Hello people, glad I found this site. The question is down below under 'problem' if TLDR.
And down the black hole of taping I go...
I've been a tape-head for years having used DAT since the inception. I still use a TASCAM BR20 on my analog setup and that deck has a lengthy pedigree having been used (supposedly) at the Record Plant in Sausalito for two-track mastering. I added Dolby SR to it and use it all the time with a custom control interface. But I digress.
Back to digital... I wanted to extract some audio from DAT tapes that were playing when one of my sons was born. I got out my Sony TCD-D7 and the lid was jammed. We had used it for years. Fixed the lid due to some frozen grease but then it was playing really slowly so I assumed another issue. I then remembered I had a DTC-59ES that had been sitting for 25yrs due to a door issue. I dug it out, bypassed the door, and after a lot of screwing around, I had it playing a whole tape through. I can kick myself for not bypassing the door years ago! So I ordered a pinch wheel, I had been using a stack of o-rings on the hub, and in screwing around, I noticed that one of the tape thread arms was loose. The small bolts screw-down into plastic and need a lot of work. I also had little nylon clips springing off and flying all over the place. My brother used an awl to make clips out of a nylon zip ties and we got it working again with the new pinch wheel. It seemed to work better with the stacked o-rings!
But in the process of fixing it, I caught the bug again...So I bought a TASCAM DA-45HR locally that supposedly worked but I found a belt had melted years ago. Once I fixed the belt, it works perfectly. I had already bid on a TASCAM DA-30MKII that I won and it works well. Both need belts but otherwise, they are playing great. The HR has some interesting improvements with the higher sample rate. The MKII is a nice deck. I also have the DTC-59ES sitting again and a Sony 2500A/B combo I couldn't resist on the way.
Ok, job should have been done, I copied off the so-called birth tape, but in looking for the DAT recorders, I found a guy locally selling three ADAT black face that worked, for $100. Came with the anaconda breakout cables, etc. Then I found a Steinberg MR816x to split out SPDIF from ADAT or reverse, as well as firewire computer interface, for $50. Now I had 24 tracks of ADAT working. I play keyboards, have a bunch of synths, etc, so I thought, what the heck, spin back to the 90's and play around.
Problem
Here's the last problem on the ADAT setup. I have a BRC and when I connect up the sync lines, digital bus and the word clock, for some reason track 1 has static on it when recording from a digital source from any SPDIF to ADAT translation (I have an Alesis AI-1 and the MR816x). It will also display the static on the ADAT meters and record at much higher rates. So if the meter displays a constant -22 VU on track one and track two without the BRC, adding the BRC will double the input (on the VU meter and record) on track 1. Track 2 remains correct. I can hear the static in the copy from the DAT. I've tried other digital sources and they all fail the same on track 1. Somehow the BRC is changing the digital input. I notice that if I lower the pitch on track 1 one cent, the noise is reduced quite a bit but it starts to impact track 2. I have all the word clocks hooked up and tried them a couple ways. For instance, I used the BRC 48K word clock into the AI-1 and then looped it to the DAT. I tried the 48K clock from the DAT as the master, etc. I'm wondering if the BRC has separate 48K oscillators for each track? But here's the rub, if I disco the BRC, the ADATS will produce noise in track 1 until I power them down. Said another way, the BRC is somehow changing the ADATs and they need to be reset to correct it, just disconnecting the cables won't do it. I know of no way to change the digital input on an ADAT, is there? Analog works fine.
Anyway, I'm pretty technical, have CNC mills, lathes, 3D printing, tons (literally) of audio and RF test equipment, spectrum analyzers, scopes, etc. I do a lot of work for friends for free, help me figure this out you'll qualify for a future favor.
Lastly, don't tell me to junk it all as I'd like to record some tracks, etc until I go crazy missing a mouse!
Jerry
And down the black hole of taping I go...
I've been a tape-head for years having used DAT since the inception. I still use a TASCAM BR20 on my analog setup and that deck has a lengthy pedigree having been used (supposedly) at the Record Plant in Sausalito for two-track mastering. I added Dolby SR to it and use it all the time with a custom control interface. But I digress.
Back to digital... I wanted to extract some audio from DAT tapes that were playing when one of my sons was born. I got out my Sony TCD-D7 and the lid was jammed. We had used it for years. Fixed the lid due to some frozen grease but then it was playing really slowly so I assumed another issue. I then remembered I had a DTC-59ES that had been sitting for 25yrs due to a door issue. I dug it out, bypassed the door, and after a lot of screwing around, I had it playing a whole tape through. I can kick myself for not bypassing the door years ago! So I ordered a pinch wheel, I had been using a stack of o-rings on the hub, and in screwing around, I noticed that one of the tape thread arms was loose. The small bolts screw-down into plastic and need a lot of work. I also had little nylon clips springing off and flying all over the place. My brother used an awl to make clips out of a nylon zip ties and we got it working again with the new pinch wheel. It seemed to work better with the stacked o-rings!
But in the process of fixing it, I caught the bug again...So I bought a TASCAM DA-45HR locally that supposedly worked but I found a belt had melted years ago. Once I fixed the belt, it works perfectly. I had already bid on a TASCAM DA-30MKII that I won and it works well. Both need belts but otherwise, they are playing great. The HR has some interesting improvements with the higher sample rate. The MKII is a nice deck. I also have the DTC-59ES sitting again and a Sony 2500A/B combo I couldn't resist on the way.
Ok, job should have been done, I copied off the so-called birth tape, but in looking for the DAT recorders, I found a guy locally selling three ADAT black face that worked, for $100. Came with the anaconda breakout cables, etc. Then I found a Steinberg MR816x to split out SPDIF from ADAT or reverse, as well as firewire computer interface, for $50. Now I had 24 tracks of ADAT working. I play keyboards, have a bunch of synths, etc, so I thought, what the heck, spin back to the 90's and play around.
Problem
Here's the last problem on the ADAT setup. I have a BRC and when I connect up the sync lines, digital bus and the word clock, for some reason track 1 has static on it when recording from a digital source from any SPDIF to ADAT translation (I have an Alesis AI-1 and the MR816x). It will also display the static on the ADAT meters and record at much higher rates. So if the meter displays a constant -22 VU on track one and track two without the BRC, adding the BRC will double the input (on the VU meter and record) on track 1. Track 2 remains correct. I can hear the static in the copy from the DAT. I've tried other digital sources and they all fail the same on track 1. Somehow the BRC is changing the digital input. I notice that if I lower the pitch on track 1 one cent, the noise is reduced quite a bit but it starts to impact track 2. I have all the word clocks hooked up and tried them a couple ways. For instance, I used the BRC 48K word clock into the AI-1 and then looped it to the DAT. I tried the 48K clock from the DAT as the master, etc. I'm wondering if the BRC has separate 48K oscillators for each track? But here's the rub, if I disco the BRC, the ADATS will produce noise in track 1 until I power them down. Said another way, the BRC is somehow changing the ADATs and they need to be reset to correct it, just disconnecting the cables won't do it. I know of no way to change the digital input on an ADAT, is there? Analog works fine.
Anyway, I'm pretty technical, have CNC mills, lathes, 3D printing, tons (literally) of audio and RF test equipment, spectrum analyzers, scopes, etc. I do a lot of work for friends for free, help me figure this out you'll qualify for a future favor.
Lastly, don't tell me to junk it all as I'd like to record some tracks, etc until I go crazy missing a mouse!
Jerry
