Topic: Sony PCM-A10 (Part 2)

[Powerage5]

Have you verified that 'Scene select' is set to Off?

If nothing else works, I'd recommend formatting the built-in memory and resetting all menu settings back to defaults. After you go through and change your settings again, do a test recording exactly how you would do it when you roll to see if you can reproduce.

Scene select is off, yes. Good to know reformatting is an option if it comes to it.

I’ve had an issue on two different recordings over the last ten days where the file splits on its own while recording.
Anybody have any ideas on this one? Can’t find any similar reports in this thread.

First I need to say that I don't have any experience with the Sony PCM-A10, so I may be completely wrong here. However, I did work on software engineering for consumer electronics.
My thought is that this is the kind of behavior I'd expect in case of writing errors to the medium. If 'the software' is confronted with such an error, it needs to do something. Closing the current file and starting a new one would seem to me like a reasonable and expected response to write errors. Getting a small gap between the files can an unfortunate consequence, that likely could have been prevented by some smart buffering and writing the data that wasn't correctly written in the first place to the new file, but apparently they didn't bother to make the device that smart for this (hopefully) rare situation.
I assume you can mount the internal disk to a PC as a USB-disk, right? If so, you might want to check the disk using one of the many options to do so. Please be aware that such errors may be hard to detect, may occur intermittent and may depend on writing speed by the application. E.g.it may occur during recording but not during USB file transfer. If this indeed happens while recording on the internal memory, I'd try to use a micro sd-card instead and see if it still occurs.
Good luck!

Thanks for that insight. The internal disk is mountable, yes. I've never noticed any issues while transferring files - including these recent files when the splitting occurred. I've never tried a micro SD card with it as I don't keep any micro SD's on hand. I'll try that if the problem persists.

[jj69]

What voltage for a battery box is ok to use on these?

A 9v box is fine. There was one person who had problems with A10s while using a 12v box, I don't recall what model.

Our issue was with a very specific model 12V battery box, which I think was model SPSB-4.  It's a very tiny box that was a dream to use with the M10 and the Roland recorders and never gave us an issue.  However, with the A10, that same model battery box burned out the line in jack on at least ten PCM-A10s between us.  No one has been able to diagnose the exact reason, other than to say that box must somehow be feeding voltage into the input jack and damaging one of the ICs on the board internally, An examination of the board revealed nothing obviously damaged, so we assume it was in an IC.  It's all a bit of a mystery. 

However, we've both switched to using the more common Sound Professionals 12V box that has switchable bass roll-off and is signfiicantly larger.  No problems since switching to that model.  So the issue is not the 12V, but that specific ultra-small model, which must have some inherent design flaw that only seems to cause damage to the PCM-A10.  Again, that box worked fine with the PCM-M10, the Roland R-05 and R-07, and every other PCM recorder we've used. 

[mrfender]

What voltage for a battery box is ok to use on these?

A 9v box is fine. There was one person who had problems with A10s while using a 12v box, I don't recall what model.

Our issue was with a very specific model 12V battery box, which I think was model SPSB-4.  It's a very tiny box that was a dream to use with the M10 and the Roland recorders and never gave us an issue.  However, with the A10, that same model battery box burned out the line in jack on at least ten PCM-A10s between us.  No one has been able to diagnose the exact reason, other than to say that box must somehow be feeding voltage into the input jack and damaging one of the ICs on the board internally, An examination of the board revealed nothing obviously damaged, so we assume it was in an IC.  It's all a bit of a mystery. 

However, we've both switched to using the more common Sound Professionals 12V box that has switchable bass roll-off and is signfiicantly larger.  No problems since switching to that model.  So the issue is not the 12V, but that specific ultra-small model, which must have some inherent design flaw that only seems to cause damage to the PCM-A10.  Again, that box worked fine with the PCM-M10, the Roland R-05 and R-07, and every other PCM recorder we've used.

 I must have missed any previous mention of the SPSB-4 possibly being the cause of the problem.  Like you said, it works great with my M10 & R07 and is perfect for low profile work.  The battery goes in backwards of how you think it should but I wouldn't think that should cause any harm.  I've been using a home made 12v battery box in a key fob and haven't had any issues with my A10.

[nulldogmas]

I must have missed any previous mention of the SPSB-4 possibly being the cause of the problem.  Like you said, it works great with my M10 & R07 and is perfect for low profile work.  The battery goes in backwards of how you think it should but I wouldn't think that should cause any harm.  I've been using a home made 12v battery box in a key fob and haven't had any issues with my A10.

I have an SPSB-10 12v box en route to me. I'll report back on if it causes any issues for my A10.

[goodcooker]

^I use the SPSB10 with the A10 and not one problem.

That guy that killed 10 of them with a faulty batt box...

[nulldogmas]

^I use the SPSB10 with the A10 and not one problem.

I've run them together for about 12 hours total the last two days, and all has been well.

[PhxHorn]

Hey everyone, been awhile since I logged in, but my Zoom H2 is falling apart and I've heard good things about the A10.  Mics are CA CAFS, and I'd be thrilled to go without my 9v battery box. How much of a difference are you hearing with and without the 9v box?   At the same time, my fanny pack is falling apart and I really need to think about putting together a whole new stealth rig.  Normally I have the H2 buried in the main compartment, with the battery box in a zipped-up compartment underneath some Chapsticks, earplugs, etc.  For the first time ever last week, security actually unzipped it and dug under the Chapsticks etc and exposed the battery box.  I was shitting my pants, but then they waved me thru.  I know they're looking for booze and weapons, but still.  I do like the idea of being able to adjust volume via the app.  So the A10 is a good choice?  I don't wanna screw up David Gilmour next month!

[nulldogmas]

Hey everyone, been awhile since I logged in, but my Zoom H2 is falling apart and I've heard good things about the A10.  Mics are CA CAFS, and I'd be thrilled to go without my 9v battery box. How much of a difference are you hearing with and without the 9v box?   At the same time, my fanny pack is falling apart and I really need to think about putting together a whole new stealth rig.  Normally I have the H2 buried in the main compartment, with the battery box in a zipped-up compartment underneath some Chapsticks, earplugs, etc.  For the first time ever last week, security actually unzipped it and dug under the Chapsticks etc and exposed the battery box.  I was shitting my pants, but then they waved me thru.  I know they're looking for booze and weapons, but still.  I do like the idea of being able to adjust volume via the app.  So the A10 is a good choice?  I don't wanna screw up David Gilmour next month!

The A10 is incredibly small, and the ability to control it via the phone app has been a game changer for me. And its battery life is terrific — I ran it for around 10 hours yesterday and it still had plenty of charge left.

I've recorded once with it without a battery box, and it came out fine, but that was for a quiet show (Jonathan Richman), so the A10's limited voltage output to the mics wasn't as much of an issue. For Gilmour I would definitely recommend a battery box. (And you're right that security doesn't seem to care about them — they could easily be phone chargers.)

[guitard]

my fanny pack is falling apart

I'm kind of surprised you can still get a fanny pack in.  I used one for years, but once they started limiting women to only being able to bring in those small clear purses a few years ago, the bigger venues started saying no dice on fanny packs.  I switched how I gear and also started wearing a James Doohan vest; and that has really helped my overall game a lot.

[Sebastian]

I'm kind of surprised you can still get a fanny pack in.  I used one for years, but once they started limiting women to only being able to bring in those small clear purses a few years ago, the bigger venues started saying no dice on fanny packs.  I switched how I gear and also started wearing a James Doohan vest; and that has really helped my overall game a lot.

Wow, that's crazy. But you're still allowed to wear clothes? Things like these always remind me how spoiled we still are here in Europe vs. security in other parts of the world.

[nulldogmas]

I'm kind of surprised you can still get a fanny pack in.  I used one for years, but once they started limiting women to only being able to bring in those small clear purses a few years ago, the bigger venues started saying no dice on fanny packs.  I switched how I gear and also started wearing a James Doohan vest; and that has really helped my overall game a lot.

Wow, that's crazy. But you're still allowed to wear clothes? Things like these always remind me how spoiled we still are here in Europe vs. security in other parts of the world.

I've never experienced any bans on small bags at New York City venues. Football stadiums (and maybe some arenas) are the exception, but I can't remember the last time I went to a concert at either of those.

[roffels]

What voltage for a battery box is ok to use on these?

A 9v box is fine. There was one person who had problems with A10s while using a 12v box, I don't recall what model.

Our issue was with a very specific model 12V battery box, which I think was model SPSB-4.  It's a very tiny box that was a dream to use with the M10 and the Roland recorders and never gave us an issue.  However, with the A10, that same model battery box burned out the line in jack on at least ten PCM-A10s between us.  No one has been able to diagnose the exact reason, other than to say that box must somehow be feeding voltage into the input jack and damaging one of the ICs on the board internally, An examination of the board revealed nothing obviously damaged, so we assume it was in an IC.  It's all a bit of a mystery. 

However, we've both switched to using the more common Sound Professionals 12V box that has switchable bass roll-off and is signfiicantly larger.  No problems since switching to that model.  So the issue is not the 12V, but that specific ultra-small model, which must have some inherent design flaw that only seems to cause damage to the PCM-A10.  Again, that box worked fine with the PCM-M10, the Roland R-05 and R-07, and every other PCM recorder we've used.

How quickly would it kill each recorder? I've had the A10 for a few years now, and I've recorded maybe 15-20 shows using that 12V battery box without issue. I don't stealth very often, so I'm just wondering if it's something that manifests quickly, or after a lot of use.

[DavidPuddy]

You can check the output plug of the battery box for DC voltage. There should be a blocking capacitor but if it blows, it could pass it on to the recorder.

[vibrioidxire]

Just had the weirdest experience with my A10. I just recorded Cat Power two hours ago, and I check my files and there were 407 files! It seems like the A10 stopped and restarted those times because it's missing chunks of music, a.k.a. a COMPLETE BUST! 

This hasn't happened to me before in the year and a half I've had this unit. Major disappointment.

EDIT: I had SYNC REC turned on, despite never using it ever before. That explains it.