Topic: Transferring DAT to PC

[fogelsong]

How are folks transferring DATs these days? I haven't transferred a DAT in over a decade and am unsure what solutions are available.

I still have my Tascam DA-20 mkii packed in a box and it should be in working condition. Previously I used a Delta Dio 2496 soundcard but there do not seem to be Windows 10 drivers, so that is out. Is there a decent sound card or USB interface that takes coax that y'all recommend?

[morst]

How are folks transferring DATs these days?  Is there a decent sound card or USB interface that takes coax that y'all recommend?

I personally have an old stable setup or three that work but it seems that the recent consensus is to get a cheap "bit bucket" digital recorder and just transfer the files off the memory card from that. Marantz or even the legendary "Microtrack" aka microcrap! Those things have internal batteries which were notorious for failing but they work quite reliably when powered by USB.

[jeenash]

I went the pc route and wish I hadn't. Much easier to get a recorder with spdif input. A Tascam Dr100mkII can be had cheaply second hand these days. Marantz pmd670 has digi in and its 16bit only so I'd bet they can also be had on the cheap. I learned my lesson with 3 microtracks, just say no.

[IMPigpen]

I went the pc route and wish I hadn't. Much easier to get a recorder with spdif input. A Tascam Dr100mkII can be had cheaply second hand these days. Marantz pmd670 has digi in and its 16bit only so I'd bet they can also be had on the cheap. I learned my lesson with 3 microtracks, just say no.

Exactly what I did for my DAT transfers.  I picked up a used Marantz PMD670 that included a card and a brand new portabrace for it for $40 on ebay.  I only use it for transfers because it's 16-bit.  But it works great for $40.

[fogelsong]

Thanks everyone! I settled on the Marantz PMD670 and bought one off eBay.

[tbger]

But how will you be getting the optical signal into this device ?  You'll need some kind of converter in order to do that, or am I missing something ?  Thanks

[morst]

But how will you be getting the optical signal into this device ?  You'll need some kind of converter in order to do that, or am I missing something ?  Thanks

I still have my Tascam DA-20 mkii packed in a box and it should be in working condition. Previously I used a Delta Dio 2496 soundcard but there do not seem to be Windows 10 drivers, so that is out. Is there a decent sound card or USB interface that takes coax that y'all recommend?

Coaxial is S/Pdif over copper.
DA-20 has that, Coaxial digital, not digital optical connectors for I/O.

[fogelsong]

Correct.

Tascam DA-20 mkii coax output -> Marantz PMD670 coax input

[Chilly Brioschi]

Somebody has released Win10 drivers for the M-Audio cards
There always is compatibility mode, and if you're bold, virtualization in Win10 that runs a WinXP virtual PC inside 10 with driver support.

[Len Moskowitz (Core Sound)]

I've been using an old M-Audio MicroTrack II and a SV-3700. The SV-3700 handles DAT playback and connects to the MicroTrack via an S/PDIF coax cable.

The MicroTrack records to an SD card mounted in a CF card adapter. I take the SD card to my editing desktop PC.

[morst]

I've been using an old M-Audio MicroTrack II and a SV-3700. The SV-3700 handles DAT playback and connects to the McirTrack via an S/PDIF coax cable.
The MicroTrack records to an SD card mounted in a CF card adapter. I take the SD card to my editing desktop PC.

My buddy who has gone though more of these than I (and who was a serious repeat customer of the late great P Plotnick) told me just the other day that the SV-3700 is not a practical machine to keep in operation compared to the SV-3800.
The 3800 has better build quality. So enjoy the 3700 and baby it but don't expect it to last as long as the model which succeeded it.


Ah but the old 3500... that had metal parts. Had one. Loved it. It smoothly handled 44.056 kHz too.

[jerryfreak]

in any case, with any interface or soundcard, its best to test, test, test

a simple generated 1khz sine wave looped around to the analog in of your dat machine makes it real easy to see if the interface, OS, or media is dropping samples in the recorded file

[Len Moskowitz (Core Sound)]

My buddy who has gone though more of these than I (and who was a serious repeat customer of the late great P Plotnick) told me just the other day that the SV-3700 is not a practical machine to keep in operation compared to the SV-3800.
The 3800 has better build quality. So enjoy the 3700 and baby it but don't expect it to last as long as the model which succeeded it.

Fortunately, it's lasted this long - and that's quite a long time!

I'm dubbing my remaining DATs and then the SV-3700 will be offered for sale.

[fogelsong]

Somebody has released Win10 drivers for the M-Audio cards
There always is compatibility mode, and if you're bold, virtualization in Win10 that runs a WinXP virtual PC inside 10 with driver support.

Apologies for delayed response. I checked with M-Audio and the Delta Dio 2496 (the card I have) is not listed on their Windows 10 Support for M-Audio Products page - https://m-audio.com/kb/article/1882

Could you be more specific on Win10 drivers? Who is this "somebody" that has released Win10 drivers for the M-Audio cards?

I ran into an issue attempting to transfer one DAT due to it having a 32kHz sampling rate - unfortunately the Marantz PMD670 does not handle 32kHz digitally - just 44.1 and 48. I'd rather not do an analog transfer if I can avoid it, so utilizing the ol' Delta Dio 2496 is my best bet. And if you're wondering why that DAT is 32kHz sampling rate, they're radio broadcasts...

[adamz]

Coaxial is S/Pdif over copper.
DA-20 has that, Coaxial digital, not digital optical connectors for I/O.[/font]

Is that the old orange ended cord I gave away 25 years ago? Could I use any red/white style RCA cords instead?
If there's recommended high quality SPDIF Coax cords plz let me know.
I'm running from 3800 to MarantzPMD661.
My CDR is giving me OPC errors and I never contemplated taping into my solid state to transfer DATs.

[morst]

Coaxial is S/Pdif over copper.
DA-20 has that, Coaxial digital, not digital optical connectors for I/O.

Is that the old orange ended cord I gave away 25 years ago? Could I use any red/white style RCA cords instead?
If there's recommended high quality SPDIF Coax cords plz let me know.
I'm running from 3800 to MarantzPMD661.
My CDR is giving me OPC errors and I never contemplated taping into my solid state to transfer DATs.

A regular yellow tipped RCA "video cable" will work fine for SP/dif. The difference between audio and video RCA cables is that the audio cables have both conductors running as a twisted pair, with the ground as a shield. The video cable has a single signal conductor down the middle, and uses the ground conductor as the shield to reduce RF interference.
You can probably get away with a short RCA audio cable though!!

[adamz]

 

[Scooter123]

A regular yellow tipped RCA "video cable" will work fine for SP/dif. The difference between audio and video RCA cables is that the audio cables have both conductors running as a twisted pair, with the ground as a shield. The video cable has a single signal conductor down the middle, and uses the ground conductor as the shield to reduce RF interference.
You can probably get away with a short RCA audio cable though!!

I always wondered what the difference was.  I will confess when I did a ton of radio station DATs, I just used a short RCA.  The run was 3 feet.  Worked fine. 

[fogelsong]

Somebody has released Win10 drivers for the M-Audio cards
There always is compatibility mode, and if you're bold, virtualization in Win10 that runs a WinXP virtual PC inside 10 with driver support.

Apologies for delayed response. I checked with M-Audio and the Delta Dio 2496 (the card I have) is not listed on their Windows 10 Support for M-Audio Products page - https://m-audio.com/kb/article/1882

Could you be more specific on Win10 drivers? Who is this "somebody" that has released Win10 drivers for the M-Audio cards?

I ran into an issue attempting to transfer one DAT due to it having a 32kHz sampling rate - unfortunately the Marantz PMD670 does not handle 32kHz digitally - just 44.1 and 48. I'd rather not do an analog transfer if I can avoid it, so utilizing the ol' Delta Dio 2496 is my best bet. And if you're wondering why that DAT is 32kHz sampling rate, they're radio broadcasts...

Does anyone know if there are working Windows 10 x64 drivers for the Delta Dio 2496 out there?

[adamz]

...

The MicroTrack records to an SD card mounted in a CF card adapter. I take the SD card to my editing desktop PC.

I picked up a MicroTrack II that seems like new. So I'll give it a go.
Question: is there a limit on the SD Card in the CF adapter you speak of? The CF card I have is 3Gb which I'd rather be 512!
Thanks, great thread. Sorry IDK about windows 10 drivers for you.
AZ

[jerryfreak]

32GB is a safe bet.

ive never found SDXC to be as reliable as SDHC, esp in equipment that old

test test test!

[adamz]

 

32GB is a safe bet.

ive never found SDXC to be as reliable as SDHC, esp in equipment that old

test test test!

[Barney]

Hey,

I have a bunch of DATs I'd like to transfer too... Unfortunately, all my DAT machines seems to be dead. I checked maybe 10 years ago, and my Tascam DA302 and Sony TCD-D7 has diginoises when playing my DATs. The Tascam even had a tendency to eat my DATs...

My option is to buy a second hand DAT machine (32Khz/44.1Khz/48Khz) to make the transfer process. What kind of machine do you advise? What are the ones to be avoided?

[goodcooker]

Hey,

I have a bunch of DATs I'd like to transfer too... Unfortunately, all my DAT machines seems to be dead. I checked maybe 10 years ago, and my Tascam DA302 and Sony TCD-D7 has diginoises when playing my DATs. The Tascam even had a tendency to eat my DATs...

My option is to buy a second hand DAT machine (32Khz/44.1Khz/48Khz) to make the transfer process. What kind of machine do you advise? What are the ones to be avoided?

I have a Tascam DA30. It has been fairly reliable after a tune up by a local tech sometimes it takes a couple of tries to  load a tape and it acts a little quirky sometimes,. I also have a Fostex D5 which has been a workhorse and plays every tape I throw at it with no errors.

I would avoid portable decks with half size heads and plastic gears. Go for a full size home/studio deck.

Other people recommend the Sony R500 very highly.

[jerryfreak]

ive ran about 100 dats in the last few days on 4x r500 and a 3700

looking at the files im seeing occasional issues that are hard to nail down, either card or recorder issues dropping the same 148 samples on multiple R500>pmd661 setups. microtrack II acted flaky with some channel swap/channel drop action.... but thats why i only do redundant.

most are going well considering they are over 20 years old. i only watch error counters, not ABS time . 4 of the 5 decks im running stay in the low single digits, the other one seems to be permanently in the 0010-0050 range and still transfers bit-accurately, no worse than the others when i compare. once in a great while a head clogs up but i think ive used a cleaning tape maybe once or twice in years

the R500s have a swab-type cleaning arm that cleans the head every 10-20 hours on powerup

[fogelsong]

I'll second that on avoiding portable DAT decks. I know at least a few people with Sony PCM-M1s that eat tapes now

My old Tascam DA-20mkii is still going strong.

If a deck simply will not open, that does not mean it's dead. It just means the grease that previously lubricated the moving parts inside has turned sticky and glue like. It can be fixed, but it's a PITA. See this thread over at tapeheads - http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=53001

[MakersMarc]

Hhb portadat. Unkillable.

[jerryfreak]

Hhb portadat. Unkillable.

i have 2 over here that need servicing. one eats tapes and the other wont load them at all

[live2496]

I use an RME Multiface for anything requiring SPDIF capture. RME drivers still work on Windows 10.

Gordon

[yousef]

I'm sure I've said this before but I thought my DATs were dying due to all the diginoise and gaps when trying to transfer them using a full size Sony machine.

Playback through the D8 I used to actually record them has thus far proved problem-free. A bit of light Googling revealed several people who'd had problems playing back "portable" tapes on a full size deck - sounds like the alignment had to be spot on to guarantee compatibility.

Currently transferring my DATs for hopefully the last time...

[jerryfreak]

would seem like the d8's head is out of adjustment and created a bunch of tapes that only it can read