Tascam DR2d - part 2

[NOLAfishwater]

I was looking for a lightweight, small footprint solution for my dslr. apparently the M10 won't work for loud stuff but for normal sound it is great. the internals sound really nice for $200. Probably going to end up using my Littlebox with kcy input and get one set of my schoeps cables hacked/shortened. The littlebox has been out on loan since jazzfest last year.

[zupanic]

trying to fix a problem and take the DR-2d out of the equation. Recorded Yonder Mountain a couple weeks ago with CA-11 > CA-9100 > DR-2d (line in). I had the line in set at 98 and the 9100 cranked up to about 85-90% gain. Levels on the recorder were still lower than my -12db target.....but not by much. The waveforms resemble what folks are calling dc offset on another thread. Way higher on the topside and you can head lots of brickwalling. The next night, I recorded Moon Hooch and Keller Williams. Same setup but was way more reserved. Line in set at 96 and 9100 set at about 50% gain. Levels on recorder were way low. Waveforms still a little offset and brickwalling present, but not quite as noticable. After Keller, as an experiment I took the 9100 out of the mix and ran CA-11 > SPSB-8 battery box > DR-2d MIC-IN (low sens set to 68 on recorder) for a Lotus set and everything looks and sounds perfect. In fact, I'm thrilled with the Lotus recording. 
This was the first time I have used an external preamp and line in on the DR-2d. Is it possible I did something wrong on the DR-2d ? or could my 9100 be bogus ?
Any input appreciated!

[Gutbucket]

Dying battery in the 9100?  Symptoms are similar to what happened when the first set of Maha NiHM 9.6Vs I had in the CA-UGLYs reached the end of their usable life.  Happened right when I first started tesing the DR2d which threw me for a while. See my response in that thread you mentioned for details.

[zupanic]

bad battery was my first thought after the first show even though it was brand new. replaced it with another brand new 9v the next morning and got the same results

[F.O.Bean]

Try running 9100>dr2d mic in

[hi and lo]

Try running 9100>dr2d mic in

I don't think this is the right advice. The maximum input level mic in (using the 'low' gain setting) is only -16dBv and you're almost guaranteed to overload using an external preamp. Heck, even some mics w/ a battery box could overload the input w/ that rating. That's why attenuator cables are mandatory going sbd > mic in.

Maybe do it simply to test at home and rule out something wrong in the line input signal path, but I think that's an unlikely root cause.

[Gutbucket]

you're almost guaranteed to overload using an external preamp. Heck, even some mics w/ a battery box could overload the input w/ that rating. That's why attenuator cables are mandatory going sbd > mic in.

Maybe do it simply to test at home and rule out something wrong in the line input signal path, but I think that's an unlikely root cause.

Could help in troubleshooting. 

What you say above excluding the part in bold is true- you can overload the mic input with a hot source, but as long as the line-in record gain is keep at 67 or above (and the recorder is set to low gain) there is no fear of overloading the input stage as long as the meters on the DR2d are below clipping, regardless of the source, external preamp or sbd or whatever.

My regular DR2d setup is 4 x 4060 (pretty sensitive mics at 20mV/Pa) > 2 x CA-UGLY > into both mic AND line inputs. The UGLYs use the same circuit as the 9100 AFAIK. Admittedly I use very little if any gain increase on the UGLYs for most things, and would need attenuation for really loud stuff which I don't record with that rig.  But my setup with those external preamps works just fine for non-deafening music and the metering is accurate and trustworthy.  With less sensitive mics like the CA-11s, which are significantly less sensitive than 4060s although I don't know exactly by how much, I could record far louder material.. which I would certainly would need external attenuators for if using the 4060s.

[danny3]

Although I have a good supply of great rechargeable aa batteries, I have been wondering about an external battery powered source. I just got a dvd battery to power a UA5, and tried to power the DR-2d via the usb 5v, but the screen just show 'USB connected' just like when connected to the computer.

I have looked at the Tascam BP-6AA battery pack as an option, but see that this also connects via the usb jack.  Am I missing something simple?
I haven't found any external 5v battery powered supply that connects to the DC IN jack.

[Tisbo]

I'm powering my DR-2d through a Universal Powerbank USB port (5v), but it can't go into the deck's USB port. I tried that and got the "USB connected" message. It has to go into the deck's "DC in." Ted Gakidis made me a short cable with the proper terminations (including a right-angle USB plug). I couldn't be happier with the powering.

[dallman]

I have looked at the Tascam BP-6AA battery pack as an option, but see that this also connects via the usb jack.  Am I missing something simple?
I haven't found any external 5v battery powered supply that connects to the DC IN jack.

The above unit comes with a cable that powers from the 5v DC in jack, not from the USB jack. You of course can put such a cord (usb>usb mini) in for other decks. There has been some success going with powering through the usb jack on some Tascam decks by starting the recording on battery power and then connecting the usb jack, I have never tried it on this deck, as getting the correct cable is of course much more fullproof. FWIW, I have the above unit and am very unimpressed with it (the Tascam battery box, not the Tascam DR2D which I really like a lot), as there are smaller more powerful ways to go, or larger more powerful ways to go too for that matter.

[danny3]

Thanks dallman and Tisbo. 

edit to admit: the proper tip to connect to the recorder was supplied with the battery. I can be a bit slow absorbing how best to suit my purposes. My new PB15000 powered a UA5 (w/ 48v to mics ) and my DR-2d (w/ DUAL -6 engaged for good measure) for just under 10 hours.

[jb63]

Real quick:
Is there any way to turn off the red recording led on the dr2d?

Thanks!

[brad.bartels]

Real quick:
Is there any way to turn off the red recording led on the dr2d?

Thanks!

You would think there would be. I couldn't figure out how to do it through the menus though... I only use the DR-2D for 4 channel stuff, which is always open so I've never tried before. I use the M-10 for not so open, you can do it on the M-10 through the menus.

If you can't figure anything else out, I would try putting some gaffers tape or black electrical tape over the light.

[jb63]

it was the gaffer's tape.
(On both of them)

[olli66]

hi guys,
I am new to this site and new to audio taping. I am a video taper but last year I recorded some shows and if nobody records a decent audio...well it makes the filming rather pointless then. Oh by the way I am talking about "stealth" recordings here. No problems with security so far when I filmed because I use a HX20V digital camera which has picture quality like good camcorders...But now I intend to run an audio recording in addition. I have to accept some quality loss because I move a little during filming. So bare with me if I am not 100% the audio typical audio taper who wants to achieve the best quality recording possible. Of course I'd like that but it's not possible for me. I have high expectations when I listen to audio but I still prefer a concert on video with decent audio. This has much more replay value to me...
Ordered myself the DR2D. Should get it tomorrow. Ordered CA14 mics both cards and omnis and ugly II pre-amp. I already did a lot of research on how to use them and which mic is best for which situation. I figured since I don't stand still all the time I'd go for the omnis when recording a rock concert and I am filming at the same time.
In the future the DR2D will get heavy use I suppose with recording local acts and friend's and family's concerts. So I went for the DR2D for recording sbd and room audio at the same time.
I'd love to get some recommendations from you on what settings to use and I still have a couple of questions I didn't find answers to (they may have been discussed over and over so please don't be angry with me):
Battery life: With the latest firmware no problem for gigs up to 4 hours and sbd and room recording at the same time? Is the choice of battery (still) an issue? If duration is over 4 hours anyway with whatever battery used then I wouldn't dig deeper in the battery "issue" and would just use what's there.
Recording sbd+room audio: Did I understood correctly that it is not possible to adjust the line levels then? I heard the line in level may cause distortion. Will I be fine with my gear when recording sbd+room at the same time? I was told to plug in the microphones via pre-amp to the line in for best quality. So now the sbd takes this spot and I have to plug in the Ca-14s directly to mic-in. Will it work?
Is there any place I can borrow microphones for a small fee? Since Chris Church needs time for my order and I would like to take a test recording at the upcoming Gaslight Anthem gig in Germany, Duesseldorf I'd like to have some external omni mics.
Now there comes a really stupid question: Can I try the line in and simultaniously mic recording at home with my Marantz AVR with audio out connections. So with the right cable I could do some tests?
Thanks for your time and recommendations.