Topic: Inside the MR1000

[Nick's Picks]

ok you techie freaks....
have a peek, what do you see?
are those little barrels there by the mic inputs something that can be replaced w/a better piece?
those are the caps on the input stage???

spacious board.  lots of room.

[Nick's Picks]

also, what size hdd is that ?  it was tiny.  like maybe 2.5>3" long, and 1/2" deep.  smaller than the normal laptop drive, which is what I expected to see in there.

[carlbeck]

That drive looks tiny! At least it looks well insulated against shock.

[kskreider]

That is a 1.8" hard drive.  Same kinda monster that you would see in an iPod I beleive.

[mandoman]

Looks spacious and clean. Lot of discrete components.
I wonder where the mic-pre op-amp ic's are hiding?

HDD looks easily replaceable too. Good stuff.

[carlbeck]

That drive looks tiny! At least it looks well insulated against shock.

Didn't someone have a vibration/bass related hd problem?  It almost looks like it might be too rigidly mounted. Fwiw the 7xx drive just sits in a cavity with a little foam wrapped around it.

I imagine having the drive in that metal enclosure helps keep the rf under control.

Cool pics!

I know I read someone did have a problem but looking at it it is insulated with those blue foam things. I hate hard drive recording personally & switched to CF with no regrets but the DSD files are so big you have no choice. I think the best protection is to suspend it in the bag & reformat before every show. Any Petrol, PB or Kata bag will allow you to suspend the deck so there is no excuse, I think that will go a long way towards protecting the drive from vibration in addition to the insulation around the mounting.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Knock on wood, I've never had a hard drive problem with the 722.. Not even when I got into a bit of a shoving match with a guy at a primus show while wearing it. It didn't even start a new file (which it does if there is any error).  So I don't fear hd reliability in general.

I only reformat when it is nearly full.  I like to leave the files on there as long as possible so I have multiple backups and especially so I have some verification there was no issue with the transfer (never had a problem but..).

[synthi]

Whats the brand for the HD device?

Also, I just read Samsung released a 120Gig 1.8" HD

Synthi

[ghellquist]

I wonder where the mic-pre op-amp ic's are hiding?

My guess, the ones marked RA3 and RA8 - surface mounted. nop.

IC10 perhaps?
G

[Daryan]

For starters, change out those cheap ass caps for something better. I would probably increase capcitance 2X at least as well while keeping the voltage the same.  I can't see the op-amps either...

[Nick's Picks]

Just for my own clarification, the caps you mention are the barrel shaped parts by the XLR inputs, right?

I never looked for the op-amps, at the time..not knowing what to look for.  but I know what they look like now (this "teach yourself electronics book" is really paying off!)
In hindsight, I believe they were under the HDD.

[guysonic]

For starters, change out those cheap ass caps for something better. I would probably increase capcitance 2X at least as well while keeping the voltage the same.  I can't see the op-amps either...

Whoa there, hold your horses! 

It takes having the circuit diagram and knowing just how each component is being used, its effects, and specific characteristics BEFORE thinking changing something is a good move.  Nothing wrong with aluminum capacitors used correctly in the right places for good reasons.  Until you get a feel for the finer details in electronic circuitry cause/effect, advise going lightly keeping wisely in mind "if it's not broke, don't fix it."

Now having said that, go ahead and hack away, you can always buy another one!

Back sometime in October/November 2006 I posted most of the important considerations in making IC and component mods to decks.  That post has been removed from the archive for safe keeping, but maybe MOKE could bring it back for reference purposes.