Marantz PMD670 Solid-State Field Recorder

[@ChrisSirico]

As an update to the 2 people in the world who might care, I got an 8 GB CF (Transcend brand, 133x), which came pre-formatted to FAT32. Stuck it in and started recording, no problem.

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Chris Sirico Thanks for that, Chris. Perhaps it would help other viewers if you could tell us what version of the firmware your unit has. I think you can get that to display via the menus.

[@dennisgreene5369]

It's a brutal adaptation of the previous minidisc field recorder, which was actually very usable and practical for radio interviews. That lid on the left hand side is where the minidisc drive was.

[@ilovecats748]

Thanks for this vid, really helped me out shopping for these babies

[@ChrisSirico]

According to the manual, the unit can format to FAT16 (2 GB limit) OR FAT32 (8 GB limit). It says just thereunder that it can accommodate up to 8GB cards. I just bought one of these recorders and plan to buy a second, larger card for it. I'll report back.

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Thanks, Chris - academic for me now, but useful for potential buyers of other examples of this device. My experience was that "FAT" (i.e. FAT16) was the only format supported. Maybe later production runs of the PMD670 were upgraded to do FAT32. The PMD671 was a later model - did that support bigger capacity cards, I wonder? Look forward to your results!

[@lgogolas]

@@FarewellOldFriends Did you or anybody tried to format that Bigger card to a FAT16 2GB-Filesize...? That is possible... and can maybe help. Bigger CD-Cards cost next to nothing, so its not a big problem to "degrade" them to a 2gb-Max-Card....

[@alpinewonders]

I have the 650 with mini-disc. Any reasonable offers accepted!

[@esteveroig5556]

Hello "Farewell Old Friends". My name is Steve. I have also one marantz PMD670. With a 1Gb memory card works perfectly. I put a memory card 2Gb not work for me. The display goes the same mistake when you place the 4Gb. Can you explain how you formatted 2GB card? Thank you very much.

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Hi Steve - This machine wants to see cards formatted with the FAT16 file system. It will not recognize FAT32-formatted cards. FAT32 is the modern standard for all CompactFlash, SD etc. cards, and that's how they are formatted when you buy them. I had my PMD670 working with a 2GB card, but I had to format it in the PMD670 before use (look in the menus). Is it possible you are trying to use a 2GB card that is new, or has been formatted in a computer or other device that uses FAT32? My PMD670 has been sold now, so I can't run any more tests, unfortunately. So I would suggest formatting the card in the PMD67 before use - let me know if that works for you!

[@elpetitdecalsastre]

FarewellOldFriends Hello. Farewell The 2Gb memory card is new. I insert the memory card in the marantz. I turn on the marantz. Automatically get the following message: "You need format on PC". (The same message when you place the 4Gb memory card in the marantz) I have no option to format the memory card in the marantz. I pulse the "mark/edit" button for format the memory card (like the instructions say) but does not show the formatting option. I formatted the memory card on the computer to FAT16, and neither recognizes. Get the same error message. Instead, I put a 1Gb memory card, and if I can format it, in the marantz

[@FarewellOldFriends]

esteve roig pascual Hi Steve, My recorder was definitely working with a 2GB card (see the video), and I am certain I formatted it in the machine, not a PC. Maybe your PMD670 has earlier firmware that cannot format cards >1GB. I had never bothered to check it out before, but Googling this problem shows up a few hits (e.g. groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.audio.pro/F8slEOn8ydQ) which suggest there is a firmware upgrade to handle bigger cards, probably using FAT32 (see also the earlier post here from Chris Sirico), but it can only be done by the manufacturer. So unless you are prepared to contact Marantz/Superscope and get them to update it for you, I guess you will have to hunt down some more cards 1GB or smaller if you intend to make long recordings: 1GB is about 1 hour 26 minutes at 48k/16-bit/stereo.

[@elpetitdecalsastre]

FarewellOldFriends Thank you very much . I'll look for a new version of firmware.

[@esteveroig5556]

FarewellOldFriends Hello Farewell I have solved the problem. I've got a more modern version of firmware , and I recognize the memory card 2Gb and 4Gb . Thanks for everything.

[@joannesatre7381]

My audio jack in the front left is no longer working. Does anyone know how to fix this? I need the audio to hear across the room. Can anyone help me, please?

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Hi JoAnne, It's probable that the pins of the headphone connector have broken away from the internal printed circuit board, and will have to be reattached. If that is the case, the repair will involve disassembling the unit, re-soldering the joints and reassembling it, so you will need to take it to an electronic technician.

[@joannesatre7381]

@@FarewellOldFriends I don’t have a technician to do this in VA

[@Kas0n]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@waymanrosshurley3141]

Great job thank you

[@FarewellOldFriends]

You're welcome! I'm surprised people are still interested in these recorders - I guess they're "collectables" now!

[@onemorestory1]

what is it for ?

[@FarewellOldFriends]

The clue is in the title...

[@benjaminneate7640]

It's incorrect that it can only take 2gb cards I use a 8 GB 30mbs SanDisk Ultra

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Benjamin Neate Hello Benjamin, It is in fact correct that _my_ PMD670 would only see the smaller capacity cards. However, if you look at esteve roig's comments from 2 months ago, the addition of new firmware will enable this unit to work with larger capacity cards. It sounds like you are one of the fortunate people to have the newer firmware. It's possible that you missed esteve's comment before posting.

[@SoundSpeeding]

FarewellOldFriends can you update the firmware?

[@tonypeppers5552]

You ever try to figure out how something works but the guy on the video just won’t get to the point

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Thanks, Tony!