC1 has a smaller LCD, and the board is vaguely similar to the MC5. The MC1 uses a conventional ATAPI DVD drive (the MC5 uses a different type with only 2 flex cables), so if the drive fails, it may be possible to swap it out.

-- Cheers, WB .............

I should'a looked at the board designation, but I was expecting to see a fuse, and when it was marked with 3A and some other numbers, I "saw" a fuse.

Good catch Franc.

-- Cheers, WB .............

Certainly a possibility Nigel.. there are firmware updates for these units, although I don't have any experience with failed updates so I don't know what the corruption results would appear as.

This unit was a used, as-is item, so its history is unknown, although it was easy to determine that someone had previously disassembled it.. broken flex connector, missing drive drawer faceplate and other signs.

units,

was

flex

As a favour to a good customer I said I'd look at his non working DVD and went down much the same path as you are. The next day he said , oh by the way it stopped working after I borrowed a de-zoning disk. If anyone knows a signature to look out for , characteristic of this soft/firmware condition as distinct from hardware failure?