Hi - That shows how versatile this recorder is! Good to hear you get use out of the remote control. Do you put the recorder in a backpack and have the remote outside? I would be worried about recording levels and knowing that it was actually recording if I couldn't see the recorder. I have started using my DJI mics for recording where I am not able to see them, as they can be set to record as soon as they're taken out of the charging case and to ignore the record button - a lot safer! Thanks for your comment!

@ I use it inside a plastic bag to protect it from flying mud and water. I put it up 2 meters from the ground on a stand or on a strap around a tree. At times I will place it on a tree branch if the opportunity presents itself. I prefer to have it above the exhaust of the motorbikes. And about 3 meters from the trail side. I’m able to capture rich sound for videos. You get a full exhaust note, the slapping of the chain and even the dirt splashing down.

That's great - do you have a channel for these videos?

Hi - This was simply an experiment to see if I could edit in the 'short' format, and to act as a reminder to myself! Sadly the source video material was shot and captured specifically for portrait format, and is not suitable for a wide screen presentation. I don't have time at the moment to re-shoot/re-capture it, so the only thing I can suggest is to view it on a phone in portrait format, or as a pop-out window at full screen height from your pc browser, and pause to study the details. It's in rotated full-HD, and the screen text is readable on my own phone. Thanks for the feedback, and if I re-do this and/or make any other BCR2000 setup videos in future, they will be in conventional landscape aspect ratio - I have no desire to make any more shorts!

Found a random screwdriver set I forgot about so there wasn't a need to buy another screwdriver set. 👍

Glad you found it! Fortunately not weird screw heads like iPhones!

Thanks. It's been so long since I bought the cable, I have forgotten, sorry. Just google for "Hirose to Barrel Connector cable" and see if you can find one at a reasonable price!

How true! Unfortunately, we are now in the era of working with whatever old tapes we are given to recover. Also, although Maxell made great tape, they never made any other tape gauge wider than 1/4", to my knowledge, so a huge percentage of the 1/2" and wider tapes I encounter are Ampex. (Google translate...) Quant'è vero! Sfortunatamente, ora siamo nell'era in cui lavoriamo con qualunque vecchio nastro ci venga dato da recuperare. Inoltre, anche se Maxell ha realizzato ottimi nastri, non ha mai realizzato nessun altro nastro con spessore superiore a 1/4", per quanto ne so, quindi un'enorme percentuale dei nastri da 1/2" e più larghi che incontro sono Ampex.

You're welcome - it was an interesting exercise. I guess no matter how robust things are designed to be, someone will find a way to break it - especially with hired equipment! Probably worth getting one of each first, just to see if they work for you before committing to a whole load of them!

I have not used the H2n as a stand-alone recorder for interviews where high quality audio is required, as leaving a comfortable distance between the interviewer and interviewee can capture a lot of unwanted room reflections. If I really needed to use it for a video interview where there was time to prepare, I would put a tie-clip/lavalier mic (you can get reasonable sounding ones in the $25 bracket if you shop around) on each person and use the H2n's mic socket with a home-made 2-way adaptor. I have done this with other small recorders. If it was an audio interview round a table, and I didn't have lavaliers, I might use the 4-channel mode to capture M-S and X-Y pairs separately, with the XY pointing at one person and the MS at the other; then afterwards in my DAW, use the M channel only for one person, and use the X-Y summed to mono, or select the most direct-sounding X or Y channel, for the other, to give each speaker a relatively isolated mono channel, and then balance as required from there, to stereo or mono. The "2-channel surround" setting is effectively two hemispherical omnis, which although good for binaural effects, would again pick up too much ambience for interviews IMO. For interviews, I generally use lavaliers, separate overhead mics, or shotgun mics on short floor-stands, as placing a recorder in the sight-line between two people (for the most direct sound) often intimidates the interviewee, and still picks up a lot of room echoes. The recent advent of cheap (well, just about affordable!) 2-channel radio mics has changed the game completely for me. I use my DJI mic (with external lavaliers or their internal capsules) for interviews, and have been very pleased with the results; each mic records internally, independently, so a separate recorder isn't always required. HTH!

The thread is moulded directly into the body of the recorder - the thin battery cover has a cut-out so that it misses the threaded hole. I would not think any spares would be available, since the manufacturers probably consider it to be a throw-away device if it fails - sad but that's the way of the world now ;-)

@@reqordist Thanks for answer. There are actually spare parts available but i did not knew if the thread screw was apart or not. I can just replace the body now.

@@reqordist I'm positive it is possible to drill out the threaded hole and replace it with a metal bushing or 3/8 Female to 5/8 Male Thread Adapter (for microphone) using a bit of epoxy to secure it in place. I'm going for it.

I just searched on ebay and found "PHOTOLUX P3/3-ES 240v 75w E27 PF603E Photocrescenta Enlarger Bulb Lamp P3 3 ES", which is probably the sort of thing for this enlarger.

Thanks very much!!@@reqordist

Yes I did, a few years ago, sorry!

Glad I could help! Electret mic capsules do not need a (usually quite high) external polarising voltage, since a permanent polarising charge is 'trapped' in their electret diaphragm or backplate during manufacture (see Wikipedia!) So they tend to be used in cheaper mics, and in small portable recorders like this Zoom one. Electret capsules commonly have limited dynamic range and higher self-noise than externally-polarised ('pure condenser') capsules, due to their low-voltage electronics and often very small diaphragms, but some of the best ones can be quite good, and rival 'pure condenser' mics. Note that they all operate on the same basic capacitor principle. Note also that 'condenser' is just the original name for 'capacitor'; as that was the term in everyday use when the first mics using that principle were invented, and it has stuck! All of them tend to have extended frequency response compared to moving coil capsules. The capsules in the H2n are rather larger than ones I have seen in other equipment where sound quality is less critical (PCs etc.), and their noise floor seems quite low in practice.

WOW! Thank you so much! This was very helpful! Cause, although I love having so many options in one recording device (xy, ms, surround etc.), I kinda have a buyer remorse 🙈😅, being: what if I waited and probably invest more in the H6 + separate capsules (omni, shotgun etc.). Since it has - from what I’ve read, condenser mics. Any thought on this, please? If I may still bother you one last time :)

We all have buyer remorse from time to time. In this particular case, you have to decide what you really want to do with a field recorder. If you just want something to put in front of, or in the middle of, a sound source, leave it and pick it up again later, this is a very portable and discreet solution. If you want to use multiple mics in radically different positions, and to be fiddling with controls during the recording, this is probably not for you. But be aware that using a separate recorder and mics involves (a) a lot more cost and (b) a lot more junk in the recording area (stands, cables, headphones etc.), which can not only be a trip hazard, but may also be unsightly and visually distracting in front of audiences - something many recordists can overlook. Getting into recording will inevitably involve you in making multiple less-than-perfect purchase decisions, but that's life, and we only really learn from our mistakes. And in the grand scheme of things, the H2n is a pretty low-cost mistake to make. On the brighter side, after some initial buyer's remorse, there can often be a golden moment when you realise what you've bought does actually have value, when used with forethought. Good luck on your journey into location audio recording!

I THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH! I was just thinking of the H2N today and that it might be good enough for me, for now. I was 90% there to overcome the buyers remorse… When reading this, now I am 200% that it was THE BEST DECISION I made, in buying a portable recorder! I want to be super flexible, just put the recorder in a place, at events, travel as compact as possible (no cables, no extra mic capsules), and be happy about it. The H2N can capture some really good audio. Especially after getting to know the where the pre-amp noise starts to kick in and you lower the input gain just below it. Bought a furry dead cat and… I have decided to make it mine and keep it. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! Love the way you took your time to write something so compelling and helpful! One love!

😅

Glad it helped!

Quickly searching the web for "Q2n charging port repair" immediately threw up this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3iWqJZomr6pjqs so maybe you missed it. The chap soldered the USB cable directly to the circuit board after failing to get the socket to work. A good work-around.

@@reqordist I found it ...took mine apart right up till the soldering and then had problems

It did look a bit fiddly - hope you manage to fathom it out.

@@reqordist thanks . i put it away for another day when my mind is fresh.

I assume you mean the water from humidity in the air. In my experience, after baking, the tapes are playable for a week or two. Tapes I had baked once and left for a few months needed baking again, which did work. I would recommend baking and then doing the highest possible quality digital transfer you can, so you don't need to play the tape again. I would not use baking as a strategy for doing new recording work on old sticky tape stock: if you do want to do new tape recording, I would advise buying new, good tape from the couple of manufacturers that still exist (but it's expensive!)

@@reqordist Hi my friend no actually what happened is that there were outside in garage but i hadn't realised part of the roof had caved in and the box I had my tapes in got filled with water

That is a different matter. 'Good' tape should not absorb water. If the make of tape is not one of those that suffer from sticky shed problem, they should be playable after allowing the spools to dry out very slowly. If there is a build-up of mould from the water immersion, it may still be possible to wash it, but there's no guarantee. Just make sure that the tape is dry before running it through your tape recorder. Good luck!

Hi - I have no detailed circuit diagram / schematic for the lathe control system, so I can't offer any useful suggestions. However, previous experience with other equipment tells me that electronic faults are not always evident in a simple visual inspection: components (ICs, capacitors etc.) can fail internally without any external sign. Sounds like a call to the supplier is in order, but I fear they may recommend replacing the entire control board - $$$ :-(

Hi Andrew - I can confirm that my own ECM957's output level is lower than my other low-voltage electret mics (mainly tie-clip lavs.) I do wonder whether the capsules lose charge - and hence efficiency - over the years (decades!)

​@@reqordist the other possibility is that we are spoiled by incredibly good modern capsules and transistors that have a lower noise level.

Quite possibly!

You're welcome! I normally use power-saving with LEDs and LCD at between 5 and 10 (if in a low-light environment - higher if brighter.) While it may use extra power, I would never leave a recorder recording with no visible display, unless I were going to walk away and leave it completely (which I almost never do.) Even if the recorder is on a stage. I like to be able to see that it's still working from a distance, even if I can't see the finer details.

@@reqordist Thank you for clarifying it!

Just a random supplier on eBay!

Thanks!

Hi Steve - I was wary about how the SC4 would perform straight out of the crate. In practice, for my everyday use of making simple mic stand adaptors and the like (not particularly tight-tolerance stuff), I have found it quite usable as-is. Mindful of the significant time and effort I had expended getting the tailstock aligned on my previous, smaller, lathe (CL300M), I've taken the 'ain't-broke-don't-fix-it' approach in the case of the SC4, and have opted to defer any finer setting-up till I have a more dimensionally demanding project... Breaking tailstock bases sounds like really bad news :-(

@@reqordist Yes, I've made a lot of parts that were not to tight tolerances but was frustrated on smaller/longer stuff where I was constantly turning tapers. I have (yet) another tailstock base on order from Axminster but they have said it takes 6 months to get spare parts for their lathes. I bought the last one from Arc and had a friend mill it down to suit, but the adjustment lugs inside are so brittle that they snap so easily when turning the grub screws.

Sorry, I must have a sound-alike somehere - I've never recorded any audio books!

I agree - will look at that soon - just using an allen key on the locking screw atm.

Finally got round to measuring runout on the spindle chuck registration boss - measures as 0.4 thou (10 um) total - that'll do for me!

Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

You would need specialist soldering skills to repair the H2n - the sort of thing you see in iPhone repair videos. Also, as there is no service manual for the H2n available on the Internet, as far as I can tell, you would be working blind. Corrosion can go very deep into circuit boards, so you may not even see the problem. Amazingly, these recorders are still on sale new (£129 on Amazon in the UK), so if this model is really important to you, buying a new one may be the cheaper option! As far as the mic preamps are concerned, there's really no point IMO - if you want a higher quality system, go for separate high-quality mics and a more expensive recorder.

You're welcome!

It sounds like you may have had a problem with the H2's 'Plug-in Power' supply, which puts a very small DC current (a couple of milliamps?) through the 957's output transformer (see 3m11s). Although this will not damage the microphone, any intermittent contact on the 3.5mm jack plug (e.g. when you are moving the mic around) will make a rustling noise on the mic input. To get over this. I made a cable with one 1uF non-electrolytic capacitor in series with each signal line, to break the DC. The H2/H2n's internal mics are pretty good, anyway... Good luck with trying it again!

@@reqordist Again, much appreciated. I've watched the video once again. I should have listened better :) As I have Your ear and expertise at hand I'll fill in with a maybe stupid question. There are 3.6V batteries with the same form factor as a AA-cell. I bought one but never dared trying it in the microphone, partly because I at the time couldn't find the schematic. My thought was that it would give the internal amplifier more "rail to rail" range. But that might not be a limiting factor?

Interesting - the schematic diagram is out there because I managed to find it - look for "Sony ECM-MS957 service manual". Firstly, the datasheet for the 2SK1578 FETs (one per mic capsule in the MS957) shows an example circuit working off a 5V rail, so that would sound promising. BUT: There is a 4V rated 10uF electrolytic capacitor directly across the mic's battery rails, and a nominal 3.7V LiIon battery will be about 4.2V fully charged. Also, there is a 4.7V Zener diode directly across the battery, presumably to protect against reverse connection (by shorting out the battery!) and forward battery voltages over 4.7V (again a short.) So it doesn't sound like a very a good idea, unless you're prepared to change some components and/or take a risk!

@@reqordist Soon I'll have to pay for Your service :) This was a long time ago, 15 years at least. I'm totally inexperienced with FETs. Have done some bipolar and op analog circuitry back in the days. What I had found was a lithium-thionyl chloride battery. From Wilipedia: "...they may explode if shorted." :D Obviously a bad choice considering the zener. When researching this answer I found there are 3V batteries that looks to be possible to fit. Maybe worth a try. If one starts to modify the circuit, wouldn't the sensible path be to make it phantom sourced instead? (No answer required, just a thought) Anyway, I was positively surprised the outputs are actually balanced.

I was wrong, the 3V battery i found is actually 3.6V

Hi, I did not measure the 12V current directly, but: The NP-F battery was supplying 1.2A at maximum load (see 4m12s). So if the battery voltage is approx. 7.4V, and the converter's efficiency were 100%, the 12V output would be supplying (1.2*7.4/12)A = 0.74A to the F8n. As conversion efficiency will inevitably be less than100%, the 12V current drawn by the f8n must be less than that. So that would indicate that a 12V 1A supply should be enough to power the f8n. I know that the supplied AC adaptor is rated at a nominal 12V 2A, but that is probably to ensure that the adaptor never struggles to power the recorder, and stays cool in operation.

@@reqordist thank you, small rig with your f8n work probably with f8n do to lol ,in boost power 5v to 12v 1amp I take of the DC 5.5mm and remplace it with hirose 4 pin that way is better than DC 5.5mm ? For my Sound devices 442 work but i don t try it in F8N yet I think is not safe ? What do you think? 😁

Thank you!

Glad you found the video useful!

Thanks for your feedback - I had not used the mic for specific instruments so it's very interesting to hear about the different tonality in the width and directions. Confusingly, the capsule symbols in the schematic diagram do not represent their physical placement. Looking at the mic, the side capsule is actually at the end of the mic (you can find the full Service Manual online, which shows this without having to dismantle the mic). So in end-fire, the cardioid mid capsule has to look 'through' the side capsule, which I would have thought would have reduced its on-axis high-frequency content. But that might help control harshness from close miking a guitar, and give a warmer sound. I must admit to being more impressed by the mic now than I was when I bought it 20 years ago. Cheers!

Indeed the performance of the mic is good. As an alternative I’ve just tried a Superlux 502 mkii from Thomann. Noise performance is slightly better with the 502 vs the 957 but I genuinely impressed with the way the 957 holds up, especially considering it’s age. Again that transformer output on the 957 is putting a sheen on the higher frequencies compared to the more clinical sound of the 502…but sometimes that’s a welcome addition, depending on the style of music. And just for the record I can confirm that the short cable that came with the 502 is fully compatible with the 957, also the same wiring convention as the longer extension Thomann sell (5m “Superlux Stereo-Signal-Cable”).

Thanks for that - I will have a go at the headstock gears in the near future, and hopefully make some improvement. It's not too noisy, but it is more so than I had initially expected. I'm really happy with the lathe, and it's a good match for my SX2.7 mill, also from Arc.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks! The capsules' mid-side signals are decoded within the mic, so it appears as a regular x-y stereo signal to any attached recorder. This approach is a convenient way to provide a couple of useful options: 1. It allows the mic to be turned from end-fire to side-fire by swinging the Mid (cardioid) capsule round mechanically by 90 degrees, via the buttons on the sides of the wind basket. 2. By allowing for the application of a lesser or greater proportion of the side capsule's signal to the decoding arrangement (via the three-way power switch), the decoded x-y stereo output can be selected to have either a narrow (90 deg) or wide (120 deg) capture angle. A neat bit of design! HTH!

@@reqordist Thank you for your reply. I have a similar mic, MS907. I assume the principle is the same? So can one access the Mid-Side signals before they are decoded and decode in DAW to take full advantage of it? Sorry, understanding of the principles behind the MS stay with me for maybe one day after I read an article about it, but then it flies over my head, lol.

Hi - the 907 is a cosmetically-updated successor to the MS909 that I mention in my video. Like that mic, the 907 has a fixed endfire pattern. Both of these mics achieve MS to XY decoding using a transistor circuit, versus the 957's use of transformers. Short of getting busy with a soldering iron and modifying the mic's circuit board irreparably, you cannot simply access the mid and side capsules directly. But consider that if the signal has come from an MS capsule arrangement, you can put it back through an XY to MS effect plugin (I use the free Voxengo MSED VST plugin with Reaper), do what you want to do, and then convert it back.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can find service manuals (with schematic diagrams) for all mics mentioned online with a bit of googling.

OK - test a non-critical piece first - be very careful about temperature. See my note about a food dehydrator being the better solution. Good luck!