What is the best device to sync two Tascam TSR-8 machines?

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troutmask

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Greetings,

After buying a Tascam TSR-8 a couple of years ago and enduring constant headaches with trying to slave a DAW to it (I suspect the problem emanated from the sync box, but I've never bought another one to attempt testing that theory further than I already have), I've decided to buy a second TSR-8 in order to increase my available track count (which I'll be picking up tomorrow) and work strictly with tape.

My question is: what is the best sync device (and furthermore, what cables will I need) for these machines?

I did find this link:
The Tascam 238 FAQ
which lists several Tascam boxes, but these seem to pop up infrequently on eBay (not to mention that I never see them locally). Is there a third-party device which provides comparable (or superior) sync capabilities to the Tascam boxes, or is a Tascam unit my best bet?

Thank you
 
Hi Troutmask

You should slave the tape machine to the DAW, not the the other way around. If you still have the synchronizer, give it a try.

By the way, this doesn't preclude you from starting your recording on the tape machine and later on using the DAW for overdubs.

The only synchronizer I have used is the Micro Lynx (on an Ampex multitrack). Absolutely amazing stability when I slaved it to my DAW, and when I slaved it to another tape machine. I checked in the manual and the TSR-8 is supported. You'd need to make up the cables of course, but they are nicely documented.

Good luck.

David Ollard
Thin Brown Line
 
thinbrownline said:
Hi Troutmask

You should slave the tape machine to the DAW, not the the other way around.
Click to expand...

No slave the DAW to the tape machine, take it from me it's the best way, however you need a synchroniser that has smpte and a word clock function to be able to lock the computer to the sample accuracy. If you lock the tape machine to the DAW, every time you start playing the song you have to wait for the tape to re-wind and find the lockup point, if you start playing the tape machine, the DAW locks in less than a second.

The only thing I know that really locks 2 x TRS8's is a tascam midiizer.

Alan.
 
Thinbrownline,

Can you tell me where I can find documentation for building cables so my TSR-8s can interface with a MicroLynx? Would it just be connecting two D Sub 15 pin connectors? I've heard good things about them before, and I see there are a few used ones online for the taking.

Thanks
 
+1 to the MicroLynx.

I've slaved my BR-20T to Cubase using the Microlynx. Works wonderfully. The TSR-8 has similar transport logic and uses the same protocol so should be similar.

I believe you'll need a 37-pin dsub connector for the interface to the MicroLynx though...am I wrong about that? The ACCESSORY port on my BR-20T is 37-pin.

I believe the cable schematics are available online...if you can't find it PM me and I can get you the manual set...its floating about somewhere.

If you get a MicroLynx make sure you get at least SOME sync cable with it so you have the MicroLynx end. These cables are hard to find running loose, so if you can get something with the unit it is a bonus. The connector type isn't really oddball, its just hard to find the locking-type cable-mount connectors and then it can be "not fun" to solder them up as they are a bit tight spacing-wise.
 
I use the ATS-500. I made five albums using that, though only about half the total songs were synced, the others fit on 8 tracks.
 
Thanks for the recommendations, guys. I was able to find cable schematics online. Unfortunately, they all seem to use the term "40 pin female connector" for the Microlynx end, which is a bit unspecified. Does anybody know exactly what type of 40-pin female connector I'd need? From glancing at pictures of the unit, it almost looks like an old SCSI-style connector.

The unit I found, however, did not have a power supply (actually, neither of the units I found had one). From reading the manual, it is a switched mode power supply with a 5-pin DIN connector at the end. Has anyone found a good aftermarket replacement, or should I look to construct one of these as well?

Thanks
 
If it helps, the ATS-500 uses the 15-pin serial port (Acc2) instead. Note that the capstan control line is supposed to be shielded, though - some people have seen problems if it's not the case. I guess I got lucky.
 
Hi Troutmask

For the power supply, member Miroslav kindly put me onto this one (here's what to search for... the seller is jadescomputer):

Genuine Cisco PIX 506 AC Adapter 34-0874-01 ADP-30RB

I just fitted it with a 5 pin DIN plug from Mouser.com (part number 568-NYS322G). The wiring diagram is in the Micro Lynx manual on page 7-13. I don't know if Cisco power supply color coding is always identical, but for what it's worth here is what I did:
Pin 1 - Black
Pin 2 - Black
Pin 3 - Red
Pin 4 - Green
Pin 5 - Orange
And the white ROF (Remote On-Off) wire is not connected to the DIN plug.

For the 40 pin plug I used Mouser part number 653-XG5M-4032-N and accessories. It's designed for the wires to just press in, but I couldn't get them to stay put so I soldered them too.
It would have been great to have found a nicer 40 pin plug with a proper housing, but they were out of stock. The numbering of the pins on those plugs is 1, 3, 5, 7 etc along one side and 2, 4, 6, 8 etc directly underneath those. Look on the web for a full diagram. I labelled mine before I started since my eyesight is not so good.;).

Have fun!


David Ollard
Thin Brown Line
 
Last edited:
Yeah, that 40-pin connector is the same pitch as a standard 2x20 IDE ribbon connector.

I used a standard ATX computer power supply to power mine.
 
Thinbrownline, thanks for the info. However, the eBay link didn't work for me. Do you have a part number for the power supply you use?
 
Sorry about that. I have edited the post and it works now.
 
witzendoz said:
No slave the DAW to the tape machine, take it from me it's the best way, however you need a synchroniser that has smpte and a word clock function to be able to lock the computer to the sample accuracy. If you lock the tape machine to the DAW, every time you start playing the song you have to wait for the tape to re-wind and find the lockup point, if you start playing the tape machine, the DAW locks in less than a second.

The only thing I know that really locks 2 x TRS8's is a tascam midiizer.

Alan.
Click to expand...

In fact, you don't need a synchronizer anymore to run your Mac DAW in sync with your tape machine). Just stripe some SMPTE on your tape, feed it back into your sound card and use this little software to generate MTC and to send it via IAC Midi Bus to your Logic / Cubase / Pro Tools / whatever.

SMPTE Reader | Timecode Synchronizer

I've never used this, as I have a Windows machine, so I can't vouch for it's reliability but there it is.
 
Okay guys, sorry to bring this subject up again, but I was wondering if anybody had a good online resource for use in building interface cables for the Timeline Microlynx. The wiring diagram that I have found specifies 10-pair cable (which I have seen referred to in this post [https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...timeline-micro-lynx-transport-cables-301364/] as 24 AWG twisted pair cable), but I'm having touble finding any cabling that matches the aforementned specifications without having to cough up a kidney to buy an entire reel. Does anybody know of a resource for this type of cabling, especially if it is sold by the foot?

(For the record, I did see that Full Compass listed cabling by the foot, but nothing with the right number of pairs)
 
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