Topic: Has the Microtrack "settled down" yet?

[buffalofloyd]

Ok, just ordered this little nifty device for the battery issue. 

Most of us are running USB battery packs that take 4 AA batteries. I paid about $10 for mine shipped. They were common when the microtrack came out but seem kinda scarce now.  I didn't see on that newegg page where they disclosed the total mAH capacity of that lithium pack.

I am not exactly sure what mAH is or means but these are the specifications I could find...

Specifications:

• Output Voltage: DC 5V
• Output Current: 1000mA max.
• Dimension: 3.9"H x 2.4"W x 0.6"D
• Net Weight: 11.3oz

The dude from Sound Pro recommended this product on his site and did tests with it and blah blah blah, you can go there and and check it out if you like, maybe there is more info there that could help you.  There is a thread on this in the "Remote Power" section, he lists it for $59 but I found it for $35 on that link I provided.  I would rather have a pack that took disposal batteries but for $35 I'll give this a try, it's not a bank breaker and I think it should work out nicely...  Of course all of this would be unnecessary if the thing took disposal batteries in the first place 

Cheers,
Jim

[jlykos]

Sorry for the cross-post, but this thread is active.  I ran across this doing a google search for packs.  Would it work?  It looks like it takes rechargeable, alkaline, and lithium AA batteries with no problem.  It also only costs $20.

http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~unit~Palm_Treo_700w-541~area~accessories-Power+Accessories~item~USB-BATADPT01.htm

Any guess?

[Scooter]

the power portion looks alright, but I can't really see the USB tip...

[jlykos]

I believe it is a female USB end, so I would a male USB 2.0 > mini-USB (for lack of a better word).  Could I just use any USB cable that I could buy at Best Buy for this?

[Scooter]

if that is indeed a female usb, then sure.  but it's not clear at all.

this is what i use...

http://www.laptoptravel.com/Product.aspx?ID=2019
http://www.powerstream.com/dc6.htm

cut the cords, put a quick disconnect on the 12volt side, put a USB mini on the other side, set switch to 5v, done.  hook up a batt of your choice, up to 12v, on the batt side w/ the quick disconnect.

[BillPryor]

Has anybody used the Microtrack for external mic-in recording of ordinary conversation? I'm looking for a device to record voice over interviews for use in a documentary. I tried the Marantz 660 but found it was way too noisy. The mic I want to use is an old Sennheiser wired lav, which has power so I don't need to use phantom power.

[willndmb]

new prob for me 

recorded a show on 1.4.3
everything seems fine as in it recorded fine, plays from the mt
however the files will not transfer to my comp
it copies some then a error box says that the file can't be read or wrote to and stops copying
has anyone heard of this or know why it does it
or better yet how to fix it

[jtessier]

new prob for me 

recorded a show on 1.4.3
everything seems fine as in it recorded fine, plays from the mt
however the files will not transfer to my comp
it copies some then a error box says that the file can't be read or wrote to and stops copying
has anyone heard of this or know why it does it
or better yet how to fix it

Do you have a different hard drive (or partition) that you can copy the file to?  Maybe your internal hard drive is developing problems.  Or try it on another computer to help confirm this.  I'd also try copying the file using an external card reader to see if that helps.

J.T.

[willndmb]

new prob for me 

recorded a show on 1.4.3
everything seems fine as in it recorded fine, plays from the mt
however the files will not transfer to my comp
it copies some then a error box says that the file can't be read or wrote to and stops copying
has anyone heard of this or know why it does it
or better yet how to fix it

Do you have a different hard drive (or partition) that you can copy the file to?  Maybe your internal hard drive is developing problems.  Or try it on another computer to help confirm this.  I'd also try copying the file using an external card reader to see if that helps.

J.T.

well today
i dragged and dropped the file into itunes
guess what it copied into itunes
so good news is i got the file copied/saved on my comp (same hard dirve as before)
bad news is i am not sure why it wouldn't copy "normal"
i will have to do some more tests on it

as for a external reader, its a microdrive - can you put a microdrive into a card reader?

[BC]

There is a thread on this in the "Remote Power" section, he lists it for $59 but I found it for $35 on that link I provided.  I would rather have a pack that took disposal batteries but for $35 I'll give this a try, it's not a bank breaker and I think it should work out nicely...  Of course all of this would be unnecessary if the thing took disposal batteries in the first place 

I got my 4AA USB sled for ~$10. I think more than that is overpriced.

Did some poking around old MT threads, following might be a good start

http://pdaden.com/shop/catalog/product_16686_USB_Battery_Box_with_LED_light_Emergency_Charger_cat_284.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5876777614&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

http://www.gpscity.com/item-gps-city-usb-power-pack/batusbpower.htm

I got mine from

http://www.dealsonic.com/usbbapabapof.html

but I can't find it there anymore.

[jtessier]

new prob for me 

recorded a show on 1.4.3
everything seems fine as in it recorded fine, plays from the mt
however the files will not transfer to my comp
it copies some then a error box says that the file can't be read or wrote to and stops copying
has anyone heard of this or know why it does it
or better yet how to fix it

Do you have a different hard drive (or partition) that you can copy the file to?  Maybe your internal hard drive is developing problems.  Or try it on another computer to help confirm this.  I'd also try copying the file using an external card reader to see if that helps.

J.T.

well today
i dragged and dropped the file into itunes
guess what it copied into itunes
so good news is i got the file copied/saved on my comp (same hard dirve as before)
bad news is i am not sure why it wouldn't copy "normal"
i will have to do some more tests on it

as for a external reader, its a microdrive - can you put a microdrive into a card reader?

Glad to hear first of all that you got the files copied. That's the most important thing (I expect).  And as for card readers and MicroDrives, any modern reader that reads type 2 cards should be able to read them. I haven't run into any that couldn't but maybe really old ones could have trouble. If the slot on the reader accepts the size of the MicroDrive it should work just fine.

J.T.

[willndmb]

thanks +t

[svenkid]

well, it seems like my luck is 50/50 with this thing. right now, I have firmware 1.4.1v9 and I let it charge for a while after it was a full charge, and its frozen now. So I cant use it tonite like I wanted to. But I used it a few nites ago, and let it over charge alittle before hand, and everything went smooth.

 

Did it freeze while it was charging or while you were using i t (or both)? What was on-screen at the time? And why did that prevent you from using it that night?  In case you don't know, you can force the MT to power down even when it's frozen by holding down the power button for 10-20 seconds.  I haven't had to do this for the last several firmwares but earlier ones were fairly notorious for freezing.

J.T.

basically, what happened was the little battery thing appeared full so I let it coontinue to charger for another hour. I thern unpluged it, and it stayed with the m-audio name on the screen, and the battery full picture in the corner. I tried pushing buttons, but nothing happenned. I ran the mt with sc power at a few shows, that wasa fun, now I just let it power a bit preshow, and use a diy batt pack for it.