Topic: Tascam DR-100 MKII Firmware update

[Karl]

http://tascam.com/product/dr-100mkii/downloads/

Anyone had the chance to check this out yet?

My #1 question about this update...does it solve the AA battery "issue"? (It doesn't talk about it in the notes, but that doesn't mean that there wasn't a fix).

[Mike Davis]

Can you please tell me what "the AA battery issue" is?

Thank you,

Mike

[Karl]

Sure! When using mics that require Phantom Power, and running off of AA batteries, the run time is very low. Most batteries will run out within 30 minutes, which makes that option quite unusable.

[Mike Davis]

Thanks Karl, I appreciate that.

When I got home last night, a new DR-100 MkII had been delivered.  I returned it to the vendor via UPS, this morning, because the AA battery door wouldn't latch fully closed, flush with the back - it was stuck partially open, and every time you pick up the recorder, you can feel the door compressing fully.  Very annoying. 

But more disturbing still was the fact that this DR-100 MkII had an all-plastic body.  Item descriptions, at Amazon, for example, say that it has a "rugged" aluminum case.  Maybe that used to be true, but the one I received looked and felt like simple, black plastic - every bit of it. 

Is your's aluminum or plastic?

Thanks again,

Mike

[stevetoney]

It's always been plastic.  I think about the only think you'll find for $500 and less that's not plastic is a Sony D50.

[mccordo]

I have a DR-100 MKII as well. I believe mine is plastic, but it may be a real thin aluminum that feels like plastic. I can verify that when I get home this evening.

Like Karl, I also found that the AA battery issue was a bit annoying.  I found that 1 set of AAs and the on-board Li-ion battery would last just over 2 hours with 48V on.  I even bought a Tascam battery sled that held 6 AAs and found that it only gave me about an extra hour of runtime with 48V on. The best solution I found was to buy an external USB battery (I have an Anker Astro Pro 14400mAh and a Naztech PB15000, both of which are available on Amazon and work quite well) and have Ted or one of the other cable makers from the Retail section of the board build you a cable that goes from the USB port on the battery to the 5V DC input of the DR-100 MKII. The unit will not only run off the external battery for 5+ hours with 48V on (I haven't tested it beyond that yet), but it will charge the Li-ion battery so you'll still have another hour or so in the event the external battery dies at a festie or extremely long show.

Tonite I'll be making my first recording using my V2 > DR-100 MKII, so I'll be getting 48V from the V2. I'm tempted to start the evening without an external battery plugged in to the DR-100MKII to see how long it will last without having it supply 48V. I'll still have the external there just in case the Li-ion battery tries to make an early exit!

[stevetoney]

Sure! When using mics that require Phantom Power, and running off of AA batteries, the run time is very low. Most batteries will run out within 30 minutes, which makes that option quite unusable.

This is a slight over simplification of the problem statement, but it basically captures the essense of the issue.  The simplification is that if you select the internal Li-Ion battery as primary battery and AAs as secondary, the AAs aren't used until after the internal battery goes dead.  So the run-time can be increased in that case.  Also, if you want to get AAs that have a higher supply voltage than provided by Ni-MH and Alkaline batteries (for example Zinc rechargeables), you will get decent runtimes. 

But the workaround on this issue is really quite simple...use an external battery since anytime you're using your recorder to supply phantom to full bodied mics (via XLRs), you're going to experience relatively short runtimes if you're only relying on the on-board AA batteries.

EDIT:  I meant to say that IMHO I'm not sure that if I needed to power mics from this recorder, that I'd be wanting to ever rely solely on the internal batteries from any smallish handheld recorder because I'm not sure any of them are going to give you very long runtimes.  So to me it's just a sound strategy anyway that if you need to be powering mics, that you'd have plenty of external power to accomodate the need. 

[stevetoney]

I'm tempted to start the evening without an external battery plugged in to the DR-100MKII to see how long it will last without having it supply 48V. I'll still have the external there just in case the Li-ion battery tries to make an early exit!

Runtime is something like 7 - 8 hours between the internal Li-ion and a pair of AAs if you're not powering mics.  It might be less if you leave the backlight on alot though.  I got I think 4 1/2 to 5 hours from the internal Li-ion alone.

[stevetoney]

When the DR100mkii first came out, someone said the DR100 had the same issue with the phantom/aa runtime when it was first released.  They also said that the firmware update corrected the issue, so I've been asking for a firmware update ever since.  FWIW, nothing is mentioned about the battery issue in either of the firmware updates for the DR100, so maybe there's hope that this issue has been resolved with this firmware update.  (I can't personally test it though because I don't have mics that use P48.)

[Mike Davis]

It's always been plastic.  I think about the only think you'll find for $500 and less that's not plastic is a Sony D50.

Does your AA battery door close completely when it's latched?

Thanks!

Mike

[mccordo]

Does your AA battery door close completely when it's latched?

Thanks!

Mike

I've never had any problems with the AA or Li-ion battery doors on mine.

[stevetoney]

Does your AA battery door close completely when it's latched?

Thanks!

Mike

I've never had any problems with the AA or Li-ion battery doors on mine.

Same here. 

[Mike Davis]

Ok, well then I don't feel bad for returning it as "defective."  I was beginning to think everyone was routinely putting up with poor build quality, just for the sake of sound quality.

Thanks,

Mike

[stevetoney]

I mean, with Tascam, you kinda are getting what you pay for.  I'm not gonna sit here and type that I think they're the greatest thing on earth.  But for $250 or whatever you paid, you probably get your money's worth with the DR100mkii.  It's not going to be the best recorder on earth, but it should get the job done.  If you want the quality build, impeccable warranty and service, something that should still be running soundly for you 10 years from now, Sound Devices all the way.  But now you're up in the $2G range for a digital recorder.  That said, you obviously should expect the battery doors to latch properly when you get a new unit.

[Mike Davis]

Thanks tonedeaf,

I find your perspective to be vey reasonable.  :-)

Mike