Topic: TASCAM DR-680 portable 8-track #4

[hi and lo]

In fairness, it was only run off the Tekkeon a couple of times in each case (actually, maybe just 1).  Also, I did run a Tekkeon set manually to 12V with it at one show with no issue.

As hi and lo said, the issue to me is that a slight deviation in the power supply shouldn't blow out the whole unit.   I've run the R-44 for over a year with the Tekkeon on auto and it is just fine.  And by "just fine" I don't mean, "Oh, but there was a weird channel issue this one time" or "Oh, but if I looked at it the wrong way, the digital in wouldn't work"... It has worked in a manner that gives me 100% confidence that it will be there at the end of the show, as it has been every single time for the 2 or so years I've owned it and the hundred + shows I've recorded with it.

Well said... and I had completely forgotten about the digital in issues (well.. not really). It seems to be working for us on unit #3, tested with quite a few different A/Ds. An SBM-1, AD2k+, USBPre2, and my computer's soundcard have all locked as they should at 48kHz, however I had trouble the one time I wanted to run the AD2k+ at 96kHz. I may need to run AES/EBU for that to happen, but haven't played with it too much.

Needless to say, there are other recorders very good recorders on the market that work, every-time.

[johnmuge]

I've had mine for a year and a half and no problems to report.  I've been running it with AA batterys loaded and a Tekkeon manually set to 12v.  After all this bad talk about having problems using the Tekkeon, I'm going to get another battery option before I blow this Tascam up.  I really like how this unit sounds.

[darby]

I had the first one... and yes I ran it off a Tekkeon

the first problem one or the first one here on TS?

the first one known by TEAC
so I would say both
 
EDIT:
I did run it off of 9V DVD batteries for awhile before I encountered a poorly made cable and switched to a Tekkeon
and since mine was the first known unit by TEAC... that issue was not yet known, and may not have been the root problem 

[kirk97132]

HI & LO While I'm not sure I'd agree with your comparison to a Microtracker I am not trying to dismiss what you say only to get an accurate count of what is really going on.

Here is what I've pulled from the latest postings:
680 List  7-Bad  15-Good

01.) BAD        DVD/Tekkeon battery       Darby     
02.) Levels off DVD battery            GAK        repaired and working fine now(reported bad by Hi & Lo)
03.) Bad        ??battery                  Hi & Lo
04.) Bad        ??battery                  Hi & Lo
05.) Good       ??battery                 Hi & Lo
06.) Good       DVD Battery             Kirkd
07.) Good       DVD Battery             Kirkd
08.) Good       DVD Battery             Wookie     (reported good by kirkd)
09.) Good       ?? battery                 Busman      (from thread)
10.) Good       Tekkeon battery        Diamonds
11.) Bad        Energizer battery        Chuck     
12.) Bad         ?? battery                 Chuck      checked at factory clean bill of health no repairs  working fine now
13.) Good       DVD Battery              YLTfan      (from thread)
14.) Good      Tekeon battery           johnmuge
15.) Good      DVD battery               Gutbucket    (from thread)
16.) Good     12volt sled                   DLH
17.) Good      ?? battery                  moodymarco (from thread)
18.) Good     ?? battery                   Myco             (from thread)
19.) Good     12volt                         bobbygeeWOW  (from thread)
20.) Good     ??battery                     bdasilva             (from thread)
21.) Good     was tekkeon                 phil_er_up         (from Thread)
22.) Bad       Tekkeon battery          elihcodoov
 
Would love to hear others chime in so the list can be updated.  Maybe we could even force Tascams hand for full disclosure with a public list like this???

updated

[kirk97132]

In fairness, it was only run off the Tekkeon a couple of times in each case (actually, maybe just 1).  Also, I did run a Tekkeon set manually to 12V with it at one show with no issue.

As hi and lo said, the issue to me is that a slight deviation in the power supply shouldn't blow out the whole unit.   I've run the R-44 for over a year with the Tekkeon on auto and it is just fine.  And by "just fine" I don't mean, "Oh, but there was a weird channel issue this one time" or "Oh, but if I looked at it the wrong way, the digital in wouldn't work"... It has worked in a manner that gives me 100% confidence that it will be there at the end of the show, as it has been every single time for the 2 or so years I've owned it and the hundred + shows I've recorded with it.

Well said... and I had completely forgotten about the digital in issues (well.. not really). It seems to be working for us on unit #3, tested with quite a few different A/Ds. An SBM-1, AD2k+, USBPre2, and my computer's soundcard have all locked as they should at 48kHz, however I had trouble the one time I wanted to run the AD2k+ at 96kHz. I may need to run AES/EBU for that to happen, but haven't played with it too much.

Needless to say, there are other recorders very good recorders on the market that work, every-time.

I do know about the digital input regarding SPDIF which is a trait shared by some Sony recorders as well.  I feel I can speak about this issue since I was at least one of the Beta testers for sound Devices when the USBPre2 problem of no SPDIF lock was discovered. The particular problem I am referring to is due to the way that both of those units read the incoming data headers rather than the actual data stream.  This is NOT the problem that Hi & Lo is refering to which...correct me if I am wrong...was a complete lack of lock on various digital SPDIF inputs.

[elihcodoov]

Allright ,I have a 680 that will not power up.It petered out back in July and has sat in the closet ever since.I used a tekkeon at 9 volts to power. I used it probably 6 to 8 times with no probelms at all and then one day nothing.I took it to a local Tascam repair shop and they could do nothing for me. As I recall I called Tascam and they told me $250.00 to look at it.I would like to get it repaired.It seems a few others have had similar probelms does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks
              Todd

[hi and lo]

Allright ,I have a 680 that will not power up.It petered out back in July and has sat in the closet ever since.I used a tekkeon at 9 volts to power. I used it probably 6 to 8 times with no probelms at all and then one day nothing.I took it to a local Tascam repair shop and they could do nothing for me. As I recall I called Tascam and they told me $250.00 to look at it.I would like to get it repaired.It seems a few others have had similar probelms does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks
              Todd

Doesn't power up at all or powers up but goes to an error message? Sorry to hear about your problems. Is there any chance you accidentally connected the 680 to the Tekkeon while it wasn't set to the manual 9v setting?

[elihcodoov]

Will not power at all not even with the ac adapter.My computer will recognize it when plugged in the usb but it shows nothing at all.

[kirk97132]

HI & LO While I'm not sure I'd agree with your comparison to a Microtracker I am not trying to dismiss what you say only to get an accurate count of what is really going on.

Here is what I've pulled from the latest postings:
680 List  7-Bad  17-Good

01.) BAD        DVD/Tekkeon battery       Darby     
02.) Levels off DVD battery            GAK        repaired and working fine now(reported bad by Hi & Lo)
03.) Bad        Tekkeon battery                  Hi & Lo
04.) Bad        Tekkeon battery                  Hi & Lo
05.) Good       ?? battery                 Hi & Lo
06.) Good       DVD Battery             Kirkd
07.) Good       DVD Battery             Kirkd
08.) Good       DVD Battery             Wookie     (reported good by kirkd)
09.) Good       ?? battery                 Busman      (from thread)
10.) Good       Tekkeon battery        Diamonds
11.) Bad        Energizer battery        Chuck     
12.) Bad         Tekkeon/DVD battery                 Chuck      checked at factory clean bill of health no repairs  working fine now
13.) Good       DVD Battery              YLTfan      (from thread)
14.) Good      Tekeon battery           johnmuge
15.) Good      DVD battery               Gutbucket    (from thread)
16.) Good     12volt sled                   DLH
17.) Good      ?? battery                  moodymarco (from thread)
18.) Good     ?? battery                   Myco             (from thread)
19.) Good     12volt                         bobbygeeWOW  (from thread)
20.) Good     ??battery                     bdasilva             (from thread)
21.) Good     was tekkeon                 phil_er_up         (from Thread)
22.) Bad       Tekkeon battery          elihcodoov
23.) Good     DVD battery                Hummat
24.) Good     DVD battery                fobSTL 
The obvious trend here so far is that a Tekkeon Battery is involved in all but one of the decks that went bad.  The lone Energizer battery was set to 14 volts.   Based on this less than scientific list I would NEVER power the 680 with a Tekkeon battery.  Would really like to know two things.  Why the Tekkeon are so suspect and why the 680 is so sensitive to voltage since I know they make units that will accept varying voltages just fine (HD-P2).

[hi and lo]

Here is what I've pulled from the latest postings:
680 List  7-Bad  15-Good

Those aren't good looking odds. I think I'd rather play russian roulette. No deck should have a 30%+ anecdotal failure rate, but there have been a few (i.e. the microtrack).

Truth be told, I've been one of the biggest supporters of the 680 when it works, but I don't think it's unfair that it has the reputation that it does. It's a first generation unit that offers a tremendous feature set, but clearly has a fatal flaw. Seeing the recent flood of Tascam products, including the recent DR-100 MKII, I won't be surprised if Tascam ups the ante and releases the DR-680 MKII long before Roland/Edirol or any other manufacturer gets their first generation 8-track recorder.

*edit: apparently I cannot type late at night

[kirk97132]

yeah no doubt this is not good ood's as it stands but we gotta keep in mind this is only people who spoke up.  Like I had said maybe this can be used to force Tascam to tell us what's up and maybe to get them to change things up internally.  Whether they market a version-2 and admit a problem...who knows.  Would be great for a solution to the external power problem.  And I think we all agree that using 8 batteries at a time just isn't feasible.  Considering that for some long two set shows that wold mean 16 batteries you'll need a small fortune to power it that way over a year.

[hummat]

Been running the 680 for about a year and a half, with zero issues.

-j

[H₂O]

HI & LO While I'm not sure I'd agree with your comparison to a Microtracker I am not trying to dismiss what you say only to get an accurate count of what is really going on.

Here is what I've pulled from the latest postings:
680 List  7-Bad  16-Good

Although I applaud the effort to track the issues, there are too many variables to make this list the end all be all of what is causing the issue.  Items such as the following should also be documented:
 - Was Automatic Voltage Detetion turned on (in the Tekkeons - seems to cause problems - if disable seems to not
 - Voltage used on a adjistable voltage battery (someone reported issues running the Tekkeon at 9V - has anyone running at 12V)
 - Power draw on the DR-680 - how many mics, how many channels with phantom power on, what kinds of mics run
 - Mainboard revision of the DR-680 - I remember when Ted described sending his back they said he had a very old revision of his mainboard
 - etc

All these factors can potentially be the cause of the issues

The only thing that seems constant is that there is a problem with some units and it seems that Auto Voltage Detection on a Tekkeon will fry the unit. 

And the only thing I can see to lessen the odds of issues is run the at 12V when using an external solution

[fobstl]

No issues with the 680 that I have been running for over a year. Powering with a DVD battery. Hope I didn't just jinks myself!

[kirk97132]

I agree it cannot even begin to track what is causing the issue.  and as for the battery issue Tascam's (service dept?) did tell someone that a 9 volt DVD battery does fall in the specified range.  Then there is the fact that the HD-P2 will accept a range of input voltages so we know it's possible to make the deck reliable with external batteries.   this list is more an accurate count of how many are bad and how many are good at least in the TS world.  Or at least in relation to the people who are willing to post about it.   Hi & Lo is absolutely right. A 30% failure rate is crazy.   I have posted on Tascam's facebook page about it with the hopes of getting their attention:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tascam/156388484378789?sk=wall&filter=12

The downside of there FB page is that you have to click the everyone link to see post that are not made by Tascam.  BUt mabye it will put this on there radar and give them one less place to hide from the issue.  Feel free to jump in and stir the pot on their FB page.