Bad recordings... what causes them?

[flyingpylon]

I have a Sony MZ-RH10 that I've used for about two years without any problems. Just recently I've had two occurances of a problem where certain tracks are recorded as nothing but static and SonicStage refuses to import them. Most other tracks are fine.

So my question is... what are some possible causes of this?

One disc was one that I've used over and over again since I've owned the recorder. The other was a brand-new disc that had never been used.

I also have a recording on one of the discs that I can listen to on the MD, but SonicStage won't import it. It happens to be a track that comes after some of the previously mentioned static tracks. Is there any way I might be able to recover that track, maybe by deleting the bad tracks or something?

Thanks for any advice anyone can provide.

[flyingpylon]

Is there really nobody that can provide any advice or assistance?

Some added info: I have found that when I connect the RH-10 to my PC and try to look at the files through Explorer, it just says "please insert a disk".

Is there any chance that using the track mark function caused this? I've never had this problem before, but I've always just used the pause button when recording.

I'm still trying to get one particular track copied. Since the RH-10 will still play it, is the only way to get it transferred going to be to dub it to the PC by connecting the headphone jack to the PC's line-in or mic-in?

[A440]

I don't know what caused the static--it hasn't happened to me. I always use track mark during applause at shows and have never had that problem. You might contact Sony ( http://esupport.sony.com ) and ask them.

It is, unfortunately, possible that the RH10 is wearing out after two years.

The way to copy your good track digitally is to use Total Recorder, which costs about $20. Standard Edition is all you need.

http://www.highcriteria.com/

It's still realtime. Total Recorder will capture what's coming through the soundcard, so you could hook up the RH10 on the USB, play back the track through SonicStage and record with Total Recorder. It depends on the quality of your computer's Line-in input whether the cost of Total Recorder is worth it to you. Mic-in might be mono....

If the static tracks are separate tracks, deleting them should not cause any additional problems--in theory. But since the disc is already giving you trouble, you should make a safety recording in realtime before you delete them anyway.

MD recordings are not separate Windows files. Sony's stupid encryption throws them all into the big ATDATAxx.HMA folder that Explorer should see on the disc. If Explorer isn't seeing the disc at all, make sure SonicStage is closed and, perhaps, try a different USB cord--they're standard PDA/camera cords.

[flyingpylon]

Thank you very much for the reply.

Unfortunately, SonicStage will not play the track. I ended up just dubbing it to the PC. The quality isn't great, but it is what it is.

By the way, the static I was hearing was "digital static" as opposed to "analog static", if that makes any sense. It's the same as the static you get when you put a data CD in an audio CD player (not that I do that often). That, combined with the fact that the disc has problems being read by anything other than the RH-10 makes me wonder if some data bits got jumbled somehow, and are causing the problem.

I'm a little concerned about your comment that the RH-10 could simply be "wearing out". Is that a problem other people are having? What parts actually get worn out? I've had the unit for two years, but it's not like it gets continual use or anything. That said, I will admit that it has been dropped a couple of times. But it has always recorded fine after that, at least until now.

I think that all of this will have me really looking forward to the release of Zoom's new H2 recorder. Solid state seems to be the way to go. But I still wanted to keep the RH-10 for certain projects and/or simultaneous recording.