MR-8 and CF upgrade cards - User Experiences

a12stringer said:
Next time someone raises the question about whether to buy the MR-8 or the VF-80, I will point them to this thread for one more factor which should be considered in their decision.
While this should not be the sole consideration, since a comparison of the two media would be an apples to oranges comparison, it certainly is a crucial one.

Personally, I would like to see a head to head comparisons in Acoustic guitar magazine between the MR-8 and the Boss, Zoom, Korg and Tascam units which use CF or SmartMedia cards for storage.
Click to expand...

A shootout review would be nice.... As far as the MR-8 and CF cards, the MR-8 is pretty cool, it has enough memory for a lot of tracking, but users need to be very careful of how long you let a recording go. What we're trying to do is expand it, since we like it.

It's not really a fault of the unit that it's hard to get CF expansion.

I ordered from BananaPC.com last night. I went with them because they were the only one's with the cheaper card who actually returned email to me and they were fast, and said that I could return it if it wasn't compatible.

I'll update info when I get it and test it out. They assured me it would be a CF from Toshiba.
 
I don't suppose there is any cheaper place to get the Hagi's, is there? I bought the 256mb, no complaints except I wish I had 512 or larger! I'll usually get two songs on, start on a third and run out of space mid-recording. I've not had good luck transfering .wavs back to the MR8 from PC, so I avoid that like a plague.

I haven't used the 128 in months... Maybe I should try it again, get one song on it maybe...
 
No bounce hi quality, bounce on extended!!!

Well, I decided while I wait for my new Toshiba 512 mb from Banana to test if my Ridata 256 would bounce on Extended mode.

I was suprised. But now it kinda makes me wonder if it might work on Normal mode again, but I'd have to record a bunch of tracks to test it, but why bother. Maybe later....

Is there really that much less data flow in Extended mode than Normal? If this is the case, it seems so.

I have also formatted the card and initialized the memory, it's been so long since the one time I tried to bounce in Normal mode that I can't remember if I had done that back then. I defiinitly did do the upgrade to v.1.05 on the first test.

The other thing is that I really couldn't tell the difference between Normal and Exteded. And considering I'm not planning on releasing it to cd or producing a final, polished product, I'm pretty sure I'll keep using Extended mode.

It's 22 khz vs 44.1 or something I think.
 
Hi all MR-8 Users! In the latest Musician's Friend Catalog there are Compact Flash cards listed next to the MR-8. Beware though!
The cards are Simple Tech and only the 256MB and below are confirmed on The Fostex list. There is a 512MB listed but it IS NOT confirmed! It has an X on the Fostex list and is also listed below as unsuitable. Here is the response I received from Musician's Friend Tech support:
Subject
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Simple Tech Compact Flash Card Compatability With Fostex MR-8


Discussion Thread
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Response (Rye) - 11/01/2003 10:55 AM
Hello Musician,

Thank you for your inquiry. Fostex has confirmed compatability with the 256mb cards, but they haven't confirmed compatability with the higher cards, unfortunately, so the only "in stone" confirmation is for the 256mb cards. You can find them here:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...3125425571/g=live/search/detail/base_id/56888

The 256MB Simple Tech card they stock is confirmed and runs around $80. I think it's deceptive to advertise the incompatible 512MB card in their catalog so beware everyone!!!!
 

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I have bad luck. I got the Toshiba 512 cf from Banana. It was only $99 and free shipping. It arrived today, less than a week.

I just recorded 4 tracks and I couldn't bounce 1,2,3,4 to 7/8. It started giving me digital errors, spaces and jumps. Then I got a timeout. This was on Normal mode.

I'll try it again after I reformat and initialize memory, but I doubt it'll have an effect.

The last thing I did before I got the new card, was to use my last no-good card on Extended mode and it did bounce ok. It didn't work bouncing on Normal. I can't notice a difference in quality, and I'm not producing anything for final product, so at this point, if the new card can bounce in Extended, I'm done buying cf cards.

I have a feeling the $250 Hagiwara card may work better, but I'll never know....
 

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thanks for the link.

so my update is that the Toshiba card in Extended mode had no trouble bouncing 1-4 to 7/8. That's all the time I had to test it out since the first try.

I think I can live with that, but if anyone wants to know about this card and Normal mode bouncing, I'll be getting around to that test again in a week or so. I'll also try all 4 plus 5/6 bouncing to 7/8 on Extended soon.

btw, my Ridata 256 works great in my Cannon A60 dig. camera.
I thought I was 'being safe' with that one. But the source on it was questionable....
 
Was that Ridata card the RiDATA Pro Plus?

On the list, they specify any card from Ridata other than the Pro Plus won't work. What kind did you get?

http://www.fostex.co.jp/int/hdlist/mr8cflist.html

The Apacer Photo STENO Pro 512 that I got is performing great. It's a really fast card. I think that it's faster than the stock Toshiba card that comes with the MR-8. When I bounce or mix to wav, the "Please Wait" time is like nothing now. It writes to the card real fast.

Even doing USB transfers is quicker. I'm digging it.
 
Apacer sounds good. Back in March I'm not sure what the list said about Ridata card, I went with page 2 of this thread on good reports on it - mistake? Maybe. It's not the Pro Plus and it isn't black label 52x, that's for sure.

But my Toshiba is a genuine Toshiba and it reads TOSHIBA THNCF5... on boot. I don't know how to the last 5 characters, maybe in service mode?

Looking at my receipt, I notice a handwritten page that says CF - 512 MMA /x1 - that may be the problem, unless that's written as an error I may have an 512MMA when I should have an 512MBA....
 
:confused: :confused: :confused: I F*cked up. I got an MMA not a MBA.

Be carefull, everybody, don't make stupid mistakes like I did.

The 512 MBA is $55 more than I paid, one site says it's been discontinued, but not sure if that means discontinued from the manufacturer or just that site, and BananaPC link from a few posts back is empty for the 512MBA....
 
Update on Musician's Friend CF card

I received my 256MB CF card ordered from Musician's Friend and so far it looks like it should be all right. I ordered the Simple Tech 256MB for $79.99 and received the same - no substitution made.
I booted up and the Card Info is different than what it should be from the Fostex list but it is the same as 2 other approved 256MB cards - (Hitachi XXM2.3.0) This is what should show up for:
RENESAS HB28BxxxC8C series and DELKIN DEVICE eFilm *1 *2.
The amount of available time was correct for the 256MB card so I still have yet to do the ultimate test which is recording 1-6 and trying to dump down to 7/8. I'll keep you all posted!
 
Re: pics of LEXAR 1GB

heinz2003 said:
Hello,
here is the pic from the LEXAR card 1 GB that
work in the MR-8

Bye

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom, I can get a used Lexar that looks exactly like the pix you posted, for cheap. But, your pix shows a TYPE II card and Fostex says you can only use TYPE I cards. Please confirm that you are successfully using a LEXAR 1 gig 16x TYPE II card in your MR-8.
THANKS!!!! Rick
 
The Toshiba 512mma and 512 mba look identical, also, there are no markings on the cf itself at all.

There is a service mode I remember, not sure how to get to it or if it displays the card id, but the card id won't entirely display on boot, not enough room for all the characters. As I learned, they're all imporant!
 
I've been so busy I haven't yet had a chance to try bouncing tracks yet but I will as soon as I can get something recorded. Sorry about the delay folks!
 
familiar w/ this brand or company?

Been investigating compact flash cards.

Here's a link to a company and product that looks like a good prospect for the MR-8:
http://memorysuppliers.com/compactflash.html

When I asked via e-mail "have the Dane-Elec/Samsung 512MB compact flash cards proven to work compatibly with the Fostex MR-8?" I received a response almost immediately, saying "Absolutely, they work flawlessly with it."

At $115 (including shipping) that's one of the best deals I've come across. They offer a 30 day money back guarantee, so it sounds like a good source...perhaps?

Has anyone had any experience with this company or this particular card?

Had no idea this would be so tricky when I bought the MR-8!
I might just stick with cassettes ;-)
 
just found
SimpleTech 512MB COMPACT FLASH Card Model: STI-CF/512
f
or $110 plus a 20$ rebate, so that's about $100 including shipping

Good deal?

will this model work reliably?


ANy input apprciated:)
 
Re: familiar w/ this brand or company?

kesterdevine said:

Has anyone had any experience with this company or this particular card?

Had no idea this would be so tricky when I bought the MR-8!
I might just stick with cassettes ;-)
Click to expand...

I can only speak for the one that I bought, but (to quote the American Chopper guys) "I gotta tell ya..." it's great!

It's mega fast and it bounces better than a new basketball on cold concrete.

I bought the Apacer Photo STENO Pro 512 from these guys http://www.memorylabs.net

It looks like they are not selling the pro at this time but the regular Steno 512 is listed (which is also on the Fostex approved list) here http://www.memorylabs.net/ap51coflstca.html

Whatever you get, I HIGHLY recommend sticking to the approved media list from Fostex.

Check it out here... http://www.fostex.co.jp/int/hdlist/mr8cflist.html


Good luck, and throw them nasty cassettes out. They're only good for bb gun target practice in today's digital age. :)
 
larger cards

Just wanted to see about 2 things:

A. Anyone find a 1GB card that works with the MR-8 yet?

B. That Apacer Steno's read/write speed seem significantly slower then my Hagiwara card. I don't know if that causes any problems with the MR-8 though.

I went back to www.hscus.com to look for a 1GB card. They have their "V-Series" and "ZPro-Series" cards in 1GB capacities, but both actually say they are not tested with the MR-8.

Nice to know that some place doesn't scam you into buying cards that don't work.

Their "Z-Series" cards, however, do work. I've been using mine for a few months now and it bounces 1-6 to 7-8 without any hitches. I'm just waiting for them to come out with a 1GB "Z-Series" card, but if anyone else finds one that definetly works, I might look into that.
 
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