ADAT Error 7

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jgourd

jgourd

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I was at a gig and I popped my preformatted tapes into my ADAT stack and one of the machines starting displaying Error 7. I know this means "clean the transport" so I did. The error still remained.

I tryed 3 other formatted tapes that were formatted in this machine only 1 month before. No go.

As a last ditch effort, I tried formatting while recording. This worked fine.

I was afraid that the deck was out of alignment which would suck because it has less than 20 hours on it. When I got it back to the studio I tried a bunch of tapes in it and all played just fine. I then swapped the #1 deck's tapes for the "Error 7" deck and again, the tapes played fine on both machines. So it isn't an obvious alignment problem.

What could be the problem?
 
The company that made the preformatted tape had a batch problem (now fixed), so some tapes were not formatted properly at their factory. Just reformat (as you did) and you'll be OK.

Mike
 
I guess I forgot to mention that I formatted the tapes myself. I bought a box of ten 62 minute tapes and formatted them using the format multiple tapes mode.

Since I do live recordings the 62 minutes tapes are essential to my work. I know the formulation on them is thinner and therefore more prone to problems.
 
I've had similar difficulty with some of the unnamed company's (er,um,basf-emtech,er,um) tapes. Even reformatting doesn't fix the issue completely, according to the rep I talked to, it was a problem in the basic tape formulation....

They sent me replacement tapes and I haven't had the issue since.... although I have one HHB tape that if I format on my 3rd machine, doesn't read very well in others.....

I normally use Maxell's broadcast stuff and it has never given me any problems.

Bruce
 
Ah, two different issues...

There WAS a formulation issue earlier. Look at the batch code on the spine of your preformatted cassette's shell. If there is a letter in there somewhere, it is OK. If it is all numbers and no letters, you MAY have a problem, but you may not.

Later there was an issue with incorrect formatting of these tapes at the manufacturer's factory.

Both of these have been fixed a number of months ago, though dealers could have some old stock around....

Mike
 
While that may be true, I did state twice that I formatted them myself, in the machine that was throwing errors.
 
Right, I'm thinking you may have a FORMULATION, not a FORMATTING problem. Even if you reformat a formulation-problem tape you will get errors. But you said that reformatting during recording worked OK, so that is puzzling...

You may want to check the batch number on the tape anyway to see what you've got....

Mike
 
YIKES! What is exactly the deal with error 7? Tried recording with a Quantegy DM 42.... error 7, 1,2,3, different tapes... no go. Played back a recorded tape, played ok. Played an older DM 126, played ok. Recorded and formatted on the fly with an above "no go error 7" tape and it worked. Ok, here's why I'm confused.... the original DM42 "error 7 no go" tape that I was able to record on while formatting when I went to playback I could get sound BUT the display read error 7 while playing the tracks back!!! When I STOPPED the tape the display read the locate point but when I engaged PLAY, display read error 7, BUT played the music on the track?????? EPROM, software problem?? I'm totally confused. Had an Alesis tech install v 1.03 and a new chip last June, under warranty - 170 head hrs, blah, blah, blah. Now what's a putz like me to do? Alesis warranty... YIKES!! The tech I went to is owed THOUSANDS $$$$ by the former Alesis... he's "a little miffed". I don't use the ADAT that much anymore, but of course now I need it for a substancial amount of work I have on my plate. Can this be fixed? I'm gonna try a different batch of tapes. Suggestions? Bruce where r u getting those Maxell broadcast quality tapes? Anybody - I'm..... how'd ya say....DESPARATE @ this juncture. Thanx Brian
 
Taken from the "Care and Feeding of Your ADAT" video -

"Error 7 is very common and indicates that the digital data recorded onto tape can't be read properly by the electronics (although the sync information CAN be read)...

...this could be an indication that just the heads are dirty. It could something as simple as that, and it could run all the way through to that the headstack just isn't any good.... ...a faulty IC or something like that.

...the first thing I would do with an Error 7 is open the machine up and do a full cleaning. If that doesn't do the job, then I would call the service centre...."


As far as the broadcast Maxells, a local mastering place here carries them... BUT - they are closing up at the end of the month, so I'm going to have to find a new place to get them......

Bruce
 
This BBS truly is a wealth of knowledge. Thanx e-body for the posts. Bruce, are those Maxell's on the site jgourd posted the same ones you were talking about? Also, man@work, remember reading that b4... forgot about that....worth a try, thanx. mnicoletti - any tapes you like in particular? Boy this can be a royal pain in the arse!! What would be the updated deal on Alesis/Numark - any support there?
 
OK.... now I'm really baffled again. Bought a BASF, formatted on my machine, went to record... tape ran about 2 seconds.... ERROR 7 ( it's ALMOST become the the bluescreenofdeath). Tried PREformatting 4 Quant's and this 1 BASF... all no go. Took a previously recorded Quant with some spunk left in it (ie space to record) recorded ALL DAY - overdubs, punch-ins yada yada ya. Took3 other PREVIOUSLY recorded Quants ( mind you ALL of these tapes have been ALL formatted on this same machine!) with spunk and all recorded flawlessly????? Is this ADAT now improperly formatting tapes so I am unable to record ( ie software prob etc?)...... if the headstack etc, etc in kaputz I should NOT be able to record on all of these older preformatted tapes, yes/no????? I'm con-fuse-ed! I know, I know if I can't fix it ...... get a bigger hammer!... believe me this has passed thru the visualization synapses of my grey lump. Anyone? At this stage of the aggravation I'd buy anything - maybe even a slightly used cigar from Slick Willey.
 
You can take this with a grain of salt. The best luck I've had with my ADATs is with cheap Maxells from Best Buy. They sell a four pack of SVHS 120s for $17 that have never failed me.
 
from my personal experience Apogee tapes have worked best. I've suggested them to those that I know who use adat, and they've said nothing but good things since.
 
Thanx all. I'm gonna try all of the above and c if any work. Still wondering if my adat is not formatting these tapes properly now that software v 1.03 was installed. I'll post any results as they come in, thanks again. Brian
 
Can ADATs have their Firmware flash upgraded or do they need a new ROM?
 
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