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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: Carlos E. Martinez on July 10, 2008, 10:20:43 PM

Title: Any owners of Fostex FR2 with TC around?
Post by: Carlos E. Martinez on July 10, 2008, 10:20:43 PM
I can't seem to find too many Fostex FR2 in this forum.

The big one, I mean, not the LE type. 

The price is larger, but the construction seems to be much more rigid, so it should stand portable handling a little better.

What I wonder is what it improves on the Tascam HD-P2.

About the Tascam, someone told me that it adapts RTC (Real Time Code) to TC, which would explain why it doesn't output TC. Also I wonder how precise that RTC is. 

The Fostex's manual does not specify anything about its TC capabilities, so I wonder if the FR2 is really a TC recorder.

Title: Re: Any owners of Fostex FR2 with TC around?
Post by: George2 on July 10, 2008, 11:43:23 PM
RTC...? It's SMPTE TC. It generates and read TC.
It does have TC I/O with the option card.
It's being discontinued.
All you need to do is Google!

http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/pro_products/fr2.shtml
Title: Re: Any owners of Fostex FR2 with TC around?
Post by: Carlos E. Martinez on July 11, 2008, 07:00:32 AM
RTC...? It's SMPTE TC. It generates and read TC.
It does have TC I/O with the option card.
It's being discontinued.
All you need to do is Google!

http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/pro_products/fr2.shtml


Oh, I did better than Google. I downloaded the manual itself, the three versions of it. There's not mention of TC operation on them. It mentions there's an optional card, but no info.

The one that I was told has RTC is the Tascam, not the Fostex. And the Tascam does not have a TC output. But the manual does explain a lot on how to work with TC.
Title: Re: Any owners of Fostex FR2 with TC around?
Post by: George2 on July 11, 2008, 10:44:08 AM
I have use the FR-2 with TC. I don't think it converts the ReaTimeClock into SMPTE TC, which is what I think you are asking.
I sent the FR-2 back to Fostex to have the TC option card installed, and they sent it back with a hard copy manual that goes with the TC option card.
They don't seem to have this as a PDF on their website.
B&H in NY has been claiming this recorder has been  unavailable for several months.... hence rumor of discontinued.
One time while helping prepare music for playback for a music video shot on film, I had the FR-2 hooked up to Denecke TC slate and the TC card in the recorder burnt out... actual puff of smoke and whole recorder dead...... 10 hours before film shoot, Friday night.
Aside from that, recorder is reliable, although unnecessarily large piece of plastic. Fostex menu easy to navigate.
If it was me looking for a 2 channel TC recorder...... get the Sound Devices 702T.