Topic: LEVEL METER FOR THE UA5

[jibooer]

Howdy!

Got a quick question for ya'll - I ahve an ol' dusty D7 that will never roll another tape, prolly not even good for parts, but I am thinking of putting it to use as a level meter for the UA5...my question is will I be able to get accurate level reading if I run rca's out of the UA5 instead of coax? I really don't want to lug around the oade 7-pin and coax cable if I don't have to....I have heard of pholks pulling their ol' sony dats out of retirement for this purpose.

thanks again

[Mojowill]

it should work, but you might have to have a tape in and be in rec/pause to see levels

[china_rider]

Get a SVUX instead.  Well worth the investment.

[Laurent]

Get a SVUX instead.  Well worth the investment.

These are discontinued and hard to find aren't they?
I wondered why it must be these VU-meters in particular. There is no other VU-meters that can do the same job easily and acurately?

[china_rider]

There have been a few for sale in the yard section here lately.  Put out an ISO in that forum.  There are also a few stores that still have them.  Google and look through more than the first few results.  There may be other products that do the same thing it bute SVU1 worked perfectly for me for the UA-5 and the R-4.  I'm really happy with mine.

EDIT: I know a few people that tried making some from kits or buying other brands when these were popular and no one seemed happy with the result compared to the SVUX.

[jkbyram]

my svu 2 works great. i got it from the video gear shop in hot springs arkansas for 120 shipped.

http://www.videogearshop.com/ecommerce-assistance.asp

[Laurent]

EDIT: I know a few people that tried making some from kits or buying other brands when these were popular and no one seemed happy with the result compared to the SVUX.

That's what I guessed! Thanks for the answer. I am not searching for any SVU-X actually, I have not enough money yet to buy anything more. But if this thing is really handful to set levels properly, I might try to get one if I have an opportunity!
Just wondering "what's next?"

[dnsacks]

Howdy!

Got a quick question for ya'll - I ahve an ol' dusty D7 that will never roll another tape, prolly not even good for parts, but I am thinking of putting it to use as a level meter for the UA5...my question is will I be able to get accurate level reading if I run rca's out of the UA5 instead of coax? I really don't want to lug around the oade 7-pin and coax cable if I don't have to....I have heard of pholks pulling their ol' sony dats out of retirement for this purpose.

thanks again

I've been using a all-but-dead d7 for just this purpose with my ua5 for quite a while using a 7pin>coax cable running from the ua5 into the d7.  The d7 will show levels without a tape inserted by simply hitting record and will stay in "level display" mode till its batteries die (I can get around 8 hours on a set of 2500mah nimh aa batteries).  Using its digital in, the d7's meters have been dead-on accurate.  I'd be very wary of trying to do this via the d7's analog in, as you'd need to calibrate its levels to match actual peaks and a slip of the d7's (or ua5's) analog level knob would render the d7's meters all but useless.  IMHO, why buy an additional piece of gear if you already have something that will "do the job" just fine.

[jibooer]

that's what i'm sayin too....will try the 7-pin/coax deal at Wilco Mon. night....thanks to all for their input!

[poorlyconditioned]

Howdy!

Got a quick question for ya'll - I ahve an ol' dusty D7 that will never roll another tape, prolly not even good for parts, but I am thinking of putting it to use as a level meter for the UA5...my question is will I be able to get accurate level reading if I run rca's out of the UA5 instead of coax? I really don't want to lug around the oade 7-pin and coax cable if I don't have to....I have heard of pholks pulling their ol' sony dats out of retirement for this purpose.

thanks again

You could also use a minidisc (in pause-record mode) for a level meter.  Plug it into the line out of your NJB3.  Then adjust the gain levels to calibrate it.  Very useful, I would say...

  Richard