Topic: MicroTracks skips and cell phone blips

[piattj]

First off, thanks for this wonderful forum.  It has really helped me in deciding how to go about my recording projects, which are for my anthropological (musical) fieldwork.  I have a MicroTrack with a 4GB Kingston card from NewEgg (the card with the picture of the chameleon or gecko on it) and I have two problems:

1) I'm recording in mp3 mode and I've noticed that glitches or skips will occur every now and then, perhaps 5 per every one hour of recording.  They sound like a scratched audio CD sounds.  It's not only a matter of an additional sound being written on top of the recording, but the recording itself has a skip, noticeable because it cuts out a syllable from the word of whoever's talking, or, if it's music, introduces an irregularity to the rhythm.  These glitches happen always at the same time-mark (for instance, the first one at 32 seconds).  Very annoying.  I have a feeling it's the card.  I've tried reformatting it, to no avail.  My question is, what can I do?  I'm in a country without any postal service, so I can't really get in touch with Kingston and demand a new card.  I cringe at the thought of all my fieldwork recordings during this coming year having this problem.

2) I'm recording musical religious ceremonies, and the MicroTrack is picking up the frequencies of cell phones on silent mode when they ring in people's pockets.  You know, that "dat dat-dat dat-dat dat-dat" sound which sort of ruins the recording.  Is there anything I can do about this?  Any way of setting the MicroTrack so it won't pick up these frequencies?

Thanks in advance all my fellow recording enthusiasts!

[JoeKiller]

Have you tried to update the firmware?  As for picking up the cell phone stuff, no idea there.

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support.drivers&f=776

[ShawnF]

1) I'm recording in mp3 mode and I've noticed that glitches or skips will occur every now and then, perhaps 5 per every one hour of recording.  They sound like a scratched audio CD sounds.  It's not only a matter of an additional sound being written on top of the recording, but the recording itself has a skip, noticeable because it cuts out a syllable from the word of whoever's talking, or, if it's music, introduces an irregularity to the rhythm.  These glitches happen always at the same time-mark (for instance, the first one at 32 seconds).  Very annoying. 

Does this happen only when playing back the file on the MT, or is it still present if you transfer the file to a computer and play it back?  I ask because I think playback glitches are fairly common--I own two and they both do this, in a manner similar to what you describe.  The files record fine and will playback just fine once transferred--just something about the playback on the MT itself.  I don't think most of us use the MT as a listening device in a significant way, so it hasn't been a very serious issue.  I've never tried recording to mp3, though, so who knows?

[piattj]

Yes, the skips are still there when I listen to it on my computer or iPod.  And yes, I do have the latest firmware update (version 1.4.6).  I don't remember these skips ever happening when I used the card that came with the MT. 

[pool]

2) I'm recording musical religious ceremonies, and the MicroTrack is picking up the frequencies of cell phones on silent mode when they ring in people's pockets.  You know, that "dat dat-dat dat-dat dat-dat" sound which sort of ruins the recording.  Is there anything I can do about this?  Any way of setting the MicroTrack so it won't pick up these frequencies?

Thanks in advance all my fellow recording enthusiasts!

Are you using the MT t-mics? I guess..and this might be a mistaken idea on my part..it's the mics which pick up the cell phone noises so having external mics placed somewhere distant from the audience will help...?? Will it?

[guysonic]

2) I'm recording musical religious ceremonies, and the MicroTrack is picking up the frequencies of cell phones on silent mode when they ring in people's pockets.  You know, that "dat dat-dat dat-dat dat-dat" sound which sort of ruins the recording.  Is there anything I can do about this?  Any way of setting the MicroTrack so it won't pick up these frequencies?

Thanks in advance all my fellow recording enthusiasts!

Are you using the MT t-mics? I guess..and this might be a mistaken idea on my part..it's the mics which pick up the cell phone noises so having external mics placed somewhere distant from the audience will help...?? Will it?

I agree that likely problem is with the choice or condition of the external mics that includes the pickups, mic cord,  and mic connector going into the deck.   Replacing mic is suggested at least to test, but same mic with longer cords might make things far worse.


Skipping problem is most likely defective card, or poor choice of card model.  Definitely upgrade to latest 1.4.6 firmware and hope a fix occurs before getting a different card.

Memory card suggestions inside review on my site at: www.sonicstudios.com/mt2496rv.htm#memory

[coloartist]

I have 2 of the same card. They work fine.

So are you using the T-mic that came with the MT, or do you have real mics. That question wasn't answered. Also, why are you recording to mp3? That could be the problem, since I doubt anybody here has ever rcorded to mp3.

[blindman]

First off, thanks for this wonderful forum.  It has really helped me in deciding how to go about my recording projects, which are for my anthropological (musical) fieldwork.  I have a MicroTrack with a 4GB Kingston card from NewEgg (the card with the picture of the chameleon or gecko on it) and I have two problems:

1) I'm recording in mp3 mode and I've noticed that glitches or skips will occur every now and then, perhaps 5 per every one hour of recording.  They sound like a scratched audio CD sounds.  It's not only a matter of an additional sound being written on top of the recording, but the recording itself has a skip, noticeable because it cuts out a syllable from the word of whoever's talking, or, if it's music, introduces an irregularity to the rhythm.  These glitches happen always at the same time-mark (for instance, the first one at 32 seconds).  Very annoying.  I have a feeling it's the card.  I've tried reformatting it, to no avail.  My question is, what can I do?  I'm in a country without any postal service, so I can't really get in touch with Kingston and demand a new card.  I cringe at the thought of all my fieldwork recordings during this coming year having this problem.

Can you get another card to test your MT with? That would be my first step.

2) I'm recording musical religious ceremonies, and the MicroTrack is picking up the frequencies of cell phones on silent mode when they ring in people's pockets.  You know, that "dat dat-dat dat-dat dat-dat" sound which sort of ruins the recording.  Is there anything I can do about this?  Any way of setting the MicroTrack so it won't pick up these frequencies?

I have only had that happen on my MT when I accidently dropped my cell phone in my gear bag and forgot to turn it off... during the whole show I would randomly get those ticking noises. Quite annoying... I only ever had it happen when the cell was VERY close to the cables/recorder. I could make it stop by holding the cell away from the recorder at arms length.

There is no setting on MT to avoid this, sorry.

what kind of mics/preamp/cables are you using? Are you using the "T" mic that came with  the MT?

not knowing what mics/preamp/cables you are using... I would say your solutions are
1. to ask everyone in attendance to turn OFF, not just silent their cells.
2. To try and get far enough away from everyone to reduce the chance of interference.
3. wrap yourself in tin foil (ok, that is not true... but it would be funny)

good luck.

[piattj]

Yes, I'm using the t-mic that came with it.  Using a different mic set-up isn't really that practical for me, due to the recording conditions (it's a raucous situation where everyone is singing, moving around, etc, and I'm right in the middle of it, so there is no "audience" and no safe place to set up a mic stand!).  I'm lucky enough to just find a small place to set my MT, and even then it gets knocked every now and again.  Plus, I need to be close because the soloist singers aren't miked.  I'll try recording in WAV, but I'm not sure I have enough hard drive space on my laptop to hold a year's worth of WAV's.  Is there a thread that describes the difference between MP3 and WAV, in terms of what they sound like?  I think I got stuck with a glitchy card...

[guysonic]

Yes, I'm using the t-mic that came with it.  Using a different mic set-up isn't really that practical for me, due to the recording conditions (it's a raucous situation where everyone is singing, moving around, etc, and I'm right in the middle of it, so there is no "audience" and no safe place to set up a mic stand!).  I'm lucky enough to just find a small place to set my MT, and even then it gets knocked every now and again.  Plus, I need to be close because the soloist singers aren't miked.  I'll try recording in WAV, but I'm not sure I have enough hard drive space on my laptop to hold a year's worth of WAV's.  Is there a thread that describes the difference between MP3 and WAV, in terms of what they sound like?  I think I got stuck with a glitchy card...

Often times fingerprints on small mic plugs get fingerprint residue that then also collects inside the deck jack so both plug/input jack are contaminated to not make really good connection after a short time.  Also finger prints have oils/salts, and salts can corrode connection metal finishes to damaged plated surfaces that try to resist this until holes appear to leak corrosive action into the brass base metals. 

Lack of really clean electrical connection makes for external RF noise sensitivity, so clean this up with isopropyl alcohol as described on my tips page at: www.sonicstudios.com/tips.htm#maintain

[Bernd Out]

  I'm lucky enough to just find a small place to set my MT, and even then it gets knocked every now and again.

Trying a different card is easy, just do it.
But physically tapping the MT when recording is also a possible cause of skips.
SS recording media is less likely to be affected, but any connectors, even the memory card's can cause audible weirdness if stressed by motion.

Good luck and let us know what you find

[jerryfreak]

what you are describing is dropped samples. i would:

1.update the firmware to the latest
2. record in 16/44 wav instead of mp3. the unit has to encode to mp3, which requires processor resource,its easier for it to write wav.

if that doesnt work, it could be the card, but i regularly write 24/96 wav to a 45x kingston cf with no problems.

as for cell phone noise, i'd upgrade to a better mic and use a shielded cable to connect it to the mt.

[piattj]

I have the latest firmware update.  I did a test, with both cards, using MP3 and WAV, leaving the MT stationary while I snapped my fingers for 40 seconds using the t-mic.  The results: the 4GB Kingston card skips at 32 seconds every time when recording to MP3, and it's not due to interference such as bumping the unit.  The 128 MB card that came with the MT has no issues.  I still don't really know the difference between MP3 and WAV, and for my amateur ear MP3 seems like good quality, but I'm considering recording to WAV just to avoid these annoying skips.  Is there a quality freeware program which can convert WAV to MP3?  Like I said, I don't think my laptop can store a year's worth of WAV's (my research requires recording approximately 5-10 hours a week).  I would be grateful to know why WAV seems to be such the standard over MP3.  Is it just that WAV is a less demanding format on the processor for recording, or does the WAV recording have particular characteristics?  Is there a noticeable loss of quality in converting to MP3 after recording in WAV?  Lastly, is there somewhere I can find an explanation of the difference in 16/44 WAV compared to 24/96 WAV, and compared to MP3?  I know it's a lot of questions, but thanks for the help!

[jerryfreak]

wav is basically raw data, mp3 requires processing in real time before it writes, which can hog resources and cause dropouts.

mkwact available on etree will do wav>mp3 very easily for you.

recording to mp3 directly should sound pretty much the same as wav>mp3, but i'd expect slight variations just due to codecs and bitrarte differences.,

if youre really concerned about quality, learn how to use LAME and compress your wavs on the command line

I have the latest firmware update.  I did a test, with both cards, using MP3 and WAV, leaving the MT stationary while I snapped my fingers for 40 seconds using the t-mic.  The results: the 4GB Kingston card skips at 32 seconds every time when recording to MP3, and it's not due to interference such as bumping the unit.  The 128 MB card that came with the MT has no issues.  I still don't really know the difference between MP3 and WAV, and for my amateur ear MP3 seems like good quality, but I'm considering recording to WAV just to avoid these annoying skips.  Is there a quality freeware program which can convert WAV to MP3?  Like I said, I don't think my laptop can store a year's worth of WAV's (my research requires recording approximately 5-10 hours a week).  I would be grateful to know why WAV seems to be such the standard over MP3.  Is it just that WAV is a less demanding format on the processor for recording, or does the WAV recording have particular characteristics?  Is there a noticeable loss of quality in converting to MP3 after recording in WAV?  Lastly, is there somewhere I can find an explanation of the difference in 16/44 WAV compared to 24/96 WAV, and compared to MP3?  I know it's a lot of questions, but thanks for the help!