Philip Perkins Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 I'm looking for a really small Olympus-style stereo flash recorder w/ both internal mics and external mic jacks as well as HP jacks and USB i/o for use by a military jet pilot while doing fairly extreme aerobatics. He wants something smaller (and more g-resistant) than the D8 DAT he's been using (and has now broken). I've looked into this on the web but there are so many models of these things at so many price points that I wondered if anyone had a recommendation. The pilot can have his tech crew make anything required to interface the recorder to the plane's com system, and he is really in love with the small size and no moving parts aspects of these recorders. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptalsky Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Philip, I haven't actually seen it (or even specs on it) yet, but the new recorder from Zaxcom looks like a winner (from John's movie, anyway). Actually, Dave Fisk was working in the Zaxcom booth at NAB and said good things about it (including his feeling that it is fairly close to shipping). If you need something that is available today (you didn't mention price point) there is that new Sony recorder, as well as the new Edirol and the M-audio. I haven't used any of these, and of course if you ask people about them you will probably get a 50-50 mix of "loves it/hates it". Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 I'm looking for a really small Olympus-style stereo flash recorder w/ both internal mics and external mic jacks as well as HP jacks and USB i/o for use by a military jet pilot while doing fairly extreme aerobatics.Philip Perkins I have not had any extensive personal experience with any of these sorts of devices but after spending about an hour or so at Coffey Sound and looking over many of these, I would seriously consider the M-Audio Microtrac recorder. The SONY PCM-D1 is a beautiful machine but is somewhat overpriced. The only downside to the M-Aduio is the use of a rechargeable battery that when depleted must be charged within the unit. External powering is available via an AC wall wart and USB connection to the recorder. Others who have been using the machine I know have worked on external battery powering schemes via USB, and I don't know if they have come up with anyhting. Regards, Jeff Wexler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glenn Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 I think our ZFR100 would do a good job here. It does not have an internal mic but it does have time code and is available in mono and stereo configurations. It is a very operator independent box. It can go into record on power up and can record about 12 hours of mono. The stereo version has 2 balanced inputs and will run off external 12V input. The balanced inputs should advoid that airplane whine I get when I plug into commercial aircraft. I think you could pull 20g or better and it would not care. Full product release should be within 60 days.(Don't quote me on the delivery) Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptalsky Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Hi Glenn, Glad to hear about the quick release (hopefully, yes, I'm not quoting you...) Are there any published specs/user information available yet? Thanks! Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glenn Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 No specs yet but I will publish a full set soon. Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted May 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 All of these are too big. What this guy wants (has seen) are recorders less than 2 inches wide by about 4 inches long and about 1/2 inch think. The Zax is too expensive by a factor of about 4 at least. I know all about the Edirol and Microtrack stuff, to big, too fussy, too fragile. I want to know about the smaller Olympus type machines, please. The plane interior is very noisy and the recorder will be recording the com, so hifi is not needed. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptalsky Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Philip, Within the past week or so, Fry's has had the Olympus dictation type recorders in their advertisement (I didn't really look because I'm not in the market for one...) You might check at Fry's...buy one, test it and if it doesn't work, return it. I think they're pretty reasonable, price-wise. (BTW, the Fry's in Sunnyvale usually has the best selection of stuff...maybe the Fremont store, but I don't go to that one as often). Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 The stereo version has 2 balanced inputs and will run off external 12V input. Glenn Wonderful news Glenn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry long Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 What kind of record time do you need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry long Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 The reason I asked about record time is I bought an I-River T30 for my mp3's, ( it supports Rhapsody subscription service)Â It has an internal mic and a line in with variable record rates, 20 hours of playback with 1 aaa, with 1 gig of storage and usb. Maybe not what you are looking for but it's dirt cheap and works. 99 bucks at B&H. http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/ultra/t30/T30-1GB.aspx Larry Long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 The reason I asked about record time is I bought an I-River T30 for my mp3's, ( it supports Rhapsody subscription service) It has an internal mic and a line in with variable record rates, 20 hours of playback with 1 aaa, with 1 gig of storage and usb. Maybe not what you are looking for but it's dirt cheap and works. 99 bucks at B&H. http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/ultra/t30/T30-1GB.aspx Larry Long Will check it. I still use iRiver H120s all the time (wav file recorder, 20GB HD) as a backup machine--I like their stuff. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Barker Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 I have used the Olympus DS2 for similar applications. The sound quality is great, battery life is terrible. It effectively needs a new set of AAA's every time you use it. I hope your friend can tap into the com line directly, it will be worth the custom cable. Alan Barker All of these are too big. What this guy wants (has seen) are recorders less than 2 inches wide by about 4 inches long and about 1/2 inch think. The Zax is too expensive by a factor of about 4 at least. I know all about the Edirol and Microtrack stuff, to big, too fussy, too fragile. I want to know about the smaller Olympus type machines, please. The plane interior is very noisy and the recorder will be recording the com, so hifi is not needed. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curleysound Posted August 25, 2006 Report Share Posted August 25, 2006 How about the M-Audio Micro Track? The dimensions are as follows: Width: 61mm or 2.4†Height: 109.5mm or 4.3†Thickness: 28.5mm or 1.12†over the LCD. Weight: 4.9oz or 138.9 grams without CF card; 5.2oz or 147.4 grams with CF card Check it out at <a href="http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MicroTrack2496-main.html">The official site</a> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted August 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 We went with the DS2. Thanks all. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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