Never had a portable DAT, so perhaps I should just shut-up...
But, I bought a new JB3, and have only had a few problems. All have been fixed by using the reset button/hole in the back (yes, I carry a paperclip in my bag) before starting up. I figured it was just jarred from the car ride and needed a reset. No big deal...
I have had it overheat once. I ran it continuous for about 6 hours (2 three hours tracks) in the pleather pouch while transfering some 78s to it. When I went to transfer the tracks to the computer, it would shut down about halfway through... I unplugged it all, took it out of the pouch and went and ate lunch. No problems upon my return...
A friend had overheating problems at a very hot bar. He had his JB3 in a flight case to protect from wooks/beer, but it got too hot in there... Thankfully he wasn't the only one at that Stockholm show in SC...
Considering the cost efficiency, it is a great stop-gap measure. I intend to use mine until it breaks and then replace with a "real" HD recorder... But until a HD-DAP1 or something like that comes out, the JB3 will have to do...
I also like the fact that I can use it as a portable USB HD - I take docs and pix home from work all the time...
I do sometimes wish I had a DAT though, but with it moving out and the expense of upkeep, I'm glad I got a JB3 instead of a D8 or M1...
As for the metering, you get used to it, but it could be vastly improved... Why not run the meters the width of the screen instead??? Damn firmware... I saw someone, YEMNCSU Josh methinks, using one of those plug-in meters mentioned eleswhere and that seemed to fix it, but that's just one more item to carry/power...
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