Wild Sanctuary wrote:
> More recently, I dropped a Sony D-10 Pro II DAT recorder a couple of
> feet into a shallow pool. I quickly retrieved it and dried it out. It
> never worked again.
Rotating drum recorders not only have the electronics that are
vulnerable, but the drum assembly is a very high precision device, with
delicate parts. I'd think at minimum even if the electronics survived,
that you'd probably be into a full drum replacement. Definitely so if it
was running when it went in.
And to top it off, modern switches are membrane devices, which are often
not water protected.
The minidisc mechanism is a bit less vulnerable, but I don't count on it
working if it gets submerged.
> So, the moral is...
>
> Have a nicer day in the field with equipment that you know will work for you.
I doubt, however, that many will go back to the older tape units. A lot
of their durability was what made them heavy and also they were
relatively simple designs. And the audio specs have problems keeping up
with digital. It is possible to build light and weatherproof recorders.
I have sony sports walkman cassette recorders that are very waterproof.
The same can be done with minidisc as well. Sony has brought out a
highly water resistant minidisc recorder...Though it's not designed
properly for our work. No mic input and it's designed for the NetMD copy
protection system. At minimum you'd need a separate mic pre to use it.
Sure would be nice if they would bring out a regular MD recorder like that.
http://www.minidisco.com/minispecs/sony_mz-s1.html
Meanwhile, I'm in the early stages of fiddling up a design for a full
weatherproof enclosure for the Portadisc, something that you can toss it
straight into the swamp and not only will it float, but will run fine,
you could record with it floating around. I'm looking at basing it on a
Pelican 1420 case right now to save time in building. Then I'd only have
to put a view window and waterproof links through the lid. All this to
be able to take it safely out in my kayak in the swamp and use it there.
I've still not worked out what to do about the mics. I'm not worried
about rolling the kayak, but splash or dropping them. It's easy to
transport them weatherproof, using them is a different story.
It would be possible to tear down a piece of modern equipment and
encapsulate many of the components. There are coatings now for this sort
of thing. Of course that still does not help the mechanics. And it
really makes repairing a problem.
Walt
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
|