Topic: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 3)

[2manyrocks]

FWIW, 70d is in some respects easier to set than some other tascam, but I suggest setting it up at home like you intend to run it to get acquainted with it. 

Def don't like to see those spikes.  I would try making a recording with the same card with the internals and without them.  Maybe there is something not quite right with the internal mics?  Hard to say what it is.

[morst]

is it possible to do a firmware update with USB power connected? I don't have fresh alkaline AA's handy, only half-used ones, and would hate to brick this thing.

When I power up from batteries with the menu & stop buttons pressed (to get to the firmware update) the machine locks up when I plug in USB power & try to use it...

[audBall]

I just used USB power from my laptop and selected 'storage' when prompted on the unit.

[morst]

I just used USB power from my laptop and selected 'storage' when prompted on the unit.

and once in storage mode, how did you start the firmware update?

edit: I took a chance and used a half-used set of AA's. The update took about 5 minutes, I think.

[audBall]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I connected the unit to my laptop (via STORAGE...it will still utilize the power from USB this way) to copy the new firmware file to the UTILITY folder on the recorder. Then, I powered it down and restarted to run the update within the menu selection of the Tascam, which can be done with any source of power. I just happened to use my laptop's USB power for convenience. Just make sure to set it to BUS POWER when you go to run the update after you've copied over the new firmware.

edit - Yes, it should take around 5 minutes, as morst said.

[morst]

...Just make sure to set it to BUS POWER when you go to run the update after you've copied over the new firmware.

OK I think I have my Update Mode power issue figured out now.

When you hold Menu & Stop so that you can start up in Update Mode, it starts up on external bus power by default.

As long as there is external power supplied when the machine starts in Update Mode, it will use external power. I demonstrated this to my satisfaction by booting into Update Mode from a USB pack, or from my computer, and then opening the battery door. No message or blip from the machine, as it would during normal operation if I was running on batteries and had connected a fresh USB pack or the computer.

Then, with the power off, I removed the batteries, and booted into Update Mode from an external USB pack, or with USB power supplied from my computer. It boots smoothly straight to the update screen without asking about power or storage in either case.

The only way I get an error is what I was doing at first, and that's booting from internal batteries into Update Mode, then once it's at the update screen, plugging in any USB source and attempting to use Bus Power. It sends it into error mode where the only way to power off is to remove the internal batteries. The display reads "System Err 50 ------- Please PWR OFF" on two lines.

I am The Error Finder sometimes!?! With my nonstandard practices!?!!

When I power up from batteries with the menu & stop buttons pressed (to get to the firmware update) the machine locks up when I plug in USB power & try to use it...

[audBall]

I have had nothing but trouble with the following SD card:

Sandisk Ultra 32GB SDHC Class 10  (Amazon Link)

Unfortunately, my first recording with the DR-70D was marred by digital artifacts using this card. I was able to replicate the issue at home with different mics and various powering sources (USB rechargeable battery, USB laptop power, and USB wall wart). I even reformatted the card in the unit multiple times. I eventually swapped in a Sandisk 8GB Class 4 card and there haven't been any issues thus far. I was beginning to worry about this recorder, but am feeling better now.

Digi-artifacts aside, recording with the unit was a breeze and the parts unaffected sound great. Thankfully, MIQ was running at stage-lip also and got a great recording of Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola. My unit has the most recent firmware update (v1.10). I ran MGs>nbob colletes>PFA>DR-70D, p48, 24/48. The gain setting was set to LOW and the gain knobs were set roughly 10:00-12:00.

[Chomps]

I had an issue this weekend with a Lexar Class 10 32 gig card recording 4 channels. I used the same card a few times doing two channels and never had an issue. It is a weird digi noise I got in both files. Going to try and use a PNY 16 gig card this weekend and see if I have any issues.

[tomuo]

New firmware V1.13 now on the TASCAM website.    Stability fixes all round.   The Android DR control app is updated on Google Play, the iOS app hasn't gone live on iTunes yet.

Note: This version only updates from V1.12, so you must be at that level already.    The WiFi module update is now included, there will no longer be a separate update file.

[audBall]

New firmware V1.13 now on the TASCAM website.    Stability fixes all round.   The Android DR control app is updated on Google Play, the iOS app hasn't gone live on iTunes yet.

Note: This version only updates from V1.12, so you must be at that level already.    The WiFi module update is now included, there will no longer be a separate update file.

Is this in reference to a different unit? I'm not seeing the update on the site and the last firmware version released was 1.10.

[tomuo]

http://tascam.com/product/dr-44wl/downloads/    shows V1.13 (released today) for me..

[audBall]

This is the DR-70D thread. Thanks for the notification, though. We appreciate you checking in.

[tomuo]

D'Oh.    Need to change the color scheme I'm using on this forum.

DR-70D V1.11 is coming shortly though, minor bug fix wrt battery display after the USB cable is removed.

[F.O.Bean]

I have had nothing but trouble with the following SD card:

Sandisk Ultra 32GB SDHC Class 10  (Amazon Link)

Unfortunately, my first recording with the DR-70D was marred by digital artifacts using this card. I was able to replicate the issue at home with different mics and various powering sources (USB rechargeable battery, USB laptop power, and USB wall wart). I even reformatted the card in the unit multiple times. I eventually swapped in a Sandisk 8GB Class 4 card and there haven't been any issues thus far. I was beginning to worry about this recorder, but am feeling better now.

Digi-artifacts aside, recording with the unit was a breeze and the parts unaffected sound great. Thankfully, MIQ was running at stage-lip also and got a great recording of Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola. My unit has the most recent firmware update (v1.10). I ran MGs>nbob colletes>PFA>DR-70D, p48, 24/48. The gain setting was set to LOW and the gain knobs were set roughly 10:00-12:00.

I think I did have an issue using my 32gb Sandisk Ultra microsdhc card as well Various digi artifacts. The ONE time I didn't run my m10 as a backup too But Ive had great success so far with my PNY 32gb SD card

[Mike D (VT)]

So I had a rough time with my first field recording. Everything seemed simple enough in my living room, but as a real-world recording, not so much.
Keeping in mind this is a Busman modded DR-70D.
I wanted to record Umphrey's and WSP last weekend. Got there plenty early, setup, tested the house music/ ambient crowd noise; found the low/ high gain to be a huge difference. I was planning to run on high, but it was sooo sensitive. I had it at like 7-8 o'clock, and it was either undetectable, or overloading with the slightest adjustment. So I tried to switch the gain to low. Maybe I did, but in the process, I also mistakenly switched mics 1 & 2 off and 3 & 4 as the internal mics. I fiddled with the menu for a while, and then (after about the third song) just said fuck it.
During setbreak I was able to go through and possibly find where I went wrong. Switched all four channels to the proper settings (1&2 mic + phantom, 3&4 off) and the WSP set came out okay; Although I have some post work to do before it's ready for the public.
Around the 2 hr/ 1.99 gig mark, a new track automatically  kicked in (any ideas what the trigger was?).
The sensitivity is not a bad thing, just takes some getting used to in regards to db gain and peak level.
So will this deck remember the settings with mics 1-4 (and the bit rate, etc), or I'm I going to have to program everything in the main menu every start-up?
The show was really good, BTW.