Going Old School

**nsureit** · 12-22-2012

I recently picked this up on eBay - a FOSTEX PD-4M PORTABLE DAT RECORDER.

It is an early 2000's DAT, the kind used to make films, commercials and TV programs at remote locations. Very cool technology. It has a built-in crystal word clock to sync up video and audio. The seller said it was in a storage locker he bought, and he accepted my offer of $400! These are selling today for $1,900 used! What's more incredible is that is was new-in-box. It came in the original box and packing material, and the condition was absolutely pristine.

I am using it to record our band at rehearsals and gigs. I am using 3 pairs of mics through my mixer, and routing them into the 3 input channels on the Fostex.

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Item description: (seller's description on eBay)
A few years old, but, never been used.
Originally bought for a movie that was never made.
Taken out of the box for the first time to photograph.
Mint condition.
Comes with Porta Pack.
Two 16-bit digital audio channels.
Four-head design allows confidence monitoring (simultaneous recording and playback) of audio data.
Record and playback capabilities of SMPTE/EBU time code, IECC format.
Compatible with all DAT recorders.
Three sample frequencies: 48 kHz, 48.048 kHz, and 44.1 kHz.
The PD-4 generates time code using a crystal clock. This offers improved flexibility in time code applications, allowing independent operation of the unit.
The internal battery can be replaced without interruption of the internal time code synchronization.
Includes a three channel mixer to enable the recording of voice plus a stereo background at a remote location without having to carry an external mixer.
Each channel of the mixer has a L C R panpot switch, 48V DC phantom power, continuously variable high-pass filter, and 20 dB microphone attenuation.
Full-logic transport to prevent errors in operation.
Digital data transfer using either consumer (SPDIF) or professional (AES/EBU) data formats (IEC 958).
Sound monitoring by stereo headphones or the built-in loudspeaker. The headphone jack switches between the two.
Rugged but lightweight portable construction.

**Terfyn** · 12-22-2012

The Users Manual is still available if you want a copy. PM me with your e-mail.

I had a DAT recorder some years back - a good machine. Unfortunately I messed up some tracks being used as a backing for a play. Switched to mini disk as the indexing of tracks is so much easier.

**nsureit** · 12-23-2012

I'm certain that a digital HD recorder would be much more efficient, but I can't resist the "fun" of using tape to record the room. It's just a hobby, anyway.

**leddy** · 12-25-2012

Originally Posted by nsureit

but I can't resist the "fun" of using tape to record the room.

As long as you understand this is not really "tape", DAT is still digital, not analog.

**Terfyn** · 12-26-2012

It is tape in every sense. The signal is digital rather than analogue but the recording medium is a tape in a cassette. I replaced my DAT tape recorder with a mini-disk so I could have more control over the indexing.

**Blue Jinn** · 12-27-2012

Originally Posted by Terfyn

It is tape in every sense. The signal is digital rather than analogue but the recording medium is a tape in a cassette. I replaced my DAT tape recorder with a mini-disk so I could have more control over the indexing.

No, it's still digital. The digital storage medium happens to be a type of helical scan tape drive. He could use that AES/EBU jack and transfer that digital information to other digital media. I (and I assume leddy) make the point, as there was a misunderstanding in another thread that ADAT was a "tape" medium like open reel.

That said, I have a DAT deck I've used to mix to, in conjunction with an audio capable computer DAT drive which reads the data and writes to hard disk, for "mastering" and transfer to CD.

**Terfyn** · 12-27-2012

Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987.
Suggest you rewrite Wiki in that case.

D=Digital
A=Audio
T=Tape
I don't remember saying that the recorded signal was analogue.

**nsureit** · 12-28-2012

I understand that a digital code (ioioioioioioioioioioioio) is recorded on a magnetic medium (tape).

I'm using a very expensive and proven piece of hardware ($8,995 new) that I got real cheap ($400). This Fostex model machine was used to record audio for hundreds of movies, TV programs and commercials. I love the quality of the preamps, and I can record on-the-fly and color the audio with a very powerful mixer. If I want, I can just use the Fostex as a mic-pre and run the signal to my laptop DAW at our gigs. But, that would not be nearly as cool...