Topic: PDAudio Opinions

[kskreider]

I am interested in folks opinions about this setup.  I just got a new IPAQ 2215 and am wondering if I should even bother with the PDAudio and the Gidluck mastering software. 

I imagine that with my active 140's it would be one hell of a stealth set up.

...Kk

[lds490]

I generally like my PDA rig. I've been doing mostly open recording at 24/48 and it works great.  However, the IPAQ 2215 does not support expansion sleeves, which means that you are limited to using the on-board SD card slot for your recording media.  Currently SD cards have limited capacity.  You can buy 1 gig cards for around $50.  If you are recording at 24/48 or 24/96 you will need to change cards several times during the show (the Gidluck software now allows you to switch cards while recording).  If you can live with this, then the 2215 is great for stealth recording.  It is definitely the smallest rig you will find and it is easy to get through security because it does not look like recording gear.  You still need pre-amp/phantom power/ADC and you'll probably want a second battery for the PDA as well. 

[bhtoque]

I only know one guy who runs an Ipaq rig (he works for compaq and gets top line ipaqs all the time) He's had a problem of one kind or another just about every time I've run with him.

Last time he seemed to have all the kinks worked out, but lost most of a set because his media was too small.

Seems like a sweet system to me, but not quite prime time.

JAson

[lds490]

 Microdia has announced their 3 GB SD and MMC flash memory cards. A 3 GB SD memory card will allow the very small iPAQ h2215-based PDAudio system to record for four-and-a-half hours at CD quality (16/44.1), three hours at 24/44.1 and an hour-and-a-half at DVD quality (24/96).

[macdaddy]

Microdia has announced their 3 GB SD and MMC flash memory cards. A 3 GB SD memory card will allow the very small iPAQ h2215-based PDAudio system to record for four-and-a-half hours at CD quality (16/44.1), three hours at 24/44.1 and an hour-and-a-half at DVD quality (24/96).

i hope you are right, as i am getting into this myself (ipaq3800)...

but i thought that the sd/cf combo was having problems... i am hoping to do this with a 2 gig card @ 16/48 - 24/48....

i have the dual cf sleeve (seidio) that should work, too, but i like the low-pro of the single cf sleeve...

[lds490]

I bet the price on those 3 GB SD cards will be very expensive, whenever they are released.  I'm still waiting on a 4-8 Gig CF card that costs less than $100 and writes fast enough for 24/96 recording.

If you are not stealthing, the best way to go is an external HD.  I've been recording 24/48 onto my 40 GB external drive without any major problems.  I've started to experiment with 24/96 at home and may attempt it in the field this week.  I can record for an hour and 10 minutes without problems, but then I start having buffer issues.  I'm confident that the problem can be fixed however.

[mmedley.]

I read somewhere a day or two ago that the 3GB SD cards will be $175.

[macdaddy]

Well, I continued my searches today and found that Sandisk released a highspeed 2GB Secure Digital card back in November. 

http://tinyurl.com/673f2

Not very cheap yet, but it'll drive the prices of the 1GB cards down and hopefully expedite the release of the 3GB cards.

Word...Kk

link did not work for me...

i know the 2gig sd card was to be about $200 and hit the shelves this month. but while i have seen the announcements, i have yet to see somebody offerring to sell one to me - which makes me think they (the 2gig sd) have not hit the street yet...

[macdaddy]

will an ipaq3800 (with a single cf sleeve) be able to write 24/48 on one of these 2gig cards with stability..? if so, then i assume 16/48 wouldnot be a problem, either - right..?

[macdaddy]

all of the links i got from froogle (re: 2gig sandisk ultra sd card) are to reserve the card - none show that the item is in stock...

[lds490]

will an ipaq3800 (with a single cf sleeve) be able to write 24/48 on one of these 2gig cards with stability..? if so, then i assume 16/48 wouldnot be a problem, either - right..?

If I understand you correctly, you are thinking of mounting the PDAudio card in a single slot expansion sleeve and writing to a SD card mounted in the IPAQ SD slot.  That should be a pretty stealthy setup.

Take a look at the Core Sounds web page.  They have a lot of information on which cards work with which IPAQ.  Also, Gidluck mastering is a good source for information (and less prone to puffing the product than Core Sounds).  Gidluck most likely can tell you if the 2 gig card will work with the IPAQ 3800. 

I'd be surprised if either Core Sounds or Gidluck have tested the configuration you propose because the 2 GB SD cards are not out yet.  My guess is that it won't be a problem to record at 24/48 or 24/96.   16/48 will not be a problem.

[Daryan]

Do the external drives he mentions on the site work for all of the reccomended ipaq's?

[Craig T]

I finally made a clean 24/48 recording using an iPaq 3835> PDAudio-CF using a Toshiba 5GB pcmcia card.  I used Gidluck's Live2496 recording software (latest version, Jan'05) and pre-allocated several 1GB files.  The pre-allocation sets up blank .wav files that are "updated" when recording.  I plan on doing more testing, but hopefully this means I can finally ditch the laptop.   

[MattD]

*APPLAUSE*

Craig, that rocks. I hope it's repeatable.

[Craig T]

It only took 2 years to get it to work!   

[lds490]

I've been running tests at home recording at 24/96 with my PDAudio rig.  I've recorded for 6 straight hours non-stop at 24/96 using the "update multiple" mode to an external hard drive.  For my rig, the limiting factor in the field is power supply, particularly for the hard drive.

I'm planning on recording Rowan/Rice and Hot Tuna at 24/96 this weekend.  I'll post some of my test results next week.


J

E

T

S

JETS! JETS! JETS!

[Tim]

glad to hear it Craig!

[BobW]

I do believe that 2005 will be *the* year of the PDAudio-CF.
It clearly was ahead of it's time, but it seems that thanks to Gordon, it's truly coming together.

[MattD]

I think it'll be the year it gets bypassed by dedicated, more reliable devices. Despite the super-long wait, SD has something going for them that they have not released a non-working product.

IMO, Len would have been far better off marketing it as a stealthable DAT replacement, then surprising us with 24/44.1 when it was "ready" and eventually moving up to higher samplerates. That 24/96 was promised from the outset hurt my perception of this device when it failed to live up to it.

[julius_the_cat]

First time recording last weekend with an Ipaq h2215 and the PDAudio in the CF slot with 1GB SD in the other slot and the 2496 recording program.  I used a minime with a SPDIF to 1/8" mini-plug cable from Core Sound and a battery pack (SP C4 mics).  The Ipaq fits in the pocket of the minime case. Recorded one hour of wonderful 24/48.

 I didn't close the program properly however and initially couldn't open the file on my card reader on my home PC.  Gordon was VERY helpful and audiohck fixed it in a flash.  Looking foward to cheaper 2 or 3GB SD cards.

I was close to buying a laptop, but really didn't want one.  I can use my Ipaq at workand am glad I went this route. I can see the analog input on the minime, the digital input meters in the 2496 program on the ipaq and a blue LED on the PDAudio is lit when a digital signal is locked on, reassuring me things are working properly.