Audio Systems: Mini-disc, mini disc recorder, mini disc player

Question
I have a Sony Mini-Disc since it came out pretty much, and I have recorded a lot of my music on mini-discs. Now I have an iPod, and I want to transfer all my music there. I no longer have the CD's that I had, since these were stollen. In any case, that's where most of my music lies, and I need to find a way to transfer these into the iPod, even if it involves somehow transferring it into the computer in MP3 format. What can I do?

thank you.

Answer
Dear Bryan,

Your mini disc recorder/player has a set of outputs, probably red (right channel) and white (left channel). You need to get a "RCA-Y to stereo mini (1/8") jack" connector (found at Radio Shack or radioshack.com, Catalog No. 274-883). Connect each of the output cables from the mini disc player to the Y connector (pay attention to the left and right channels), which in turn is plugged into the audio input ("line in") on your PC's sound board. The audio input is identified by an icon of three progressively larger arcs with an arrow penetrating the center from right to left. (If you're looking at it upside-down, the arrow will be from left-to-right...the point is that the arrow leads *into* the middle of the arcs.) The arcs look like this: ((( ))). The arcs with the arrow leading *out* of the center is the PC's line out/speaker port, generally what you connect outboard speakers to.

The rest is up to your recording/ripping software and how it recognizes the input from the mini disc player.

BTW, the Radio Shack part is $5.99. Such a deal!

Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!

Kindest regards,

Kevin