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MDfreak

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Everything posted by MDfreak

  1. If you do some thinking you might have known what you try is impossible. Why? With USB you have a "host" (a PC or MAC) that controls the communication and a "client" (your device) that follows orders from the host. Normally you connect the USB to optical device and the Hi-MD are connected to a PC and the PC starts the communication by asking which device it is and than you install the appropriate drivers. After that your PC knows what devices they are and starts to use it. If you connect the USB tot optical converter to the Hi-MD you connect two clients who patiently wait until some host asks them to do something. There is no host so there will be no communication between the two devices. That is also why there is a special USB cable for connecting 2 PC's (2 hosts). Two devices that want to give orders also does not work so that kind of cables with some electronics in it that act as clients. So both PC's don't directly communicate but via the "client"-device hidden in the cable (see the thing middle part of the cable): Your next question might be: but why does a MCMD-R1 cardreader work with a Hi-MD without a PC? The cardreader acts like a PC (host) and gives the order to sent data to put on the memorycard. That is also why the MCMD-R1 does not work if you hook it up to your PC. You connect 2 hosts and that gives problems. Furthermore a MCMD-R1 is not a full computer so it only knows how to communicate with Hi-MD devices. So the main conclusion with connection different USB-devices is that you can only directly connect a client to a host. Otherwise it might also be possible to let's say connect a USB printer to a USB scanner (to act as a copier). Sadly that also does not work because that are also two clients who wait for any orders from a host. Only by putting a host (PC) between them with the correct drivers/software the software knows how to make a copy with one push of a button.
  2. I don't know the pinout of your adaptercable but probably that is wrong because the connection you want to make isn't standard (connect a balanced XLR to a stereo microphone input). You have to make sure the adapter makes matches the following pinout: For more info: http://www.mdcenter.nl/artikelen/mdcpro/kabels.php And if you need your own phantom-power for condensor-mics: http://www.mdcenter.nl/artikelen/mics/portablephantom.php
  3. The recording/playback times we put on the site are actually calculated from some tests we did. We did not have the time to actually do an accurate test over the times required to drain the batterypack in e.g. mp3-playback-mode. The real test we did was recording PCM modus and it really got quite annoying to come back to the batterypack over and over again to format the disc because it was full without seeing any improvement in emptying the batterypack. Finally after recording about 20 Hi-MD discs the batterypack finally went dead Another nice use for the batterypack is when during commuting the RH1s battery goes dead, you connect the RH1 to the batterypack. But it in your bagage, forget about it and after about an hour you get yourself a freshly charged RH1 (without ever touching a computer or plugging it into the wall somewhere).
  4. To let the RH1 know that a charger/powersupply is attached.
  5. Currently very busy with other things but I will try to have the plans ready as soon as possible.
  6. Anyone mentioned the Netherlands yet?
  7. From looking at some service-manuals of different NetMD/Hi-MD devices there is some protection but that is very limited. Furthermore a good engineer designs it's devices in such a way it complies with the standards used and does not rely on protections in other devices. Also most USB-connectors will indeed output not exactly 5 volts. From the outputs I measures all were below 5 volt and none above. That is in line with the service-manuals I looked at where overvoltage-protection is very limited but it was not a real problem to let USB-devices work on lower voltages that 5 volt. But as said before, to have a reliable batterypack without any strange behaviour in the pack and connected device I designed it in such a way that will output close to 5 volts as USB requires exept when the batteries get realy drained.
  8. Yes, also tried that but you still end up with variating batteryvoltages. Furthermore, most batterychargers charge batteries in pairs (2 or 4 of them) so to get about 4 volts you need 3 batteries. So if you have drain an additional 4th battery before you can charge the other 3.
  9. No, uploading still does not work with a write-protected Hi-MD disc.
  10. Nice to see that all your findings up to now match the things I already found out with the prototype and already mentioned in the review. No need for a review of the review at the moment The upload-speeds of legacy disc I found were: Pentium IV 2.8 GHz PC SP -> PCM 10x SP -> Hi-SP 8x mono -> PCM 16x mono -> Hi-SP 12x LP2 15x LP4 26x
  11. Nice pictures! Also nice to see the first picture of the AC-adapter with USB-connector. Also very nice close-ups. Did you try powering the NH1 or RH10 via the AC-adapter of the RH1? I tried something similar with my batterypack but I failed to get those 2 models to start charging or operating on USB power. I only got sometimes the "PC-->MD" message in the display.
  12. The DH10P has a 6 volt DC-in if I'm correct? If so and after testing what supply-voltages the RH1 accepts I would say the only thing you need to do is changing the type of USB-cable and connect the right pins.
  13. I think you are confusing MAC-upload of Hi-MD recordings(which is described above) with PC-upload of old tracks via SonicStage. By the way: yesterday the first European MZ-RH1's arrived @ the Dutch webshop where I always buy my stuff. They also said they would get some more of them today. So the RH1 is finally available in the Netherlands (2 weeks ahead of schedule) so probably in whole Europe the first models are shipped.
  14. Hmmm, do those pictures look familiar?
  15. You are messing up two things: upload of old SP recordings and MAC compatibility. As for uploading old recordings: that works ONLY with the RH1 because it is prepared for that (also tested that with the RH1 software and a RH10 and that did not work. As for MAC compatibility: it is NOT said that the upload of old recordings is available in the MAC-software. For now we only know that the MAC-software will upload Hi-MD recordings and will download WAV & mp3.
  16. See here: http://www.mdcenter.nl/artikelen/vergelijk...bedieningen.php All kinds of remotes with their functions. And the nice thing: the value between brackets is the resistance of that function in kilo-Ohms. You also find the function-buttons used in the last 4 or 5 generations MD-units including the Hi-MD's.
  17. Officially you have a 12V, 24V and 48V version. Most microphones I checked (Shure, Sennheiser e.t.c.) will work with voltages as low as 12V but I try to make it as close to the most used 48V. Therefore however I will have to do some more experimentation to get a nice and stable 48 volts out of 4 AA's.
  18. Uploading from a writeprotected disc works only when uploading old MD-recordings. Uploading a write-protected Hi-MD-disc is NOT possible (don't ask me why).
  19. I'm still working on the DIY info for making this batterypack yourself but suddenly I had some additional ideas I want to try. 1) adding a more detailed battery-indication. 2) adding an improved version of the phantom-power circuit you find on our site so that it also works on the batterypack: http://www.mdcenter.nl/artikelen/mics/portablephantom.php I already ordered some sample-chips to step-up the voltage of the batterypack to about 25 volts (phantom power has to be between 12 and 48 volts). So plenty for most professional microphones that almost all need the minimum of 12 volts. In this way you have not only longer batterylife for the RH1 but you can also connect professional microphones that need phantom power. I think it is a nice idea to have one additional box with your RH1 that does it all. What do you people think of the idea? p.s. some people complain about the mic-preamplifier in MD-equipement and therefore want to use their own external pre-amp to connect microphones to the line-in. Furthermore some people want to increase the power-output of the headphone out to power large headphones. Those two things also can be incorporated in the same box. Therefore I only need more info on good amplifier-chips for audio-use.
  20. MDcenter.nl is a site aimed at the Dutch public. I choose to make a Dutch site because there are already enough international sites like the MDCP. If you are interested in particular articles please let us know which and we may make an English translation of them.
  21. The RH1's eject button indeed locks when you are e.g. recording or when a data-transfer is in progress.
  22. 1) This is because the software is not ready yet..... 2) I used the RH1 for 3 weeks "on the road" and I always put it in my pocket and it never opened accidentally. For it to open you had to push the button very far in. So I had no problem with that.
  23. Yes, the only problem with directly feeding batteries to a DC-in is that batteries don't have a constant output-voltage. It depends on load and how full they are. A DC-in is designed to take a constant voltage so you have to be very careful not to damage it. The normal battery-supply is designed to handle batteries with changing voltage so that is no problem. Furthermore it may be nice to have some kind of reference to know how full your battery-pack is. Example: - Ni-MH batteries say they are about 1.2 or 1.25 Volt. This voltage is an average and it can range from about 1.5 till 1.0 volts untill fully drained. So if you use 4 batteries for the pack you have voltages ranging roughly between 4 and 6 Volts. With an USB-connection expecting 5 Volt you have to look out for overvoltage. With using a 6 V DC-in you may have the problem that MD stops working way before the batteries are empty. - Normal alkaline AA's say they are 1.5 Volts. But this voltage can be about 2 Volts with a full battery so with that you have to be even more carefull because the voltage can get as high as 8 Volts when using 4 of them. With that in mind we tried to find out the save ranges with which the RH1 still works fine and designed the batterypack in such a way the output voltage of the batterypack will be always in that range so that there is no risk of damaging the device. So it does not matter if you use full or empty batteries or rechargable or dry. With the NH1 we also would have to do some tests to find out how much margin you have on the 6 Volt input before the NH1 stops working. And with the results of those tests you could design an appropriate battery-pack. The same for e.g. the RH10 or NH700 that have a 3 Volt DC-in. Conclusion: you can better be safe than sorry. That's why our battery-pack has some electronics in it. To be on the safe side.
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