Sony PCM A10 recording level adjustment problem

[DaveF]

I have just bought a Sony PCM-A10 and was testing it at a local pub/bar gig. I set up the machine for manual adjustment. I was using external mics with power supplied by the A10 for the first band and had to raise the levels slightly which I did using REC Remote app on my phone. Without turning the machine off, for the 2nd band I inserted a battery box and started the recording. The levels were overloading so I pressed the "-" button on the app, but the levels went straight down to 0 db and nothing was being recorded. Pressing the "+" brought it back immediately to the previous level. I tried pressing the actual "-" button on the deck instead of using the app but it did the same thing. So I pulled out the external mics and the deck switched to the internal mics but the problem persisted. So I put the external mics back in using power from the recorder and the problem persisted. It was like the machine had become jammed. I don't understand why it cut the sound completely. If you are able to reduce gradually to 0db then it counts up when you press "+".  On each occasion the previous level cam back immediately. I kept recording the whole time. I did not stop and start the recording.
Has anyone else experienced this issue. Is the machine faulty or have I set something up incorrectly? Your help would be appreciated.

[morst]

I have just bought a Sony PCM-A10 and was testing it at a local pub/bar gig. I set up the machine for manual adjustment. I was using external mics with power supplied by the A10 for the first band and had to raise the levels slightly which I did using REC Remote app on my phone. Without turning the machine off, for the 2nd band I inserted a battery box and started the recording. The levels were overloading so I pressed the "-" button on the app, but the levels went straight down to 0 db and nothing was being recorded. Pressing the "+" brought it back immediately to the previous level. I tried pressing the actual "-" button on the deck instead of using the app but it did the same thing. So I pulled out the external mics and the deck switched to the internal mics but the problem persisted. So I put the external mics back in using power from the recorder and the problem persisted. It was like the machine had become jammed. I don't understand why it cut the sound completely. If you are able to reduce gradually to 0db then it counts up when you press "+".  On each occasion the previous level cam back immediately. I kept recording the whole time. I did not stop and start the recording.
Has anyone else experienced this issue. Is the machine faulty or have I set something up incorrectly? Your help would be appreciated.

could be faulty, but I wonder what your record level was set to before you clicked -


If it was at the second lowest setting then - would make it go to minimum. (I don't have mine in front of me at the moment to see what it really calls this)


I usually use mine to record from internal mics with limiter and record level of 6 is correct for that. No more, no less. If it's peaking, move further from the sound source, or try a different recording chain...


Sorry if this doesn't help much for your situation but maybe a thread bump will get the attention of someone with further insight.


OH YEAH and welcome to the site!!!!
edit: OOh I got an idea. When you plug in a line source, there is a menu that pops up. Did you check that?

[robgronotte]

I'm also thinking you might have been at the second lowest record level setting then one notch down would be nothing.

But the reason you're having the overload is probably because the settings were wrong.  I'm guessing you were using "Mic In", which would be fine for microphones with no battery box which put out a low signal, but it was overloaded when you used the battery. For any loud show with a mic using a battery box, you should be using "Audio In".

Go to Settings - Recording Settings - Ext. Input Setting - then choose Audio In Manual.

I'm not sure if you can change this while recording, but I wouldn't recommend it.  Oddly, the recorder won't let you get to that part of the menu unless something is plugged into the input jack.

I would recommend playing around with it at home - plug you mic and battery box into the recorder, choose the setting as I noted above, then test it out.

What kind of microphone / battery box were you using?