greenmachine

This can't be repeated too often: Be careful with polarity, otherwise you will risk irreversible damage.

40 seconds seems about right, but that would equal about 8MB, not 40MB.

If you get a Hi-MD, you can upload via USB, otherwise you have to do the transfer in realtime: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070

Realtime (optical-/line-/mic-in) recording will allow for maximum SP quality.

For a long trip to distant places you most likely want to keep the gear you have to carry around to an absolute minimum - without sacrificing usability and quality too much of course. From your signature i can see you have a NHF800. This - or a NH700 would be my weapon of choice for field recording in distant places since these take standard AA batteries internally and offer basically the same recording options and quality. AA's (rechargeable or not) are available virtually anywhere and rechargeables (if you have access to a wall socket) are available in higher capacities than 'gumsticks'. RH10/910 and NH900 also accept AA's in the add-on but this seems like a somewhat fragile solution for long trips. The NH600 - as you know - lacks a mic-in (built-in microphone preamplifier). I wouldn't use an external preamp in distant places for several reasons: -it requires additional battery power -it adds bulk to your gear -it is another gadget that is susceptible to break in rough conditions -if you use miniature ('binaural') microphones, which have a relatively high self-noise as a matter of principle, it won't be worth the effort to use additional, lower noise preamp since the theoretical benefit would be masked by the microphones' self-noise That said, my experience with the built-in preamps of Sony (Hi-)MD recorders is rather positive - it propably would need expensive outboard preamps and microphones to make a difference. As for the microphones, there are several good choices. Most importantly look for 'omni' or 'omnidirectional' pickup pattern and a flat, 20-20000 Hz response for ambient recordings. For a realistic, 3-dimensional stereo effect, microphone placement is of uttermost importance. If you put them as close as possible to your ears (and thus use your head as a separator), the stereo effect will gratly improve compared to conventional techniques. Chances are that your SP-TFB-2's should be (virtually) perfectly suited for this job. Some kind of windscreens are most important when recording outdoors. As far as i know, Sound Professionals offer windscreens for these microphones, but they seem rather tiny and thus propably won't block much wind noise. Better than no windscreens though. If you should happen to record indoors, take them off since they usually have some minor side effects - besides blocking wind noise, they often tend to 'diffuse' the sound and slightly (depending on the size) and filter high frequencies. You most propably won't need battery boxes, bass roll-offs, attenuators or the like in the 'jungle', since these were primarily designed to record loud sounds like amplified, bassy live (rock) concerts. So in the end what i suggest is -a recorder which takes AA batteries (internally) and has mic-in -to use your SP-TFB-2 microphones with addition of (good) windscreens A few general recording tips: -set your recorder's mic sensitivity to 'low' and use manual levels for best results. -since you'll propably be away from 'civilisation' for quite a while, plan ahead: -get a fair amount of high quality spare batteries (alkalines, if you don't have the possibility to recharge) or - -get a mobile AA charger (12V for the car or even a solar charger if you're away from any electricity). Try and get used to these before you leave. -protect your gear against humid or hot climates and transport damage -if you aim for high quality recordings but cannot afford to carry around too many discs, use Hi-SP. This mode will give you almost 8 hours recording time per 1GB disc without significantly sacrificing quality. Get as many blanks as you think you'll need. Upload and backup as often as possible (if at all). -carry a small pair of earphones with you for rough monitoring/playback/editing Good luck on your journey! You're welcome to share some of your recordings with us in the gallery.

To gain real deep bass you have to lower all bands (possibly with exception of 100 Hz, depending on your taste). Take a look at this thread, the NH900's EQ should work the same way: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=13741

You could, but it would sound unnatural due to room accoustics, etc.

It should make hardly any difference in power consumption if you use the recorder's power for the microphones or power them externally, battery life shouldn't be noticably affected. If you don't get distortion when recording via mic-in, you won't need a battery module or attenuator. Good luck with your recordings.

A fully charged, conditioned 2500 mAh NiMH should last for up to six (!) 1GB discs when recording in PCM. Even the supplied 700 mAh battery should last for approx. 1.5 discs. Recommendations? Treat your batteries with respect: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/

Also, after converting to wav, delete the the .oma files in the sonicstage folder.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=14832

The door is only locked while recording / writing /editing. During playback there's no lock so i suppose it's normal behavior. The 'hold' botton just locks the control buttons, not the door.

This is not going to solve your problems, but if i'm not mistakn, even SS3.4 still applies DRM to uploaded files by default (which should be removed by the 'convert to the same bitrate while unchecking DRM' trick).

Careful with the polarity when you use an universal adaptor. Output voltage must be exactly 3V DC, output current at least 1000mA (1A). Input voltage according to your region.

The R70 and R700 lack a low sensitivity mic setting iirc, so this should be the reason why it's hard to avoid clipping with these units.

The step from MD to Hi-MD was a major one, whereas the step from 1st to 2nd or 3rd gen Hi-MD isn't, in my view. A few minor changes/improvements cannot justify an upgrade. At least until the price drops significantly. Like many others, i'm not impressed by having to use a li-ion battery. The NH700 does what i need pretty well at the moment.

Increased quality (PCM recording possible, digital upload), quantity (more efficient re-formatting of standard MDs, can use 1GB Hi-MDs) and comfort (faster than realtime USB up-/download). First generation Hi-MD units like the NH700 can record in the old modes for backwards-compatibility, but these cannot be uploaded to PC.

Either that or a so called 'battery box', which will enable virtually distortion-free line-in recording. Works best if it's really loud.

According to the manual it will charge up to ~3.5 hours and shut off automatically afterwards.

The manuals (user and service) are also available here: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R700.html You'll need adobe reader to open pdf's: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Are you using a remote control? The remote might cause these unwanted sounds.

You will fry both of them. Never use a higher voltage.

Generally speaking, the larger the diaphragm, the less self-noise. But large diaphragm microphones do not only have advantages. Read more about general differences, pro and contra, here: http://www.dpamicrophones.com/page.php?PID=28

You have to use a relatively low bitrate of 64kbps (Hi-LP) to pack 10 hours onto a standard disc. Sound quality might suffer. You can find a copy of the manual here for more details about the different modes and how to use them: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-NH600D.html