There may be an answer on the horizon with solid state recording,
especially if Marantz (or folks like them) can figure out how to
store information on their recent 690 unit w/o compression and with
large data storage capacity. No disks. No tape. How (seemingly)
wonderful!
Bernie
>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
>
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--
Wild Sanctuary, Inc.
P. O. Box 536
Glen Ellen, California 95442-0536
Tel: (707) 996-6677
Fax: (707) 996-0280
http://www.wildsanctuary.com
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