Revision 3b is here! As I no longer have the time to assemble gmdrec by hand, this is the first factory-assembled version. Electrically it is the same as revision 3a, with a few additional changes:

• nickel-gold plating on the connector - increased wear resistance
• micro USB socket - use whatever cable length you find convenient (cable not included)

Quick start guide: https://github.com/fijam/gmdrec/wiki/Windows-Quick-Start-Guide

What is it?

gmdrec is a USB interface circuit between your late 90's Sony portable MiniDisc recorder and your PC.

Why did you make it?

Early portable MiniDisc recorders (despite all their retro charm) lack some modern conveniences such as a USB port. These only started to appear in devices featuring NetMD. For anything made before 2001 your primary interface with the device was pressing buttons on a remote. This included things such as labeling tracks which made it a very tedious endeavor.

This simple circuit pretends to be a remote and pushes buttons programmatically, driven by a Python script available on GitHub.

What makes it special?

With gmdrec recording and labeling MDs is a one-click operation. You just create a playlist in a supported media player (currently Foobar2000 on Windows and DeaDBeeF on Linux, please note MacOS is not supported) and click Start. gmdrec will grab the tracks on the playlist, break them down into a sequence of button presses and label each track as it is being recorded in real time. You can also use it to label discs which have already been recorded but lack the titles.

You can buy an assembled one here or you can build one yourself! Schematics, a bill of materials and KiCad PCB files are hosted on GitHub.

Supported recorders

Currently supported recorders include: MZ-R55, MZ-R37, MZ-R70, MZ-R90, MZ-R91, MZ-R700, MZ-R701, MZ-N707, MZ-R900! Also supported: MZ-R909, MZ-R910, MZ-N1

Contributions welcome

If you want to contribute to the software side of this project (such as add support for a new device) dive into the code on GitHub.

FAQ

Q: Hey, didn't it use to cost $12.50?
A: Unfortunately due to inflation and weak EUR/USD exchange rate at the moment I had to hike the price a bit.

Q: Can I use it with a deck/bookshelf unit?
A: No, these work differently.

Q: Can I connect several gmdrecs to one PC and use them at the same time?
A: Unfortunately not, since they share the same USB identifier.

Q: Micro-USB? Why not USB-C?
A: I had trouble finding a USB-C connector that had a narrow enough footprint to fit on the board.

Q: ENIG plating? Why not hard gold?
A: Hard gold electroplating would increase the price per board by eye-watering $8.

Q: Why isn't MacOS supported?
A: Mostly because the beefweb component which gmdrec depends on doesn't. If you can help with that, reach out on beefweb's github!

Q: I am having trouble. How can I get help?
A: First, make sure to check Troubleshooting. If that doesn't help, you can reach me through tindie or minidisc.wiki's official discord server. You can also open an issue directly on github.

The video embedded below showcases the first version, which looks different but works the same way. You can see the latest version in action here: https://youtube.com/shorts/eHjSmUabtv0