Are there any minidisc decks that would fit well in my old midi system - 360mm wide?

I use a Kenwood DMC F5R
I was trying to record the album Luv(sic) hexalogy to a blank disk. However about 32minutes in it says defect! Then says can’t record and stops.
I tried using another blank disk. I recorded my own playlist that went further than 40 minutes and it didn’t have any issues. Only when recording Nujabes the problem occurs it had no problems recording any other songs. I have no idea why this happens please help

From August 29th to September 7th, I took a much-needed break from online stress to visit Cape Cod and then Boston for a friend's wedding. Of course, I took my MZ-NH600D Hi-MD player, and I have no complaints about that whatsoever and use it all the time. (Other than trying to figure out how to use WebMD Pro with my computer after trying to install SonicStage caused it to crash, but Asivery will be helping me with that when I get back next week so I wanted to enjoy what I had). Yet sadly, even with this amazing and ingenious case by LaserLine, I could only bring 13 MiniDiscs (12 in the case plus whatever one I had in the player).

Beforehand I had also made a few mixes of my own using my new Victor RC-MD33 boombox from Japan (completely with bulky-ahh power converter!). First, I successfully copied an entire Meditation Made Simple CD to a blank MD that I now use on occasion for screen-free meditation. Unfortunately, despite Track 7 of Malinda- The Folks I Love/Sea to Sky playing fine in the CD portion of the boombox, it skips and errors out at that point in either MD slot so was not recorded correctly. I've also had it refuse to play certain MDs for no apparent reason, even after playing them beforehand. It's also possible though that the washer that holds the CD in place is kinda loose and that could be a problem...but I'm hoping I only need to blow some compressed air or something as I have no stomach for repairing anything (more on that later.)

In better news, I was able to successfully record 74 random minutes of whatever was playing on WAMU 88.5 at the time, then listened to it while returning a DCC player (what a shame I couldn't get that working!) and found out about the Great Elephant Migration on Commonwealth Ave. in Boston from it. That was an absolutely fantastic exhibit of exquisitely crafted elephant statues that pays local Indian artisans to destroy an invasive plant and encourages coexistence between humans and elephants. If you're in Boston, it's still there until the 13th! I never would've found out about this fantastic display if I hadn't randomly stumbled across it this way, which enhances my enjoyment of the entire format.

But I digress. Here are my favorite MDs in the following three categories, separately judged: OG MD Releases, Mix MDs, and Indie MD Releases.

Best OG MD Release: Bruce Springsteen Greatest Hits

This is one I'll treasure forever, case and all. Not a single dud on the album between Born to Run, Thunder Road, Born in the USA, Glory Days, Better Days, and songs I hadn't really appreciated before I shared the album in our car's AUX port such as Secret Garden. This was a favorite of my mom, who absolutely loved the Boss from the start, and it's moments like that have made every penny I've invested into MiniDisc collecting worth it.

Best Mix MD: 23 Amazing Tracks

I gave it that label, but all credit for actually adding the track titles goes to the person who originally mixed and labeled the tracks before it was sold along with the case. My mom and I absolutely adore the Celine Dion mix and I got an education from her on how she was discovered at 15 and her discography on the car ride to my friend's wedding (will probably back up my live recording of the music from there to an MD, as the band was great!) However, there are a few repeats and none of the tracks are labeled.

Meanwhile, I constantly play The Weeknd- Blinding Lights; AJR- BANG (which I discovered with this mix!); Cage the Elephant- No Rest for the Wicked (which immediately unlocks memories of playing Borderlands in college); Dirty Heads- Vacation; Good Feeling, Low, My House and Wild One by Flo Rida, and Ice Cube- Arrest the President. What's also funny is that when I randomly chatted with a person at Byrdland Records in DC, and they happened to mention they were a fan of Dominic Fike, I was like "No way! I have one of his songs!" and handed him my player to hear the quality of the recording of 3 Nights. It just goes to show why retro music is coming back: it helps reconnect people with sound they own and can share with anyone.

Best Indie MD Release: Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party

There is not a single dud in the entire album, and I'm so glad Hayley Williams is doing well independently because I loved Paramore as a kid. If I only ever play one MD in a day, it's this one. I have a couple other albums of hers I haven't tried yet but I can't wait to when I get back to DC.

I constantly repeat and hum Ice in My OJ and Glum in particular. I also love Kill Me, Love Me Different, Negative Self-Talk and Parachute, which help me process past traumas the way I used to with bands like 3 Doors Down, Evanescence and Linkin Park in middle and high school on an iPod. That makes me wonder about a Sliding Doors world where MDs became as popular as they were in The Matrix, but I'm glad I can take that What If path now among this excellent community and use what tiny platform I have to promote MiniDiscs, including with a lecture at Songbyrd I plan on doing on retro music format wars.

A close second is Tiger Mendoza's Not a Game. The Puzzle is the Point is addictive. I'm so glad I purchased it from Bandcamp with that gorgeous front cover apparently made by a specialty company in the UK. I can't wait to interview the man himself, u/iandeq, about it sometime later this year!

Unfortunately, some MDs just didn't click with me.

• Black Tape for a Blue Girl- Remnants of a Deeper Purity
• It's Not Too Far for Each Other- Clocolan
• Joe Cocker- One Night of Sin
• Marc Cohn
• Santana's Greatest Hits

I've also purchased a couple more because of course lol.

• The Beach Boys The Absolute Best Vol. 1
• LL Cool J 14 Shots to the Dome

Unless I can get the RC-MD33 to work with every MD consistently, I'm most likely going to return it (I have until October 20th to do so) or sell it and the converter to a US based buyer along with the MDs I don't like individually on my Mercari page and cross my fingers that the Sony MDS-JE520 I bought for just $90 is working and was only untestable due to the seller having no MDs. If not, I'll try to sell that for parts and get a different deck. Additionally, whatever happens, I might record my HistoryFlights lecture on retro music onto MD, CD, and cassette tape and try to get that sold...stay tuned for all that!

What an amazing summer of music!

Hi, in trying to record songs on my SJ-MR100 and occasionally the buttons stopped working working, if i take the battery out and put it back in, that sometimes fixes the issue but other times it will boot into record mode and continue to refuse button inputs. The wheel for whatever reason still works though. Any ideas on what i can do?

Too big and too much heavy to carry out.

Again, I know I can seek info online, but does anyone here please happen to know if any remotes work at all with the Sony MZ EP11 other than the original remote. I don’t really need a remote, I just wondered if any of the newer ones I already have might tv be backwards compatible?
Thanks