Topic: should i hold onto my R-09? i'm in a quandry!

[hollsa]

help!  my R-09 has been gathering dust since i bought it new about 2 1/2 years ago -- i've only used it for a total of about 30 minutes.  why?

because the screen give me eye-ache.
because i'm freaked out that if i use an external mic, that i'll break the input that i've read is soldered precariously to the board...or something to that affect. 
because i'm a cowardly ninny. 

i need a kick in the pants.  someone talk some sense into me?!  (please be gentle if possible.)

it's got an extended memory card, the leather case/stand set, a mic stand adapter, and i bought a stereo (akg) mic for it, too.  dang it! 

should i sell?  should i get something a bit more hardy, such as a PMD661?  or am i just in denial about the what-ifs?   and i should get over the mewly screen menus and just deal.

thanks for the intervention...

h

[rhinowing]

some superglue will fix that soldering issue in about 10 minutes

[hollsa]

thanks, rhinowing.  hmmm.  whoda thought it, not me.

[acidjack]

help!  my R-09 has been gathering dust since i bought it new about 2 1/2 years ago -- i've only used it for a total of about 30 minutes.  why?

because the screen give me eye-ache.
because i'm freaked out that if i use an external mic, that i'll break the input that i've read is soldered precariously to the board...or something to that affect. 
because i'm a cowardly ninny. 

i need a kick in the pants.  someone talk some sense into me?!  (please be gentle if possible.)

it's got an extended memory card, the leather case/stand set, a mic stand adapter, and i bought a stereo (akg) mic for it, too.  dang it! 

should i sell?  should i get something a bit more hardy, such as a PMD661?  or am i just in denial about the what-ifs?   and i should get over the mewly screen menus and just deal.

thanks for the intervention...

h

I don't know what you're using it for, but that would depend on the best course of action.

If you need a really portable and low-profile rig, I think most would agree that the R-09 is the best option in its size and price range among digital recorders.  A modified PMD661 (with the Oade mod) is a much nicer, more expensive, better sounding machine, and still portable, but not as small and lightweight.  Much tougher to stealth with from what I understand, though not impossible.

I have the newer R-09HR that apparently doesn't have the soldering problem, so I can't speak to that. But until the thing actually breaks, isn't it worth at least seeing if it's sturdy enough? I'd think if you use a right-angle plug into it and don't get too rough with it, it'd be OK.

For me, I don't spend much time staring at the screen of my R-09HR anyway, so I don't really care.  It's not pretty to look at, I guess, but the screen and menu systems are pretty intuitive, IMO.

[dorrcoq]

Not sure what your problem with the screen is...turn down the brightness if it bothers you.

As far as the input jack - so you were afraid to use it because it might break, so you let it sit now long past the warranty period.  Yeah, that was smart. 

[Belexes]

Sell the R-09 and consider the HR model. I did just that. Better build quality, slightly bigger screen, no more input jack issues to worry about.

[Dede2002]

Sell the R-09 and consider the HR model. I did just that. Better build quality, slightly bigger screen, no more input jack issues to worry about.

Holise,

Words of wisdom indeed . Thanks, Belexes.
Anyway, I'd consider too your  "am i just in denial about the what-ifs?" question. If you don't use it, you'll never know.
I've used my R-09 for like 3 years. Not a single issue. No bronken jacks, no nothing.
But the R-09HR is better product.
Enjoy it 

[Gutbucket]

Asking the wizard for some courage? Just don't peek behind the curtain.

My 1st R-09 had the jack break 3 years ago from using a straight jack and stuffing it in my pants pocket. I sent it to Edirol after the warranty was up and they replaced the entire board along with the scuffed front cover at no charge.  I then epoxied the jack just to be safe.  I bought a second R-09 2 years ago and never bothered to epoxy the jack.  Both have been running fine since with heavy use.  Just use a right angle cable with the smallest jack-casing you can find and run the cable through the cover to eliminate the strain.

Honestly, the R-09 screen is no smaller than that of a cell phone. I can read it fine with middle aged eyes. The HR version offers no real advantages for my use, only drawbacks: input jacks on the side not the top, hold button on the back not the side, and no digital out which I tend to use a lot.  For me it's not better, but YMMV. Yours is pretty much depreciated in value at this point anyway, just use it. Great little machine. 

[Dede2002]

Yours is pretty much depreciated in value at this point anyway, just use it. Great little machine. 

[hollsa]

thanks everyone!

dorrq, thanks for kicking my rear, too (hang my head in shame, yes, i duly ignored the warranty period ). 

everyone's right -- and as it's depreciated, i'll get off my tail and actually USE it before determining if i should sell it.  it's just a matter of getting out and capturing sounds with it and my niggly concerns will melt away, no doubt.  i've tweaked some of the recorded snippets for use in my music daw environment and wouldn't really consider using it stealth.  no need.

thanks very much, all!!

[fmaderjr]

Even if you want to eventually step up to an HR, keep the R-09 and send it to Chris Church for the Micsketeer mod ($99 + shipping).  You can then make amazing recordings with its internal mics (and being able to use internals is very handy when you need to set up quickly). Would be a very versatile backup recorder. No recorder's internal mics can come remotely close to a Micsketeer.
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,98290.0.html

[hollsa]

thanks, fmaderjr,

good tip.

[deadhoarse]

If you can afford to, cut your losses and just get something else. It doesn't matter how much people tell you that it's a great recorder, if you don't like it, you don't like it. There's so many options out there now.

[Scooter123]

I tape my connections--everywhere.  Those 3.5's aren't going anywhere after I run some tape across that rascal.

[edtyre]

Like Gutbucket, i'm a big fan of the R-09. The R-09HR offers me nothing that i need
and no optical out. Love my little "toy" recorders