wrote:
> 1. Even with the gain increased by sending the machine back to the factor=
y,
> the machine is underpowered for my purposes. I use a Sennheiser K6 Power
> Module and an ME-66 and 67 Microphone. I asked Saul Mineroff to modify th=
e
> SME-BA3 Hi Gain Booster (Microphone Amplifier) to allow only a 10 dB gain
> (the standard 25 dB gain by this unit was too much gain for the MDP 500 t=
o
> use). This worked well and gave only slightly less gain than that achieve=
d by
> using the Sennheiser with a Sony TCM 5000 cassette recorder. This does
> however, add another apparatus to work with and increases the possibility=
of
> problems.
10 dB is, if I remember correct exactly how much the signal is reduced
by the portadisc if you use mono and only send the signal in one input.
> 2. Battery usage is horrific, but this is correctly warned in the Operati=
ng
> Instructions. Thanks to the warning, I purchased 3 battery packs which ea=
ch
> hold 8 AA Batteries.
Note that the NIMH batteries now come in 1800 mah capacity from a couple
manufacturers. The original batteries included with the portadisc are
1550 mah, so using the higher capacity will increase your time. I just
recently got two sets of the 1800 mah AA's. I've had no problem, but use
AA's for all kinds of things with my night recording. Recent testing of
my remaining Nicad AA's revealed over a dozen that were nearly dead even
after running through reconditioning. So it was time to buy some more
batteries anyway. The 1600 mah AA's I was using have been demoted to
running headlamps, photography flash and so on.
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0For my purposes, I must have the machine on almost cont=
inuously while
> in the field. Thus, each battery pack lasts about 3 hours. The "bootup" t=
ime
> is not bad if one tries to turn off the unit between recordings, but
> instantaneous recording is a necessity for me as quite often a fast draw
> recording is a necessity. Typically, I would use up an entire battery pac=
k
> during the early morning and usually the second pack would last almost th=
e
> rest of the day. At times I would use up 2 packs, but never completely us=
ed
> up the third before recharging. So, if one has the ability to charge the
> packs in the evening and has a charger in addition to the HHB, =A03 batte=
ry
> packs should be sufficient.
If you are in more or less constant contact with a car, two pacs will be
enough. You can have one set charging on fast chargers in the car while
using the other.
> 3. The playback speaker is not too bad and certainly better than the Sony
> Stereo Cassette TC-D5PROII. It is underpowered, but the playback is very
> clear. Because I was with a guide that had a TCM 5000 we used his machine
> most of the time for playback. The speaker on the HHB is OK and except wh=
en
> blasting is required is somewhat adequate. It is easy to attach a small
> speaker to the HHB like the Radio Shake one that I discussed sometime bac=
k. I
> would do this if I was not with someone with the TCM 5000.
The internal speaker was designed for editing in the field, primarily
for reporters. So is not really good enough for playback. In fact if you
take your favorite playback speaker system out in the field, start it
playing, and walk away you will be surprised just how little distance it co=
vers.
> 5. It is quite convenient and comforting to know that when you press the
> RECORD button you cannot erase previous recordings even if you have just
> played back something recorded several minutes ago. The minidisc is not
> linear!
You are correct about being random access, but not overwriting is a
setting. It's default is to not overwrite, but if you just can't stand
it unless you can make that error you can switch the Portadisc to
overwrite. I don't recommend doing that.
> 7. The HHB is not overly forgiving if one "overrecords". If the Peak Mete=
r
> indicates an overrecording, you may have a distorted cut. The HHB seems t=
o be
> less forgiving than my old Marantz DAT and is somewhat similar to the hig=
h
> end Sony cassette machines. If one is willing to record in Stereo, it is
> possible to set the two tracs at different volume levels, so if one is
> overrecorded the other may not be. If you do record in stereo with differ=
ent
> volume levels for each trac and you are =A0monitering with earphones, you=
can
> set the machine to deliver the same volume of signal to each ear so that =
you
> are not getting different signals. This is important for me, as I always =
have
> a hard time finding exactly where the singer is. With unbalanced input co=
ming
> to each ear, the task becomes harder.
As we've discussed, the habit of setting the meter right up at the peg,
which was necessary with tape due to it's poorer dynamic range is
something to get away from for digital recording. With the portadisc you
have a dynamic range better than your mic, and should set the levels
down 10-20dB lower than you would for cassette. It will still get
everything your mic produces.
> 8. The POWER ON switch is very easy to accidentally press On. On more tha=
n
> one occasion, I accidentally hit this button while in the car which resul=
ted
> in the machine using valuable battery power. Once it actually recorded fo=
r
> over an hour while we drove to a new location.
I suppose this depends on how you carry the portadisc. I've never had
mine power on (or off) accidentally. The button is slightly below flush
with the case front so would need a pretty direct push. In my case with
the strap mounts I made mine is even more protected as the mount extends
above the front of the case when it's being carried by the strap.
One thing that might help is to leave the phone level knob extended.
It's next to the power button and might fend things off a little.
> 9. I am slightly concerned about the ATRAC sampling rate.
The sampling rate is exactly the same as audio CD's, so I assume you
mean the ATRAC compression.
> 10. Minidisc recording can give you up almost 2 1/2 hours MONO recording =
on a
> single 74 minute disc as long as you do not use more than 240 index #s. T=
his
> makes for very efficient use of discs!
Your use of MONO with a single mic is part of your gain problem. The
setup of mono in the portadisc assumes you are feeding the same mono
signal in both inputs and cuts the gain to keep from overloading as it
adds the two input channels. The addition of two zero dB signals gives
you a signal that will overload, so they attenuate the signal to make
the addition of two zero dB signals still zero dB. If you hook only to
one input, then it adds that input to the signal from the unconnected
input and still attenuates. Try comparing the gain you get with your mic
feeding a single channel of stereo vs the mono fed via a single channel.
Disks are cheap and small. I don't use mono even when recording from a
mono mic. For the reason above.
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A03. Lack of =A0adequate recording gain. This was only pa=
rtially fixed as
> they were able to give me about 5 or so more dB. However, as explained ab=
ove,
> this was not adequate for my purposes.
Note this may be a function of your use of the mono setting. We had a
discussion about this a while back.
> Final conclusion: This is a good machine. It is quite durable and easy to
> use. I am somewhat concerned about the machine generated noise (when comp=
ared
> to the TCM 5000) and the ATRAC sampling possibly throwing out hi-pitched
> vocalizations (although the latter seems only a problem when using spectr=
al
> analysis, it is not detectable by human ears). It was interesting to note
> that the Sony TCM 5000 was delivering very comparable recordings when
> compared in spectral analysis. So is the HHB worth the cost (almost 3 tim=
es
> as much as the durable old Sony TCM 5000 when all the required boosters,
> battery packs, and chargers are included)? I am not sure. Since I own the
> machine, I will continue to use it as long as I have overnight battery
> charging facilities. The advantages of the 6 second buffer and easy index=
ing
> are really wonderful. I am hoping some of the experts can shed some light=
on
> the "noise" factor I am detecting when compared to the Sony TCM 5000.
Digital recording has considerable more dynamic range than cassette. I
suspect the noise you are seeing is either actually there in the
environment, or is the noise floor of your mic, most likely the latter.
In either case the cassette did not have the dynamic range to pick it up.
The erratic behavior of high frequencies is fairly characteristic of
digital near it's sampling limit. It comes and goes depending on the
phase difference between the call and the sample timing.
ATRAC does, as has been noted leave out some of the dynamic range at the
highest frequencies. Most of what it leaves out we probably don't want,
mic noise and such like. It's like it cuts the dynamic range keeping the
louder signals and dropping the quieter ones. This occurs above 16 or 17 kh=
z.
Walt
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