I used to have two of these units and recently sold one. This one plays and records minidiscs fine. The battery is about 4 years old (after market - purchased on eBay).
The docking station will charge the battery, but this battery may not hold a charge for very long.
The unit will play fine when in the docking station and connected to AC power (included).
What's included:
- One (1) Sharp Mt877 Portable MiniDisc Player/Recorder
- One (1) AC adapter
- One (1) plastic charging station/dock
- One (1) "gumstick" rechargable battery pack
- One (1) TDK blank MiniDisc (80 minutes)
- One (1) Removable Keychain cord
- One (1) AA external battery pack (not shown in pics)
What works:
- When docked in the charging station and connected to power, the unit will play and record MiniDiscs.
- The unit will run on a charged battery pack.
- When a stereo microphone is connected, it records in full stereo.
- The display screen works.
- The kickstand on the docking station works.
- The green and orange LED lights work to indicate various functions, including charging.
Be aware:
- The middle status light (blue) doesn't illuminate for some reason. Does not affect anything.
- When using the device for a while, sometimes the display screen "fades" out, but then comes back to normal. I'm not really sure what the cause of that is. But the device doesn't stop playing or recording.