Are there simple line-powered MP3 recorders?
Joerg
recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
magnifier just to see it.
IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
onto USB. Any ideas?
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com/
"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
Martin Griffith
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
>I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
>mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
>which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
>probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
>hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
>screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
>say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
>record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
>magnifier just to see it.
>
>IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
>onto USB. Any ideas?
maybe something like this
http://www.auditory.org/recorders.html#pmd660
or browse through the bhphoto site for the better ideas
martin
Guy Macon
Joerg wrote:
>For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
...
>IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
>onto USB. Any ideas?
Does it have to be main powered, or would a USB powered recorder
be acceptable?
--
Guy Macon
<http://www.GuyMacon.com/>
Martin Riddle
"Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
news:zh5Nk.3935$D32....@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
This is neat...
http://www.ikey-audio.com/ikey.htm
Cheers
Joerg
Preferably not, because then some PC has to run. A totally autonomous
device would be best. And ideally no wall wart.
Joerg
Yes, I found a few of this kind. But: AA batteries, charger ...
Martin Riddle
The Ikey appears to need a wallwart. Its much easier to buy a UL
approved/listed wallwart than to put a AC plug in the box. You'll be
hard pressed to find that.
Have you looked on the BHphoto web site? lots of pro stuff there, might
be what your looking for.
Cheers
Charlie E.
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
>I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
>mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
>which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
>probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
>hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
>screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
>say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
>record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
>magnifier just to see it.
>
>IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
>onto USB. Any ideas?
Jeorge,
We used a pro gear Tascam recorder for our last project, but it used
compact flash, not USB flash, and is in the $900 range. I like your
idea, though, and would like to buy it as well. Maybe it is time to
design one!
Charlie
Edmondson Engineering Inc.
Joe Chisolm
Put the Ikey and wallwart in a project box and run an extension cord
out of the project box.
--
Joe Chisolm
Marble Falls, TX
Joerg
Yes. Mostly they offer products with intermediate disk storage but from
there they transfer to not so modern media such as CD, not USB sticks.
Like this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/447951-REG/Marantz_CDR310_CDR_310_2_Channel_Stereo_Mono.html
The other ones are usually battery operated pod-style devices. Maybe we
have to settle for one of these but it's not ideal. No good power
supply, can often not be operated without inserted batteries (which in
this scenario _will_ leak some day), or aren't USB compatible. Flash
cards and stuff are nice but the de-facto standard these days is USB.
Joerg
I wanted to avoid yet another project but it might have to be done.
Joerg
Do you remember the Tascam model? Flash isn't ideal but a lot better
than CD or having to plug the whole device into a PC. That is because a
church member does the spooling onto the web from home and would then
have to drive back to church to return the unit.
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<0ZlNk.3376$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com>:
Use a PC, with Linux, soundcard, give it an IP addresss and webserver.
Auto update the audio from a script, like I do with security cam.
Now tell everybody about the web address, then they can play the mp3s
with media player or something.
If must be, then you can give everybody a password.
That PC should be on 24/7, or at least boot when the power comes on...
This can all be full automatic.
This is how I directly encode to mp3 from soundcard (scipt):
# save status
cmix /dev/mixer1 save /root/this1
cmix /dev/mixer1 vol 50
cmix /dev/mixer1 line1 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 mic 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 pcm 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 cd 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 speaker 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 phin 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 phout 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 video 0
cmix /dev/mixer1 rcs line on
cmix /dev/mixer1 igain 64
cmix /dev/mixer1 line 50
rec -d /dev/dsp1 -r 44100 -c 2 -s w -t raw - | lame -r -s 44.1 -m s -x - line.mp3
# ....
# restore status
cmix /dev/mixer1 load /root/this1
In crontab copy the file to the webserver at given times, and
start a new one.
You can also assign a hot key for that of course.
Joerg
I suggested exactly that to our IT guru at church. He does not want yet
another PC, it's enough work as it is, and I agree with him. None of us
gets paid, we all serve freely.
> If must be, then you can give everybody a password.
Not needed. After all, the bible was brought to us without DRM,
passwords or any of that ;-)
> That PC should be on 24/7, or at least boot when the power comes on...
Not possible. It's inside the sanctuary and the fire marshall as well as
the insurance carrier won't like that. Also, we just want to keep thing
as simple as possible. No boot-up, no hard drive, nada.
[...]
Rich Grise
>
> IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records onto
> USB. Any ideas?
I have one of these:
http://www.usersmanualguide.com/panasonic/ic_recorder/rr-qr160
which says in "High Quality" mode it can do 2 hours, but it doesn't know
anything about MP3 - it only has an analog output. It was about $70.00
new, but I had some cash on me at the time, and a use for it; you could
use it like that cassette recorder sans cassettes, but you'd need another
box to turn the analog to an MP3.
Good Luck!
Rich
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<aymNk.6108$be....@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>> That PC should be on 24/7, or at least boot when the power comes on...
>
>
>Not possible. It's inside the sanctuary and the fire marshall as well as
>the insurance carrier won't like that. Also, we just want to keep thing
>as simple as possible. No boot-up, no hard drive, nada.
Na, jaaaa, when I was a kid we had two empty cans with a string between.
hehe
;-)
Joel Koltner
> Not needed. After all, the bible was brought to us without DRM, passwords or
> any of that ;-)
Just wait until someone who attends your church runs for public office and
your web server gets hammered trying to fulfill all the reporters' requests,
trying to dig up dirt. :-)
I think your idea of a standalone widget is better than a PC. Why don't you
like wallwarts, though? The possibility of them getting lost?
Phil Hobbs
> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
> I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
> mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
> which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
> probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
> hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
> screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
> say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
> record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
> magnifier just to see it.
>
> IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
> onto USB. Any ideas?
>
that just work. It also has the screens and so on, but the pastor
doesn't have to futz with them at all--hit the red button and talk.
Cheers,
Phil
Joerg
We'd like the string between the cans to be digital :-)
Joerg
> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
> news:aymNk.6108$be....@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
>> Not needed. After all, the bible was brought to us without DRM, passwords or
>> any of that ;-)
>
> Just wait until someone who attends your church runs for public office and
> your web server gets hammered trying to fulfill all the reporters' requests,
> trying to dig up dirt. :-)
>
It's all open. No dirt though :-)
> I think your idea of a standalone widget is better than a PC. Why don't you
> like wallwarts, though? The possibility of them getting lost?
>
Have seen too many go up in smoke. You never know where stuff really
comes from these days or whether the engineers who designed it had a
clue. Also, the average quality of electrolytics has fallen dramatically
and I'd rather have one blow up in a metal enclosure than in a plastic
thingie on the carpet.
Joerg
Well, thanks, but that doesn't get us much beyond what we have today.
Joerg
Thanks. Still needs a wall wart and SD cards (no USB sticks) but if it
has your endorsement maybe we can get a real power supply for it.
Question: It says "recording time can be extended with a SD card". It is
possible to record only onto the SD cards and not at all into the
device's memory? Someone needs to take it home and they should not have
to take the whole device because it may be needed again soon after.
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<SEnNk.6671$YU2....@nlpi066.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>Joel Koltner wrote:
>> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
>> news:aymNk.6108$be....@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
>>> Not needed. After all, the bible was brought to us without DRM, passwords or
>>> any of that ;-)
>>
>> Just wait until someone who attends your church runs for public office and
>> your web server gets hammered trying to fulfill all the reporters' requests,
>> trying to dig up dirt. :-)
>>
>
>It's all open. No dirt though :-)
>
>
>> I think your idea of a standalone widget is better than a PC. Why don't you
>> like wallwarts, though? The possibility of them getting lost?
>>
>
>Have seen too many go up in smoke. You never know where stuff really
>comes from these days or whether the engineers who designed it had a
>clue. Also, the average quality of electrolytics has fallen dramatically
>and I'd rather have one blow up in a metal enclosure than in a plastic
>thingie on the carpet.
True, OTOH my 12V adapter from the Timex Sinclair ZX81 from the early 1980
has been on 24/7 with original parts and is still working fine.
That makes > 25 years.
It has also been shorted 100000000x, as every time you plug in that
phone plug it shorts..
Dunno about those modern switch mode things though, how long those last.
Phil Hobbs
Yes, you can tell it to record straight onto SD. It also takes SDHD, in
case your pastor is really on a roll some Sunday. ;) It doesn't have
XLR inputs, but it does have two very decent condenser mics built in.
(How much stereo you're going to get from two mics 2 inches apart is
another matter--one for singing and one for the harmonica. ;)
It's often used by musicians, who seem to love it. I got it for my
wife's birthday--it arrived about a week ago--and she seems to like it
too. (She's trying to get into doing voiceovers and uses it for
practice.) I haven't used it significantly myself, so you might adjust
your salt grain size on that basis.
One problem with small voice recorders and wall warts is that you can
get a surprising amount of hum--I haven't tested this one, but the
effect is quite strong with IPods and powered external speakers or even
headphones. (It goes away if you touch the metal case.)
Cheers,
Phil
Joel Koltner
"Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
news:XJnNk.6674$YU2....@nlpi066.nbdc.sbc.com...
> Still needs a wall wart and SD cards (no USB sticks)
If you really want USB sticks, there are a couple options:
1) Use SD cards with built-in USB connectors:
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDSDPH-004G-A11-15MB-Ultra-Plus/dp/B000UZJ0O2
2) Just get a USB stick that accepts an SD card (an SD card reader,
effectively):
http://www.amazon.com/Sandisk-MobileMate-Plus-Memory-Reader/dp/B000Q3IUV2
Approach #1 seems just about as good as a USB stick with the only drawback
being that, if it gets lost, your local Wal*Mart probably won't have another
one in stock (whereas they would have plenty of USB sticks).
---Joel
Joerg
> On a sunny day (Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:21:31 -0700) it happened Joerg
> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
> <SEnNk.6671$YU2....@nlpi066.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>
>> Joel Koltner wrote:
>>> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
>>> news:aymNk.6108$be....@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
>>>> Not needed. After all, the bible was brought to us without DRM, passwords or
>>>> any of that ;-)
>>> Just wait until someone who attends your church runs for public office and
>>> your web server gets hammered trying to fulfill all the reporters' requests,
>>> trying to dig up dirt. :-)
>>>
>> It's all open. No dirt though :-)
>>
>>
>>> I think your idea of a standalone widget is better than a PC. Why don't you
>>> like wallwarts, though? The possibility of them getting lost?
>>>
>> Have seen too many go up in smoke. You never know where stuff really
>> comes from these days or whether the engineers who designed it had a
>> clue. Also, the average quality of electrolytics has fallen dramatically
>> and I'd rather have one blow up in a metal enclosure than in a plastic
>> thingie on the carpet.
>
> True, OTOH my 12V adapter from the Timex Sinclair ZX81 from the early 1980
> has been on 24/7 with original parts and is still working fine.
> That makes > 25 years.
Them's were the good old days when stuff lasted an eternity. Like the
electrolytics in the Sachsenwerk, Astor and Philips Gamma radios out
here. All around 60 years old. Ok, the Philips blew its audio plate
transformer. Once, back in the 70's. Fixed that, not one problem ever since.
> It has also been shorted 100000000x, as every time you plug in that
> phone plug it shorts..
> Dunno about those modern switch mode things though, how long those last.
>
Not very long, usually. Anyhow, I don't like that in a church where
people throw the mixer cover, boxes and all kinds of other stuff on top
of it. They shouldn't but you know how that goes.
Joerg
Cool, thanks. He tries to keep his sermons to roughly 1/2hr. But we may
need longer recording times for special events such as a memorial
service. Relatives are really glad if they have a recording that
includes all the speeches and eulogies. It's usually the last thing
they've got to hang onto regarding the spouse or family member that
passed away. Other than the Pontiac GTO and stuff ...
> It's often used by musicians, who seem to love it. I got it for my
> wife's birthday--it arrived about a week ago--and she seems to like it
> too. (She's trying to get into doing voiceovers and uses it for
> practice.) I haven't used it significantly myself, so you might adjust
> your salt grain size on that basis.
>
If it survived that week it ought to be good.
<duck and hide ...>
> One problem with small voice recorders and wall warts is that you can
> get a surprising amount of hum--I haven't tested this one, but the
> effect is quite strong with IPods and powered external speakers or even
> headphones. (It goes away if you touch the metal case.)
>
I figured that. Nowadays I don't expect any audio designers to truly
understand diff-mode circuitry. Luckily Radio Shack has audio baluns,
hum eliminators, ground noise reducers or whatever is the current
marketing speak du jour for those. Now that's a 20 mile drive since our
local Radio Shack became <gasp> a cell phone shop.
Joerg
Yes! Thanks. Come to think of it I had seen method #2 at my sister's.
That would be the ticket here.
Frank Buss
> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
I would use a computer. Did you read my posting some weeks ago?
http://groups.google.de/group/de.sci.electronics/msg/58b7c863b5257a33
This would be most flexible, because you know: Once the client sees a first
version, they always have new ideas how it could be enhanced :-)
And there are small and cheap PCs (e.g. thin clients, maybe you can get one
from ebay or an old laptop). Maybe you can even combine it with your
counseling service, that some parishioner can work on the software, to do
something useful, e.g. if unemployed etc.
--
Frank Buss, f...@frank-buss.de
http://www.frank-buss.de, http://www.it4-systems.de
Guy Macon
Joerg wrote:
>can often not be operated without inserted batteries (which in
>this scenario _will_ leak some day),
I made up some plastic "cells" the size of AAA, AA, C, D, etc.
with wires coming out of them to a power supply, plus some
that are straight through connections. Great for life-testing
toys. I have since seem AAA-to-AA / AA-to-C / etc. adapters
that would work great for that. Thinkgeek.com IIRC.
--
Guy Macon
<http://www.GuyMacon.com/>
Charlie E.
Actually, we used the Tascam SS-CDR1 that does both compact Flash and
CD-R/RW recording. ( the contract required CDR, but I added the CF
capability.) It ran me about $900. There is also the Tascam SSR1
that just does CF for about $600. Also see a Marantz PMD560 CF
recorder for around $500. But, these are all pro grade machines, and
simple operation wasn't a design requirement! It is easy to mis-set
and get CD grade audio that fills up the memory very quickly, or mess
up the level settings and get nothing... :-(
Charllie
Joerg
Then we better take a simpler device. If all else fails an old laptop
that is set to do nothing but that audio job. Bigger, but then we have
it all, line powered as well as able to record on USB sticks.
Joerg
> Joerg wrote:
>
>> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
> I would use a computer. Did you read my posting some weeks ago?
>
> http://groups.google.de/group/de.sci.electronics/msg/58b7c863b5257a33
>
Yes, we might just do that. Use a small laptop.
> This would be most flexible, because you know: Once the client sees a first
> version, they always have new ideas how it could be enhanced :-)
>
Not in this area. I'd prefer to keep the sound booth as simple as
possible. Example from yesterday: The vicar turns his mike from mute to
active. Begins to speak. *WOOOOOOOOOO*.....
Humongous feedback, me dashing into the booth, none of the mixer pots
seemed to work. Vicar hastily turns his mike off. Luckily he's pretty
cool about this stuff. Turns out someone had set one of the tiny
potmeters on the side to almost full blast and forgot to set it to zero
later. The one for tape playback, and I had just started the recording.
> And there are small and cheap PCs (e.g. thin clients, maybe you can get one
> from ebay or an old laptop). Maybe you can even combine it with your
> counseling service, that some parishioner can work on the software, to do
> something useful, e.g. if unemployed etc.
>
Our IT guru does not want to have to maintain another PC but he said
he'd be ok with a laptop that isn't connected to anything but the mixer.
No LAN, no Internet. So yeah, the laptop idea is a good one. We might
try that out some time this week.
a7yvm1...@netzero.com
wrote:
> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
Unfortunately that sounds like a MD recorder. "Unfortunately" because
Sony has put a lot of effort into keeping the format as brain dead as
possible.
You could score an old Hi-MD unit (1GB disc) on eBay, one with line-in
and a good microphone. These units have line in too.
I don't know what you are recording BTW.
The units support 16 bit, 44KHz PCM recording so you bypass the whole
ATRAC->MP3 transcoding.
They usually need a single AA battery and can last a long time even
recording. They also can use external power but this is an option you
need to select.
I think you'll end up with about the recording time you need.
These newer units connect to PCs.
Other solutions include a VCR. A good stereo Hi-Fi unit can record
great audio but you need to be careful with the dbx system in them.
(That's the system that gets rid of the head switching noise)
Bulky and slow. But cheap, and won't crash.
How about a nice, honking big reel to reel unit?
Glenn Gundlach
> | For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries)
MP3
> | recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB
stick.
> As
> | simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
> |
which had
> | mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or
Intempo
> | which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and
would
> | probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a
few
> | hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny
LCD
> | screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone
and
> | say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the
red
> | record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
> | magnifier just to see it.
> |
> | IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that
records
> | onto USB. Any ideas?
> |
> | Regards, Joerg
> |
> | http://www.analogconsultants.com/
> |
> | "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
> | Use another domain or send PM.
>
Yeah it DOES look neat but claiming a 'reset' button as a 'feature'
doesn't inspire much confidence. 10 MB / minute (uncompressed .WAV) is
beyond USB 1.0 but not any problem for 2.0. Sure wouldn't take much of
a flash-drive to capture a few hours uncompressed CD quality.
GG
Charlie E.
When you need that hum eliminator, you probably won't find it at Radio
Shack. I needed one last week, and finally found one at Circuit City,
right after I ordered a couple on line at Amazon. BTW, when you need
one, look in the auto audio section...
Charlie
Charlie E.
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>
>Not in this area. I'd prefer to keep the sound booth as simple as
>possible. Example from yesterday: The vicar turns his mike from mute to
>active. Begins to speak. *WOOOOOOOOOO*.....
>
>Humongous feedback, me dashing into the booth, none of the mixer pots
>seemed to work. Vicar hastily turns his mike off. Luckily he's pretty
>cool about this stuff. Turns out someone had set one of the tiny
>potmeters on the side to almost full blast and forgot to set it to zero
>later. The one for tape playback, and I had just started the recording.
>
>
Yeah, I hate that! Had an argument with a guy at Tascam, because the
'tape monitor' feature is a real PITA! Sure, it is nice in some
configurations, but if you want to have a non-operator setup, and
still use the tape (or CDR) for playing as well as recording, then you
get feedback up the ying-yang! You have to set you record levels low,
and your playback levels low so that you get an overal loss of at
least 10dB in the loop. They really need to have a 'disable monitor'
option in there...
Charlie
Charlie E.
Hmmm...
Ok, you can record either to the internal memory, or to an SD card.
However, I don't see an aux in jack on it to connect to a PA system,
just uses its own mikes. Probably not!
Charlie
David L. Jones
"Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
news:zh5Nk.3935$D32....@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
> I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
> mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo which
> is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would probably
> need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few hundred
> Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD screens and
> menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and say "Turns this
> dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red record button", not
> explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a magnifier just to see it.
>
> IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records onto
> USB. Any ideas?
What about this Philips unit:
http://www.voicex.com.au/Brochures/Philips/Philips%20LFH9750.pdf
SD card storage, but SD to USB stick converters are a dime a dozen.
Dave.
mpm
wrote:
> Charlie E. wrote:
> > On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:31:21 -0700, Joerg
>
> >> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
> >> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
> >> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
> >> I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
> >> mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
> >> which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
> >> probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
> >> hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
> >> screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
> >> say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
> >> record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
> >> magnifier just to see it.
>
> >> IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
> >> onto USB. Any ideas?
>
> > We used a pro gear Tascam recorder for our last project, but it used
> > compact flash, not USB flash, and is in the $900 range. �I like your
> > idea, though, and would like to buy it as well. �Maybe it is time to
> > design one!
>
> Do you remember the Tascam model? Flash isn't ideal but a lot better
> than CD or having to plug the whole device into a PC. That is because a
> church member does the spooling onto the web from home and would then
> have to drive back to church to return the unit.
>
> Regards, Joerg
>
> http://www.analogconsultants.com/
>
> "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
>
> - Show quoted text -
What (interface) do you use to put your church service audio up on the
web?
Just MP3 files attached to a click button, or something more
elaborate?
I have a similar project in the works at our church...
Right now, we just have archived audio available for downloading, and
a live Internet streaming.
-mpm
Adrian C
> True, OTOH my 12V adapter from the Timex Sinclair ZX81 from the early 1980
> has been on 24/7 with original parts and is still working fine.
> That makes > 25 years.
So what are you doing with a _ZX81_ running on for 25 years?
Is it trapped in an application running a nuclear power plant by any chance?
<http://ganjatron.net/retrocomputing/zx81/index.html>
--
Adrian C
Jan Panteltje
<em...@here.invalid> wrote in <6mofkqF...@mid.individual.net>:
>Jan Panteltje wrote:
>
>> True, OTOH my 12V adapter from the Timex Sinclair ZX81 from the early 1980
>> has been on 24/7 with original parts and is still working fine.
>> That makes > 25 years.
>
>So what are you doing with a _ZX81_ running on for 25 years?
No, that adaptor has been running many different things that needed 9 -to 12V DC
Now it runs my SWR meter...
It did run the home control system for years, an other smaller adapter does that now.
Also use it for experimenting any time I need a 12V or so.
>Is it trapped in an application running a nuclear power plant by any chance?
><http://ganjatron.net/retrocomputing/zx81/index.html>
Yes, that site, I actually had 2 ZX81 and 1 ZX80.
Unlike the joke that guy made, I added 64k RAM, and a floppy controller,
then an EPPROM programmer, then a 80 x 25 display, and wrote a CP/M clone
on it, that actually did run a C compiler (Software toolworks C/80).
Then I added an IBM keyboard :-), and finally replaced the old ZX81 with a processor card.
You can find that OS, and a Z80 disassembler here:
http://panteltje.com/panteltje/z80/index.html
Gave aways the ZXs, many many years ago, the foil keyboards fell apart anyway.
But I always kept that one AC adapter.
Also used the ZX81 to control an audio processing rack....
ZX81 had a very good BASIC too, with nice syntax checking, would not let you
enter a wrong line.
Phil Hobbs
No, it has both line and mic inputs as well as its internal mics.
Cheers,
Phil Hobbs
Joerg
Currently I record on audio cassettes and then another member uses a PC
to create MP3 from that:
https://loth.ctsmemberconnect.net/sermon-ctrl.do
Unfortunately it's now through this 3rd party site and it doesn't work
on all PCs. The audio is also very distorted because of some wrong
setting. Recording directly to MP3 so I can check it right after the
service should fix that, plus save time when placing it on the web.
> Just MP3 files attached to a click button, or something more
> elaborate?
Yep. It used to work on every PC but not anymore :-(
> I have a similar project in the works at our church...
>
> Right now, we just have archived audio available for downloading, and
> a live Internet streaming.
>
We want to try an old laptop this week. If you try that you'll
definitely need an audio balun, else the noise from its power brick is
going to be terrible. BTDT.
Joerg
Yep, that's one place where I got them when I urgently needed one at a
client: The local auto parts store.
Radio Shack used to have some but the in-store stuff is now often
reduced to plain old consumer gear. Sad.
Joerg
Probably one of those dreaded plastic-jacketed 3.5mm stereo jacks that
are known for intermittent connections :-(
A lot of times I had to use a rubber band to pull the plug to the side
so the audio wouldn't crackle.
Joerg
In the old days this was simple: Philips screw driver, lift off lid,
snip, done ;-)
Phil Hobbs
Well, they do get flaky after awhile, it's true. On the other hand the whole
thing just about disappears in my fist.
Cheers,
Phil Hobbs
Joel Koltner
> Yep, that's one place where I got them when I urgently needed one at a
> client: The local auto parts store.
Wal*Mart has them as well (back with the car stereo stuff).
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<uUGNk.6418$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>Probably one of those dreaded plastic-jacketed 3.5mm stereo jacks that
>are known for intermittent connections :-(
>
>A lot of times I had to use a rubber band to pull the plug to the side
>so the audio wouldn't crackle.
That only makes it worse, as it bends the contacts away.
Better solder on some wire and use a decent external connector,
if you cannot replace the bad one.
And use gold plated contacts.
Joerg
> On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:15:02 -0700) it happened Joerg
> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
> <uUGNk.6418$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>
>> Probably one of those dreaded plastic-jacketed 3.5mm stereo jacks that
>> are known for intermittent connections :-(
>>
>> A lot of times I had to use a rubber band to pull the plug to the side
>> so the audio wouldn't crackle.
>
> That only makes it worse, as it bends the contacts away.
It's the usual. The ugliest kludges have a habit of working fine for
decades. Once it works, don't touch it ;-)
> Better solder on some wire and use a decent external connector,
> if you cannot replace the bad one.
> And use gold plated contacts.
>
Only if it is a real connector, not a 3.5mm stereo jack. The minimum
would be a 1/4" (6.3mm) jack, anything smaller would need the right
incantations to work reliably.
Joerg
> On Oct 26, 4:31 pm, Joerg <notthisjoerg...@removethispacbell.net>
> wrote:
>> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
> Unfortunately that sounds like a MD recorder. "Unfortunately" because
> Sony has put a lot of effort into keeping the format as brain dead as
> possible.
> You could score an old Hi-MD unit (1GB disc) on eBay, one with line-in
> and a good microphone. These units have line in too.
We have that here at home. But MD is a dying format.
> I don't know what you are recording BTW.
The sermon at church, roughly 30mins. Plus occasionally a complete
memorial service which can be 1.5hrs.
> The units support 16 bit, 44KHz PCM recording so you bypass the whole
> ATRAC->MP3 transcoding.
> They usually need a single AA battery and can last a long time even
> recording. They also can use external power but this is an option you
> need to select.
> I think you'll end up with about the recording time you need.
> These newer units connect to PCs.
>
Batteries are a big no-no at church unless absolutely needed. They leak,
they are depleted just at the wrong time, just not practical. Best is a
simple power connection. Why use batteries when 120V is right there?
> Other solutions include a VCR. A good stereo Hi-Fi unit can record
> great audio but you need to be careful with the dbx system in them.
> (That's the system that gets rid of the head switching noise)
> Bulky and slow. But cheap, and won't crash.
>
Oh, they do crash, just differently. Rat-tat-tat-*CLUNK*. Then you have
to surgically remove oodles of mangled tape. BTDT.
> How about a nice, honking big reel to reel unit?
Yeah, that would have the real retro-feel :-)
Or maybe Edison's drum recorder ...
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<PEHNk.6426$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:15:02 -0700) it happened Joerg
>> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
>> <uUGNk.6418$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>>
>>> Probably one of those dreaded plastic-jacketed 3.5mm stereo jacks that
>>> are known for intermittent connections :-(
>>>
>>> A lot of times I had to use a rubber band to pull the plug to the side
>>> so the audio wouldn't crackle.
>>
>> That only makes it worse, as it bends the contacts away.
>
>
>It's the usual. The ugliest kludges have a habit of working fine for
>decades. Once it works, don't touch it ;-)
>
>
>> Better solder on some wire and use a decent external connector,
>> if you cannot replace the bad one.
>> And use gold plated contacts.
>>
>
>Only if it is a real connector, not a 3.5mm stereo jack. The minimum
>would be a 1/4" (6.3mm) jack, anything smaller would need the right
>incantations to work reliably.
I have some all metal external (cable) female 3.5 mm connectors that have worked
OK for years.
Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
Spehro Pefhany
>For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
>I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
>mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
>which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
>probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
>hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
>screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
>say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
>record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
>magnifier just to see it.
>
>IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
>onto USB. Any ideas?
This one looks a bit dubious but it appears to be aimed at your sort
of application (uses SD cards).
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/492073-REG/Rolls_HR73_HR73_Rack_Mount.html
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
sp...@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
Joerg
> On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:06:35 -0700) it happened Joerg
> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
> <PEHNk.6426$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>
>> Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>> On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:15:02 -0700) it happened Joerg
>>> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
>>> <uUGNk.6418$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>>>
>>>> Probably one of those dreaded plastic-jacketed 3.5mm stereo jacks that
>>>> are known for intermittent connections :-(
>>>>
>>>> A lot of times I had to use a rubber band to pull the plug to the side
>>>> so the audio wouldn't crackle.
>>> That only makes it worse, as it bends the contacts away.
>>
>> It's the usual. The ugliest kludges have a habit of working fine for
>> decades. Once it works, don't touch it ;-)
>>
>>
>>> Better solder on some wire and use a decent external connector,
>>> if you cannot replace the bad one.
>>> And use gold plated contacts.
>>>
>> Only if it is a real connector, not a 3.5mm stereo jack. The minimum
>> would be a 1/4" (6.3mm) jack, anything smaller would need the right
>> incantations to work reliably.
>
> I have some all metal external (cable) female 3.5 mm connectors that have worked
> OK for years.
>
I do, too. But the plastic stuff that you find embedded in many of those
audio gizmos is usually the same low grade as on PC sound cards.
> Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
>
Sure. But totally unknown in America. So, before moving to the US I
bought a bunch of them in Europe because our old Saba stereo has those.
Also the Philips Gamma tube set (remember those?).
Joerg
> On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:31:21 -0700, Joerg
> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>
>> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>>
>> I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
>> mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
>> which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
>> probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
>> hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
>> screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
>> say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
>> record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
>> magnifier just to see it.
>>
>> IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
>> onto USB. Any ideas?
>
> This one looks a bit dubious but it appears to be aimed at your sort
> of application (uses SD cards).
>
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/492073-REG/Rolls_HR73_HR73_Rack_Mount.html
Aha! Thanks. Rackmount is even better. I just wonder what they mean by
power supply, a wall wart or something a notch better. I'll show this to
the guys at church, if they want it I'll find out whether this recorder
can ignore the internal flash and go straight to removeable memory, and
what kind the supply is.
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<iwINk.6431$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>> Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
>>
>
>Sure. But totally unknown in America. So, before moving to the US I
>bought a bunch of them in Europe because our old Saba stereo has those.
For those wondering what it is:
http://shop.conrad.nl/elektronica-meetapparatuur/componenten/stekker-verbinder/din-stekkers/
>Also the Philips Gamma tube set (remember those?).
No, but I remember the Philips Plano, I liked those models:
http://people.cs.uu.nl/gerard/RadioCorner/Sets/Phil543.htm
Note the EM80 cat eye.
http://www.elwins-radiopage.demon.nl/radios/b4x23.htm
Joerg
> On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:05:45 -0700) it happened Joerg
> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
[...]
>
>> Also the Philips Gamma tube set (remember those?).
>
Sorry, typo, it's the Philips Gemma:
http://www.kofferradios.de/rr/ph/ph060.html
> No, but I remember the Philips Plano, I liked those models:
> http://people.cs.uu.nl/gerard/RadioCorner/Sets/Phil543.htm
> Note the EM80 cat eye.
> http://www.elwins-radiopage.demon.nl/radios/b4x23.htm
Way too modern in the design of it's enclosure ;-)
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<V4JNk.4166$D32....@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com>:
>Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:05:45 -0700) it happened Joerg
>> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
>
>[...]
>
>>
>>> Also the Philips Gamma tube set (remember those?).
>>
>
>Sorry, typo, it's the Philips Gemma:
>
>http://www.kofferradios.de/rr/ph/ph060.html
Ah, yes, remember that very well, beautiful knobs too :-)
Rich Grise
> Jan Panteltje wrote:
>
>> Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
>>
> Sure. But totally unknown in America.
Huh?
http://www.alliedelec.com/Audio-Video-Connectors/DIN-Audio-Connectors-/?N=4294965081
Cheers!
Rich
Joerg
Well yeah, boutique stuff at boutique prices.
Spehro Pefhany
On closer look, it doesn't look so good. Miserable non-obvious
limitations.
1) Power supply is an external 12V wall wart
2) External SD card is 512M max. You probably won't be able
to buy them that small for much longer.
3) Recording directly to SD is limited to non-MP3 format.
http://www.rolls.com/pdf/M_HR73.pdf
Badly in need of an update to SDHC and/or USB host.
Michael A. Terrell
Joerg wrote:
>
> Jan Panteltje wrote:
> > On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:06:35 -0700) it happened Joerg
> > <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
> > <PEHNk.6426$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
> >
> >> Jan Panteltje wrote:
> >>> On a sunny day (Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:15:02 -0700) it happened Joerg
> >>> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
> >>> <uUGNk.6418$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com>:
> >>>
> >>>> Probably one of those dreaded plastic-jacketed 3.5mm stereo jacks that
> >>>> are known for intermittent connections :-(
> >>>>
> >>>> A lot of times I had to use a rubber band to pull the plug to the side
> >>>> so the audio wouldn't crackle.
> >>> That only makes it worse, as it bends the contacts away.
> >>
> >> It's the usual. The ugliest kludges have a habit of working fine for
> >> decades. Once it works, don't touch it ;-)
> >>
> >>
> >>> Better solder on some wire and use a decent external connector,
> >>> if you cannot replace the bad one.
> >>> And use gold plated contacts.
> >>>
> >> Only if it is a real connector, not a 3.5mm stereo jack. The minimum
> >> would be a 1/4" (6.3mm) jack, anything smaller would need the right
> >> incantations to work reliably.
> >
> > I have some all metal external (cable) female 3.5 mm connectors that have worked
> > OK for years.
http://www.switchcraft.com/products/jack-search.html half way down.
> I do, too. But the plastic stuff that you find embedded in many of those
> audio gizmos is usually the same low grade as on PC sound cards.
>
> > Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
> >
>
> Sure. But totally unknown in America. So, before moving to the US I
> bought a bunch of them in Europe because our old Saba stereo has those.
> Also the Philips Gamma tube set (remember those?).
I used to buy loys of metal cased DIN connectors made by Switchcraft.
http://www.switchcraft.com/products/connector-search.html near the
bottom of the page.
--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html
aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.
If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm
There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.
Joerg
Ouch. Triple ouch. I'll have to tell the guys at church. When I
mentioned it to our member who is the IT guru he really liked it.
Michael A. Terrell
Joerg wrote:
>
> Rich Grise wrote:
> > On Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:05:45 -0700, Joerg wrote:
> >> Jan Panteltje wrote:
> >>
> >>> Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
> >>>
> >> Sure. But totally unknown in America.
> >
> > Huh?
> > http://www.alliedelec.com/Audio-Video-Connectors/DIN-Audio-Connectors-/?N=4294965081
> >
>
> Well yeah, boutique stuff at boutique prices.
Boutique? I have used them since 1970, and have never had a bad
connector from them. If you want quality, you pay for it. once.
Switchcraft makes mil spec, commercial and broadcast quality parts, not
consumer junk. I have had idiots drive over some of their XLR style
connectors, and some all metal 1/4" Phone plus & jacks that were laying
on concrete, without damaging them.
Joerg
> Joerg wrote:
>> Rich Grise wrote:
>>> On Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:05:45 -0700, Joerg wrote:
>>>> Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
>>>>>
>>>> Sure. But totally unknown in America.
>>> Huh?
>>> http://www.alliedelec.com/Audio-Video-Connectors/DIN-Audio-Connectors-/?N=4294965081
>>>
>> Well yeah, boutique stuff at boutique prices.
>
>
> Boutique? I have used them since 1970, and have never had a bad
> connector from them. If you want quality, you pay for it. once.
> Switchcraft makes mil spec, commercial and broadcast quality parts, not
> consumer junk. I have had idiots drive over some of their XLR style
> connectors, and some all metal 1/4" Phone plus & jacks that were laying
> on concrete, without damaging them.
>
Sure. XLR is great, much better contacts than DIN usually. DIN never
made it over here and even for a cheap plastic version they often want
>$3 a pop. I haven't seen them used anywhere other than on import
devices. I think they are even going lalaland in Europe now, haven't
seen a stereo from there with DIN in a long time and that's where they
were built in all the time (the 3- and 5-pin versions).
Michael A. Terrell
Joerg wrote:
>
> Michael A. Terrell wrote:
> > Joerg wrote:
> >> Rich Grise wrote:
> >>> On Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:05:45 -0700, Joerg wrote:
> >>>> Jan Panteltje wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Else the metal DIN 3 or 5 pole are very reliable.
> >>>>>
> >>>> Sure. But totally unknown in America.
> >>> Huh?
> >>> http://www.alliedelec.com/Audio-Video-Connectors/DIN-Audio-Connectors-/?N=4294965081
> >>>
> >> Well yeah, boutique stuff at boutique prices.
> >
> >
> > Boutique? I have used them since 1970, and have never had a bad
> > connector from them. If you want quality, you pay for it. once.
> > Switchcraft makes mil spec, commercial and broadcast quality parts, not
> > consumer junk. I have had idiots drive over some of their XLR style
> > connectors, and some all metal 1/4" Phone plus & jacks that were laying
> > on concrete, without damaging them.
> >
>
> Sure. XLR is great, much better contacts than DIN usually. DIN never
> made it over here and even for a cheap plastic version they often want
> >$3 a pop. I haven't seen them used anywhere other than on import
> devices. I think they are even going lalaland in Europe now, haven't
> seen a stereo from there with DIN in a long time and that's where they
> were built in all the time (the 3- and 5-pin versions).
I was using them in 1970. A lot of imported stereo junk had 5 pin DIn
connectors. Radio shack, and about every wholesaler carried them, along
with other types. I still have a bunch of NOS Switchcraft metal 8 pin
DIN plugs that fit the seven pin power connector on the Commodore 64,
after you cut off the center pin.
I never really liked the DIN connectors. Most of what was available
was early Japanese crap with bad plating that would peel off the pins
after you soldered the wire to them. The plastic had a low melting
point, so there were a lot of damaged plugs. I think they shipped the
rejects to the US and used what passed inspection in their products.
mi...@sushi.com
wrote:
> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>
> I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
> mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
> which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
> probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
> hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
> screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
> say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
> record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
> magnifier just to see it.
>
> IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
> onto USB. Any ideas?
>
> Regards, Joerg
>
> http://www.analogconsultants.com/
>
> "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
> Use another domain or send PM.
I have a Zoom H2. Walwart powered, though it last a long time on just
batteries.
Here is the quick dope on the product. It has a line input, mic input,
and built in microphones. The mic input is a mini and very noisy. The
line input is excellent, but there is a caveat in that the line input
goes directly into the ADC. The digital leve control is just a post
recording scaler. The analog playback is noisy.
So here is what actually works well. Four channel recording with built
in microphones, two channel recording with built in microphones, and
line recording. It records to SDHC cards in PCM or MP3.
The unit is relatively cheap if you look around. About $150.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAOJQ_78Y7I
And for your entertainment, I did this recording:
www.lazygranch.com/sound/moo.ogg
Joerg
Thanks, and also thanks to all the other posters. After a hint from a
German audio engineer we have decided to purchase a Marantz PMD-580, a
bit steep at just under $1000 but it is a great allrounder. Besides
fulfilling all our requirements it has a major plus and that is being
able to schedule recordings via a LAN connection and also downloading
its recordings from remote. That's huge. This is the machine:
http://www.d-mpro.com/users/folder.asp?FolderID=4347&Tab=Data+Sheet
Otehr than that, XLR input, very large dynamic range, the works.
Charlie E.
Looks like a good unit! good thing I didn't see it two months ago, or
I would have used it instead of the SSCDR-1. Of course, then I would
have needed to run an ethernet cable out to the dias where the clerks
station is, and my conduit is already overfilled... 8-)
Charlie
Jim Thompson
On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:47:06 GMT, Charlie E. <edmo...@ieee.org>
wrote:
>On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:25:28 -0700, Joerg
><notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>
[snip]
>>
>>http://www.d-mpro.com/users/folder.asp?FolderID=4347&Tab=Data+Sheet
>>
>>Otehr than that, XLR input, very large dynamic range, the works.
>
>Looks like a good unit! good thing I didn't see it two months ago, or
>I would have used it instead of the SSCDR-1. Of course, then I would
>have needed to run an ethernet cable out to the dias where the clerks
>station is, and my conduit is already overfilled... 8-)
>
>Charlie
"dias" ?:-)
Vaya Con Dias -Chuck Berry
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress
discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
- Alexis de Tocqueville
Charlie E.
<To-Email-Use-Th...@My-Web-Site.com> wrote:
>
>On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:47:06 GMT, Charlie E. <edmo...@ieee.org>
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:25:28 -0700, Joerg
>><notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>>
>[snip]
>>>
>>>http://www.d-mpro.com/users/folder.asp?FolderID=4347&Tab=Data+Sheet
>>>
>>>Otehr than that, XLR input, very large dynamic range, the works.
>>
>>Looks like a good unit! good thing I didn't see it two months ago, or
>>I would have used it instead of the SSCDR-1. Of course, then I would
>>have needed to run an ethernet cable out to the dias where the clerks
>>station is, and my conduit is already overfilled... 8-)
>>
>>Charlie
>
>"dias" ?:-)
>
>Vaya Con Dias -Chuck Berry
>
> ...Jim Thompson
So I am a dyslexic typer/speller... 8-)
Charlie
mi...@sushi.com
wrote:
I've used the PMD660. Very nice. I'm sure the line powered unit will
be super. However, it would make recording cattle quite difficult. ;-)
For some reason, I thought you wanted the controls at hand, i.e. you
wanted a cassette replacement.
Seems to me you need to split the microphone signal, or maybe tap the
signal from the recorder in order to get it into the PA.
Joerg
You can do that with these units. The front panel is simple, has a REC
button. It looks like it just needs to be programmed correctly, once.
> Seems to me you need to split the microphone signal, or maybe tap the
> signal from the recorder in order to get it into the PA.
It's a mixer line-out that goes to the cassette recorder,
hearing-impaired transmitter and cry-room amp. Want to keep the
cassettes for various reasons, as backup until MP3 proves reliable and
also for people to take to shut-ins. So it'll be just one more tap ... ;-)
JosephKK
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>Charlie E. wrote:
>> On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:31:21 -0700, Joerg
>> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>>
>>> For our church we are looking for mains-powered (no batteries) MP3
>>> recorders that can record up to 1.5hrs, preferably onto a USB stick. As
>>> simple as possible, like on/off, record, stop.
>>>
>>> I have looked around the web and only found gear from Roland which had
>>> mixing functions and stuff that makes it too complicated, or Intempo
>>> which is more geared towards recording from radio channels and would
>>> probably need some hack to connect to our mixer. If this costs a few
>>> hundred Dollars that's ok but it cannot be complicated with teeny LCD
>>> screens and menus. In essence I'd have to be able to call someone and
>>> say "Turns this dark gray gizmo in the left corner on and hit the red
>>> record button", not explain a lengthy menu tree where they need a
>>> magnifier just to see it.
>>>
>>> IOW what we need is a cassette recorder sans cassettes, that records
>>> onto USB. Any ideas?
>>
>> Jeorge,
>> We used a pro gear Tascam recorder for our last project, but it used
>> compact flash, not USB flash, and is in the $900 range. I like your
>> idea, though, and would like to buy it as well. Maybe it is time to
>> design one!
>>
>
>Do you remember the Tascam model? Flash isn't ideal but a lot better
>than CD or having to plug the whole device into a PC. That is because a
>church member does the spooling onto the web from home and would then
>have to drive back to church to return the unit.
This is becoming the obvious embedded RTLinux PC project. Select your
PC104 form factor stuff, stir in the right Linux stuff and boom, it
just works.
Joerg
Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier:
Plug it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.
Joel Koltner
news:lS0Qk.3807$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
> Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier: Plug
> it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.
When can we expect to hear the results of the new recorder on the web site?
:-)
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<lS0Qk.3807$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com>:
>> This is becoming the obvious embedded RTLinux PC project. Select your
>> PC104 form factor stuff, stir in the right Linux stuff and boom, it
>> just works.
>>
>
>Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier:
>Plug it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.
Yes, but where is the challenge?
Joerg
A few weeks maybe. Some wiring will have to be re-done and I as well as
our IT pro must to do that after work. Also, the old rack needs to be
re-built and so on. Not exactly a piece of cake.
Joerg
Right now I don't need any more challenges :-)
Besides a few client projects I am trying to migrate to gEDA. Got it
running but the symbol editing turns out to be a real bear. Plus
learning all the Linux-speak.
Michael A. Terrell
Remembering WHEN to press "REC". ;-)
Charlie E.
wrote:
No, too complicated. Instead, it is a USB enabled PIC project, with
an MP3 encoder/decoder chip to do the heavy lifting, and a decent
front end with mike/line inputs and line outputs (balanced and
unbalanced...)
Charlie
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<%D2Qk.6335$ZP4....@nlpi067.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>Besides a few client projects I am trying to migrate to gEDA. Got it
>running but the symbol editing turns out to be a real bear.
Wow I admire you.
In spite of all the related posting here about geda, and I even downloaded
a complete CD some years ago with a distro + geda, I never got it to work...
> Plus
>learning all the Linux-speak.
Many years ago, say 15 or so, kernel 0.9X, I had a command prompt,
and the only help was a book I bought about Unix in the eighties.
Then the file structure... X11, but it was so much better then DOS
with win3.1 on top, and it had a free compiler, great.
And no memory limits like DOS, and great networking.
But Unix, or Linux, is a never ending learning process.
I do use the 'PCB' program sometimes, very neat thing.
Rich Grise
> Joel Koltner wrote:
>> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
>> news:lS0Qk.3807$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>> Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier:
>>> Plug it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.
>>
>> When can we expect to hear the results of the new recorder on the web
>> site?
>> :-)
>>
> A few weeks maybe. Some wiring will have to be re-done and I as well as
> our IT pro must to do that after work. Also, the old rack needs to be
> re-built and so on. Not exactly a piece of cake.
Maybe not, but think of the satisfaction you'll get from a job well done.
:-)
Cheers!
Rich
Joerg
> On a sunny day (Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:54:10 -0800) it happened Joerg
> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
> <%D2Qk.6335$ZP4....@nlpi067.nbdc.sbc.com>:
>
>> Besides a few client projects I am trying to migrate to gEDA. Got it
>> running but the symbol editing turns out to be a real bear.
>
> Wow I admire you.
> In spite of all the related posting here about geda, and I even downloaded
> a complete CD some years ago with a distro + geda, I never got it to work...
>
Well, it does work. But a CAD program lives or dies with symbol editing
and that's where it gets a bit hokey. That is what I am working on now.
I have to migrate away from Eagle because they decided to not include a
hierarchical sheet structure in V5. So I am not going to upgrade. If
OrCad still had the robustness of SDT I'd go back there. But IME it
doesn't anymore.
I just hope this is going to be my last CAD system switch before I kick
the bucket. Because you start from zero every time, all new symbols to
edit, none of the old schematics are compatible, etc.
>
>> Plus
>> learning all the Linux-speak.
>
> Many years ago, say 15 or so, kernel 0.9X, I had a command prompt,
> and the only help was a book I bought about Unix in the eighties.
>
> Then the file structure... X11, but it was so much better then DOS
> with win3.1 on top, and it had a free compiler, great.
> And no memory limits like DOS, and great networking.
>
I found the DOS file system to be much better and easier. And I ran my
last DOS in 5MB, with a multi-tasker roached onto it, mostly having
OrCad SDT, MS-Word, MS-Works, sometimes SPICE and some other stuff open
at the same time. Pretty much the same productivity as today sans the
Internet. Well, that was added later in the form of the Mosaic browser.
Today, for a similar productivity, I need >500MB.
> But Unix, or Linux, is a never ending learning process.
>
> I do use the 'PCB' program sometimes, very neat thing.
Joerg
This is at church so we aren't after worldly recognition or self-pride :-)
Joel Koltner
Did you take a look a Kicad? If so, what did you think?
---Joel
Joerg
> Say Joerg,
>
> Did you take a look a Kicad? If so, what did you think?
>
No, I haven't. One reason I tried gEDA is because it seems to have a
larger group of followers. I am not totally convinced yet because it
leans heavily on quite intricate command line action. But I want to give
it a shot. Ran into a few serious limitations already, like with
multi-section parts (U1A, U1B, etc). It does not seem to handle those
very well. So who knows ...
Have you tried it?
Joerg
> Say Joerg,
>
> Did you take a look a Kicad? If so, what did you think?
>
Forgot to mention, the other reason why I tried gEDA first was that I
read about KiCad netlist problems with the PADS format and my layouter
uses PADS. Don't want to take chances there, but it may have been fixed
by now.
Jan Panteltje
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
<Yn5Qk.4739$D32....@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com>:
>Rich Grise wrote:
>> On Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:52:14 -0800, Joerg wrote:
>>> Joel Koltner wrote:
>>>> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:lS0Qk.3807$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>> Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier:
>>>>> Plug it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.
>>>> When can we expect to hear the results of the new recorder on the web
>>>> site?
>>>> :-)
>>>>
>>> A few weeks maybe. Some wiring will have to be re-done and I as well as
>>> our IT pro must to do that after work. Also, the old rack needs to be
>>> re-built and so on. Not exactly a piece of cake.
>>
>> Maybe not, but think of the satisfaction you'll get from a job well done.
>>
>> :-)
>>
>
>This is at church so we aren't after worldly recognition or self-pride :-)
When you get to heaven's gate, and Petrus says:
'God is looking for somebody who knows how to do this audio thingy in 368 board',
then there is a possibility they send you back if you do not have the experience...
Joel Koltner
"Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
news:Be9Qk.5621$x%.2893@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com...
> Have you tried it?
No, I haven't, although I keep meaning to one of these days. From what I can
tell, although it might not be as powerful as gEDA overall, it's somewhat more
finished/polished at this point (although perhaps not with PADS netlists!).
Both definitely seem mature enough that people are making real boards with
them.
---Joel
Joerg
Yes, but meantime I ran into some hard snags with gEDA so I am going to
try KiCad as well. Plus I don't like having to close everything and run
the command line for proper renumbering, adding a sheet etc.
Joerg
So, now I did try KiCad and I must say I like it a lot. It's like
driving a big old Chevy, all the time you discover a new button or
feature. Handles nicely from the GUI console, although it's a bit
overloaded with hard-to-remember pictograms or icons. Some menus are a
bit far down like that to change a part value but I guess keyoard
shortcuts are possible. So I'll check that CAD program out some more.
Someone even wrote a converter for Eagle schematics but that blew up on
me. Ok, it can't all be paradise and when switching CAD programs nothing
is usually going to cross that road along with you. But at least some
libraries could be converted. Needing heavy clean-up, but still. That's
why I really want to make this switch stick, don't want to do it again.
Joel Koltner
> So, now I did try KiCad and I must say I like it a lot.
Cool, thanks for the update/review.
> Someone even wrote a converter for Eagle schematics but that blew up on me.
Schematic converters being 100% usable/correct seems notoroiously uncommon...
presumably due to the lack of documentation (of the file format to be
imported), in many cases, combined with the relatively small market demand.
---Joel
Joerg
> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
> news:LLrQk.6961$be....@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
>> So, now I did try KiCad and I must say I like it a lot.
>
> Cool, thanks for the update/review.
>
>> Someone even wrote a converter for Eagle schematics but that blew up on me.
>
Another upside is it's Windows-based so you don't have that dreaded "you
are not authorized to write to this folder" behavior of Linux. Meaning I
can place my libs where they belong, in the lib directory.
> Schematic converters being 100% usable/correct seems notoroiously uncommon...
> presumably due to the lack of documentation (of the file format to be
> imported), in many cases, combined with the relatively small market demand.
>
I'll try that again if I have my custom libs converted. Problem is:
Every schematic editor names files *.sch. So it's hard to decipher which
file was from which CAD system. Only if you go by date, and even then
sometimes not because you may have to massage an old file with the old CAD.
Phil Hobbs
> Joel Koltner wrote:
>> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
>> news:LLrQk.6961$be....@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
>>> So, now I did try KiCad and I must say I like it a lot.
>>
>> Cool, thanks for the update/review.
>>
>>> Someone even wrote a converter for Eagle schematics but that blew up
>>> on me.
>>
>
> Another upside is it's Windows-based so you don't have that dreaded "you
> are not authorized to write to this folder" behavior of Linux. Meaning I
> can place my libs where they belong, in the lib directory.
I have much worse problems with Windows in this regard. In Linux, I can
always say 'sudo' and do whatever I need to, whereas the Windows
security model is complicated and (to me) almost entirely opaque.
Unix-style OSes are good at doing what they're told--they know that root
is The Boss.
Cheers,
Phil Hobbs
JosephKK
And i had thought that Marantz had gone out of business long ago.
Maybe this is a "logo / brand name" resurrection.
JosephKK
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>Rich Grise wrote:
>> On Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:52:14 -0800, Joerg wrote:
>>> Joel Koltner wrote:
>>>> "Joerg" <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:lS0Qk.3807$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>> Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier:
>>>>> Plug it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.
>>>> When can we expect to hear the results of the new recorder on the web
>>>> site?
>>>> :-)
>>>>
>>> A few weeks maybe. Some wiring will have to be re-done and I as well as
>>> our IT pro must to do that after work. Also, the old rack needs to be
>>> re-built and so on. Not exactly a piece of cake.
>>
>> Maybe not, but think of the satisfaction you'll get from a job well done.
>>
>> :-)
>>
>
>This is at church so we aren't after worldly recognition or self-pride :-)
So where did the money come from for the top of the line Marantz?
JosephKK
<notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
>Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:52:56 -0800) it happened Joerg
>> <notthis...@removethispacbell.net> wrote in
>> <lS0Qk.3807$hc1....@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com>:
>>
>>>> This is becoming the obvious embedded RTLinux PC project. Select your
>>>> PC104 form factor stuff, stir in the right Linux stuff and boom, it
>>>> just works.
>>>>
>>> Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier:
>>> Plug it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.
>>
>> Yes, but where is the challenge?
>
>
>Right now I don't need any more challenges :-)
>
>Besides a few client projects I am trying to migrate to gEDA. Got it
>running but the symbol editing turns out to be a real bear. Plus
>learning all the Linux-speak.
You are in exactly the right place to help me. I have yet to get gEDA
running enough to even begin schematic entry. How did you do it? On
what underlying variant? Oh hell, you can read headers, talk to me.
Joel Koltner
> Another upside is it's Windows-based so you don't have that dreaded "you are
> not authorized to write to this folder" behavior of Linux.
Hey, go join a big company and you can have that problem on Windows too. :-)
> Meaning I can place my libs where they belong, in the lib directory.
You probably know this, but the Linux philosophy is that you place all "your
own" stuff somewhere in your home directory (e.g., ~joerg) where you do have
full read/write/execute permissions by default... and they figure that if
you're trying to do something "system wide" (e.g., make a /lib), you should
spend the time to "chmod" the result to set the read/write permissions as the
the "system administrator" -- you! -- prefers.
> I'll try that again if I have my custom libs converted. Problem is: Every
> schematic editor names files *.sch. So it's hard to decipher which file was
> from which CAD system. Only if you go by date, and even then sometimes not
> because you may have to massage an old file with the old CAD.
Agreed, that is a bit of a pain. If you open up the files in a text editor
(possibly set to binary mode), is it readily obvious where each file came
from? If so, it wouldn't be too difficult to write a small script to loop
through the files, take a look inside, and then rename them as, e.g.,
*.eagle_sch or *.kicad_sch or whatever.
SI-Metrix names schematics something like *.sxsh (more-than-three-letters
extension), but unfortunately the old DOS three-letter limitation seems like
it's never going to go away with most software.
---Joel