Hi! I'm very happy to share with you my latest electronics project - the replacement display for the NW-E30x / NW-E20x / NW-S20x(F) and NW-E00x series Network Walkmans! I've been working on this one for the past two months, and I finally have something to show for it. There were two large problems I had to deal with, in order to make it work:

1. The power situation

OLED displays require high voltage (~9-12V) to drive the pixels. Sony's old displays put half of the electronics which create this high voltage in the actual display itself. Because of that, if you remove the old display, you also remove the power supply for it. I solved this issue by recreating the boost circuit with the help of the chip in the middle of my PCB. That chip is also responsible for preparing the data to actually put content on the screen. Thanks to that chip, this screen is very power efficient - my driver disables high voltage generation when the screen is off.

Here's some measurements (done on E305): ``` Display plugged in: Sleep mode - 0.4mA Playback, display active - 12mA Playback, no display - 6mA

Display not plugged in: Sleep mode - 0.1mA Playback, display active - 6mA Playback, no display - 6mA ```

2. The driver

This screen is pin-compatible with the original display, but it communicates with the Walkman in a different way. Because of that I had to modify these Walkmans' firmware to get it running. I wrote one common driver, but had to "tune" it to every device separately. This involved recovering, then reverse engineering the firmware, ripping out the old driver and installing the new one in its place. Finally, packaging the new firmware into the system upgrade image (MSFWUPGR.UPG), which can be used to update devices over USB. (Note that the firmware for NW-E300 / NW-E200 devices is still a tiny bit buggy - going through menus causes audio to skip*)

Side note: Sony has race conditions in their firmware. Multiple race conditions. 🙃

In addition to recreating the displays, I've also added full support for them to Web MiniDisc Pro (https://web.minidisc.wiki). That makes it possible to write ATRAC / MP3 files onto these things straight from the browser, without installing any extra software, and works on Windows / Linux / MacOS or even Android devices.

For those wondering: AI has not been used at any point throughout this project. It just kills the fun for me.

* - These walkmans are, to the best of my knowledge, single-core machines. It's the RTOS' job to feed audio frames to the VME (Sony's special in-hardware codec processor). When my driver takes over, it doesn't yield to the RTOS' scheduler at any point, and the RTOS is not preemptive. Drawing on the display using my driver is more complex in comparison to Sony's original code, so the VME runs out of frames to decode, and it plays silence until the display code completes its job. This is only a problem on the E20x / E30x devices, because their system clock is twice as slow as the one in E00x / S20x ones - those do not exhibit the same bug.

I recently picked up this WM-AF54 that I had when I was a kid and it is missing the radio faceplate. Is anyone aware of a 3d model that anyone has created to replace this? Thanks in advance!

This guy sits in my back pocket while I’m driving cars at work, figured the cushioned seats and my voluptuous rump would keep this from being an issue but here we are. My question is if this is a known issue and if I need to stop sitting on it immediately to prevent further damage. Hoping that this is fine but I’m not taking chances without consulting the experts first. Also, I have reasons for not using my front pocket, but it’s not out of the question. Back pocket is more convenient and comfortable.

It is definitely the screen and not the protector, checked with a flashlight. Saw it happen yesterday after I sat down on a metal chair for a couple minutes, but it remedied itself within 24 hours, just wanna make sure I don’t destroy my lil guy.

And before I see any “ew Bluetooth” comments, I’m a mechanic and wired is just not an option. I’ll save the intentional listening for when I get home, the shop is too loud anyway.

Thanks for any feedback!

hello, is anyone have this player with working motherboard and memory and want to sell it? I mean it can be broken screen but motherboard needs to work and connect through USB without issue so I can replace it to mine.

I have this Sony walkman but look like it has broken memory and it lags everytime I connect it to PC and it freeze the whole PC and can't really do anything with it. From what I found out it's corrupted memory and any kind of formatting and recovering the memory I tried didn't fix it so I need to replace whole motherboard

I plan to connect my Walkman to my computer using a 3.5mm jack. After that, I intend to play a song, record it, and save the music to a cassette player. I’d like to ask those of you who have experience recording with cassette players: the recorded music won't be terrible, right? I don't mind as long as I can listen to it. Please note that this translation might be clumsy as I used a translator.

Just bought this tps l2 and It’s missing the retaining pin that holds the door arm to the door any ideas on how to replace it?

So I left it for a couple of months with the battery in, and then there was some white crystal substances so I cleaned it out with a tiny bit of vinegar and a q-tip. Then, I placed new batteries, but whenever I do that it shows the battery icon as full, but stays on the FM 87.50 station and just plays static. None of the buttons work. Not the volume, not the radio on. The CD won't spin. I tried a few different batteries from my pack and none of them make a difference. This is a Sony CD Walkman D-FJ210. I tried moving the hold button back and forth and then the G protection. button too just in case, but that did nothing. I tried pressing the on/off button together for 30 seconds and that did nothing. It's just stuck on the 87.50 station with static. Some help would be appreciated.

カセットテープに録音するためのミックスリストを生成するソフトウェアを作っているんだけど、需要ある？

音楽ファイルとYouTubeのURLをライブラリに投入して、テープの時間や曲間を指定してボタンを押すと、被りのないミックスリストを簡単に作ることができる。

テープ録音用の再生機能を持ち、ミックスリストをWAV形式で書き出せる。

テープの個体差に合わせて録音時間を調整する機能、入り切らない曲をフェードアウトさせる機能、曲の先頭と末尾の空白を自動的に除去する機能、曲の録音レベルを揃える機能などもある。

動作環境は、WindowsとLinux。

Hello everyone,

first of all - this whole cassette world is brand new to me. Recently I've dicided to buy my first walkman, a Sony WM-EX670. It's my first walkman and I have no idea what's wrong with it & I really need your help.

After putting a 1.2V gumstick battery & a cassette inside, the low battery indicator turned on. It started playing the music, but the sound is fluctuating and sped up. I thought the gumstick battery is probably low, so I changed it to an external AA battery attachment with a brand new 1.5V AA battery, but the same thing happens: low battery indicator turns on, the sound is still fluctuating and sped up.

The seller says that the belt was changed. Have you got an idea what's wrong with it? Is it belt's fault?

The walkman is supposed to be a gift...

Thanks you very much in advance!

Que región recomiendan o que configuracion me recomiendan es para el sony a55

Sony gave PC users Music Center, but completely forgot about Mac users.

If you have a non-Android Walkman (NW-A55, A40, A30, ZX300, etc.) and on macOS device, there has literally been no software to manage your library without breaking album art or freezing the database with Apple dotfiles.

I built Walkman Studio to finally fill that gap.

It’s a native macOS app that automatically formats your tags, converts artwork to Walkman-compliant Baseline JPEG, syncs .LRC lyrics, and safely cleans all macOS junk files before unmounting.

Free & Open Source: Walkman Studio

A follow up from my post earlier this week. I was inspecting the board again and I saw this under. I think it is alkaline battery corrosion, these batteries were probably in here since the 90s until I took them about recently. Is the PCB and battery contact spring fixable?

Edit: more images https://imgur.com/a/BAJxdcD

最終的に、ベルトの交換、ピンチローラーの交換、ピンチローラーのクリアランス調整、クラッチ機構の調整を実施したのだ。

逆方向の再生で使うピンチローラーのクリアランスが狭く、順方向の再生でテープ送りの速度に問題があったのだ。

クラッチ機構が少し粘っていて、逆方向の再生でギア飛びが発生していたのだ。

こんな繊細な機械で、メカニカルな調整などやるものではないのだ。

苦労させやがってなのだ……😅

Hi all,

I'm close to pulling the trigger on the NW-A306.

I just wanted to check how easy the keyboard is to use on streaming apps like YouTube Music. The screen is on the small side, is it easy enough to search for songs?

hi, does anyone have an idea what the nw s644 walkman uses for its back screw? im trying to change mine

I’m hoping someone familiar with vintage Sony Walkmans can help me.
I recently replaced the old cassette belt with a new one. The belt fits properly, and when I manually turn the large wheel, everything seems to move smoothly.
Unfortunately, when I press PLAY, nothing happens. There’s no motor noise or movement. I’m also not sure whether the radio is working.
While working on it, I discovered a loose red wire. One end is connected, but I have no idea where the other end belongs. It appears to be near the headphone jack, but I’m not certain.
I’ve attached several pictures showing the inside of the Walkman and the loose wire.
I’m trying to repair it myself and would really appreciate some guidance, especially from anyone who can identify where that red wire belongs.
I’d love to get my Walkman working again rather than give up on it.
Thank you so much for any help or suggestions! ❤️

Hey guys, this is a Walkman -D6C that my grandma gave me when I moved out of my country. I've being keeping it really well guarded, in a smoke free house, in a place with regulated temperature and moisture. And every year I use it once to listen to the cassette "magical strings" Which is the only one I got 😅.

Although as you can see is in really good condition, I was wondering if there is something I should check out once in a while, like maintenance. It really doesn't sound weird or have any weird issues, but still. Give me your opinions.

Sadly I might have to part ways with it soon due to family expenses, so I want to make sure everything is properly documented and taken care of, so the next person that uses it has the best experience possible.

Thanks in advance and sorry if I misspelled or said something weird, English is not my first language.