sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
So here goes...
Many of you know I have been putting together an analog leg to my DAW studio.
The leg features a Tascam 58-OB with 4 dbx 150X units and a Tascam ES-50 synchronizer with the ES-51 autolocator/controller.
The ES-50/51 does not speak MTC, only SMPTE, and my goal is to see if I can functionally get the 58 to Slave to the DAW.
The essential DAW components are an audio-tuned 2.13gHz Core 2 Duo PC with 4Gb PC-6400 RAM, a 128Mb PCI-e graphics adapter, 4 7200rpm SATA II drives presently running in two separate striped RAID arrays. I am using XP Home, and the DAW application is Cubase Studio 4. The audio passes through a Yamaha mLAN setup featuring an 01X, i88x and a Presonus Digimax FS. I have other sundry semi-pro preamps, eq's and dynamics processors, but that's the gist of it.
My idea is, since the ES-50 does not speak MIDI, and Cubase Studio does not generate SMPTE code, to "stripe" a track in Cubase with SMPTE generated by the ES-50, and have the 58 slave to the "code only master" (quoted from the ES-50 manual). The ES-50 seems to have been designed at a time prior to heavy MIDI implementation, so it is clearly geared toward syncing two tape machines, either audio-audio, or audio-video over SMPTE. The manual does however state that you can slave to a "code only" master (i.e. the master sync input is limited to the analog SMPTE code from the master device carried over the balanced XLR cable, and there is nothing connected to the "MASTER I/F" cinch connector). So my hope is that this will work.
So far the process is so-so...
First off, I did verify that the ES-50 is outputting the proper servo frequency (9.6kHz) and control voltage (0 volts) for the 58 according to the ES-50 manual.
I made my own ELCO 38 to 50-pin cinch interface cable (to go from the 58 ELCO "ACCESSORY" connector to the ES-50 cinch "SLAVE I/F" connector). This turned out to be a good challenge for me, but was fun and educational. The biggest hiccup was getting the wiring diagrams...you need them...its not simple. There are some resistors that need to go in there and a capacitor as well. But once I realized I just needed to call Jimmy at Tascam, he sent the diagrams to me and took the time to answer a bunch of questions which helped this neophyte get on the right track.
Anyway, I cleaned up the diagrams that were faxed to me and have them available if anybody needs them...they will work for users wanting to interface the ES-50 with a 388, 48, 58, MS-16 or ATR60-series deck.
I think the cable is doing what it is supposed to do so far. Nothing has caught on fire
, and I ran the 58 and ES-50 through the "Setup" procedure (which is supposed to "teach" the ES-50 the transport characteristics of the master and slave machines), but it doesn't complete the process...or maybe it is complete, but the setup LED blinks for a bit (which the ES-50 manual says will happen if there is an error) when the deck stops and then the LED goes out...maybe it errors out because there is no machine connected to the MASTER I/F port on the ES-50? Maybe what I'm seeing it do to the 58 is complete but then it can't complete the setup procedure because it is looking for the MASTER machine?
When I press "Setup", the 58 (which, BTW has a reel of tape striped from start to finish with 30frame SMPTE code at -10VU, not drop-frame...is that the right format code? I hope so, because I can't figure out how to change it and the manual is not clear...
) goes into play mode for about a minute, then the capstan slows down well below 15ips for a bit, then speeds up well above 15ips for a bit, then back down below, and then it goes into FFWD mode until about 8:00 where it stops, "Setup" LED blinks for a couple seconds and then goes out...
[side-note: I am amazed that the repro head can pick up the code from the tape while in FFWD mode with the lifters extended...I mean, the tape is, like 1/16" to 1/8" away from the head and the ES-51 controller, which has the timecode display, is still accurately reading the code...I thought there was something wrong and the ES-51 was reading the code output from the timecode generator, until the transport stopped...and so did the code...I tell you what is wrong though...my stinkin' lifters are sticking again...I though I had that fixed!
The rubber cushion on the solenoid was gooey when I first got the deck, and I dismantled that and put in a new cushion from Tascam, but it must be the linkage...I'll have to pull the dress panel off and look at it again...I do not like tape running on the heads in FFWD or REW mode. 
]
Well anyway, aside from the above, I guess the next step is to "stripe" my SMPTE track in Cubase and see if I can get the two to lock together. From there maybe the functions on the ES-51 will make more sense...the manual is really not very good for folks like me because it is written for somebody that has already worked extensively with this type of equipment in a production environment, and mainly video production at that.
Hope this is a valuable/enjoyable thread...I'll take any advice/pointers I can get, though I'm mostly doing it for your entertainment (everybody loves to read the diabolical escapades of somebody who is really not quite sure what they are doing...
), as well as for future generations! 
Many of you know I have been putting together an analog leg to my DAW studio.
The leg features a Tascam 58-OB with 4 dbx 150X units and a Tascam ES-50 synchronizer with the ES-51 autolocator/controller.
The ES-50/51 does not speak MTC, only SMPTE, and my goal is to see if I can functionally get the 58 to Slave to the DAW.
The essential DAW components are an audio-tuned 2.13gHz Core 2 Duo PC with 4Gb PC-6400 RAM, a 128Mb PCI-e graphics adapter, 4 7200rpm SATA II drives presently running in two separate striped RAID arrays. I am using XP Home, and the DAW application is Cubase Studio 4. The audio passes through a Yamaha mLAN setup featuring an 01X, i88x and a Presonus Digimax FS. I have other sundry semi-pro preamps, eq's and dynamics processors, but that's the gist of it.
My idea is, since the ES-50 does not speak MIDI, and Cubase Studio does not generate SMPTE code, to "stripe" a track in Cubase with SMPTE generated by the ES-50, and have the 58 slave to the "code only master" (quoted from the ES-50 manual). The ES-50 seems to have been designed at a time prior to heavy MIDI implementation, so it is clearly geared toward syncing two tape machines, either audio-audio, or audio-video over SMPTE. The manual does however state that you can slave to a "code only" master (i.e. the master sync input is limited to the analog SMPTE code from the master device carried over the balanced XLR cable, and there is nothing connected to the "MASTER I/F" cinch connector). So my hope is that this will work.
So far the process is so-so...
First off, I did verify that the ES-50 is outputting the proper servo frequency (9.6kHz) and control voltage (0 volts) for the 58 according to the ES-50 manual.
I made my own ELCO 38 to 50-pin cinch interface cable (to go from the 58 ELCO "ACCESSORY" connector to the ES-50 cinch "SLAVE I/F" connector). This turned out to be a good challenge for me, but was fun and educational. The biggest hiccup was getting the wiring diagrams...you need them...its not simple. There are some resistors that need to go in there and a capacitor as well. But once I realized I just needed to call Jimmy at Tascam, he sent the diagrams to me and took the time to answer a bunch of questions which helped this neophyte get on the right track.
Anyway, I cleaned up the diagrams that were faxed to me and have them available if anybody needs them...they will work for users wanting to interface the ES-50 with a 388, 48, 58, MS-16 or ATR60-series deck.I think the cable is doing what it is supposed to do so far. Nothing has caught on fire
, and I ran the 58 and ES-50 through the "Setup" procedure (which is supposed to "teach" the ES-50 the transport characteristics of the master and slave machines), but it doesn't complete the process...or maybe it is complete, but the setup LED blinks for a bit (which the ES-50 manual says will happen if there is an error) when the deck stops and then the LED goes out...maybe it errors out because there is no machine connected to the MASTER I/F port on the ES-50? Maybe what I'm seeing it do to the 58 is complete but then it can't complete the setup procedure because it is looking for the MASTER machine?When I press "Setup", the 58 (which, BTW has a reel of tape striped from start to finish with 30frame SMPTE code at -10VU, not drop-frame...is that the right format code? I hope so, because I can't figure out how to change it and the manual is not clear...
) goes into play mode for about a minute, then the capstan slows down well below 15ips for a bit, then speeds up well above 15ips for a bit, then back down below, and then it goes into FFWD mode until about 8:00 where it stops, "Setup" LED blinks for a couple seconds and then goes out...[side-note: I am amazed that the repro head can pick up the code from the tape while in FFWD mode with the lifters extended...I mean, the tape is, like 1/16" to 1/8" away from the head and the ES-51 controller, which has the timecode display, is still accurately reading the code...I thought there was something wrong and the ES-51 was reading the code output from the timecode generator, until the transport stopped...and so did the code...I tell you what is wrong though...my stinkin' lifters are sticking again...I though I had that fixed!
The rubber cushion on the solenoid was gooey when I first got the deck, and I dismantled that and put in a new cushion from Tascam, but it must be the linkage...I'll have to pull the dress panel off and look at it again...I do not like tape running on the heads in FFWD or REW mode. ]Well anyway, aside from the above, I guess the next step is to "stripe" my SMPTE track in Cubase and see if I can get the two to lock together. From there maybe the functions on the ES-51 will make more sense...the manual is really not very good for folks like me because it is written for somebody that has already worked extensively with this type of equipment in a production environment, and mainly video production at that.
Hope this is a valuable/enjoyable thread...I'll take any advice/pointers I can get, though I'm mostly doing it for your entertainment (everybody loves to read the diabolical escapades of somebody who is really not quite sure what they are doing...
), as well as for future generations! 
Though the manual does hint that a wider format deck with larger reels would likely display slower response characteristics just due to the physics of it all, and the 58 transport is pretty solid, so I'm going to assume that I'm going to err on setting parameters for a fast responding transport and then check the troubleshooting chart if there are problems.