Working on the Tascam DA-98HR DTRS format multi-track audio recorder

[@Petertronic]

Knowing little to nothing about this audio format, this was fascinating!

[@OAK77uk]

Thank you for posting - I always hankered after one of these units - even have some virgin tapes... each format has its own quirks - shame a rechargeable battery couldn't be put in. Had an issue with a Roland R-26 hand held unit - it too needed an internal battery when sent in for an issue with the SD Card input - the guys had to order several from China to be able to make it worthwhile buying - no problems since. The R-26 was so advanced against other units and I still use mine for Atmos Recording. Thanks once again for your work - so glad I found your channel. Michael - OAK77uk

[@more.power.]

Thank you Colin there has been many years of development in the audio field.

[@Televid4]

CR2032 always goes on many devices. I had a Pioneer PRV-LX1 twin DVD burner with built in hard drive that was stuck on the PLEASE WAIT error because of the battery. In some different devices this battery is a real pain to get too when it has to be replaced. Excellent restore...

[@andrew1479]

These units (Tascam DA-88/98HR and Sony PCM-800 DTRS) were well used in the video post-production field. They were very prevalent in and around all the post houses in Soho and Covent garden London. This format was particularly useful in the production and mastering of DVD feature film masters. Being an 8-track audio format on a conveniently small cassette form factor; it was a step up from previously using the relatively unwieldy and expensive Sony DASH 3324 machines. 8-tracks capability also made it idea for either discreet 5.1 or 7.1 surround mixing/track lay/mastering before encoding to Dolby AC3 or DTS for DVD. The tapes were not feature length at 90mins but this was okay as we tended to master audio in its original "film reel" format. The separate reels being compiled at DVD authoring stage. My main memory about using these machines was they were very easy to use and sync to various Digital VTR machines (HDCAM SR/Digibeta/D1/D2/D3/D5). You could also use a vari-speed digital clock to speed convert audio from one DTRS machine to another e.g. 25 to 23.98. A surprisingly robust format. We would have to constantly format/stripe tapes usually in various "flavours" - 48kHz 23.98fps, 24fps, 25fps EBU, 29.976 SMPTE etc.

[@northernplacecorporation]

*29.970

[@andrew1479]

@@northernplacecorporationYes my bad you are of coarse right.

[@northernplacecorporation]

@@andrew1479 *of course I had to correct this one.

[@jkmac625]

Where I worked we used to stock Sony professional Hi-8 video tapes to use in these but you had to use Metal Particle (silver label) not Metal Evaporated (gold label), not sure if we ever used the official DTRS tape stock. The tape must run slower than video Hi-8 (PAL) as the tapes always ran longer than stated on the box. Most of the recorders were of the DA-88 type but I do remember at least one DA-98. There was also a TASCAM hard disk recorder (can't remember the model no) that could also copy using the TDIF interface directly and it had a built-in DVD burner to export the WAV files to disc.

[@poofygoof]

I have always been a little wary of this era of recorders due to the helical scan mechanisms, good to know they are robust with regular maintenance, just like analog tape decks. It's not surprising they fell by the wayside as PC-based DAWs improved, but committing to tape with limited undos and having to take a breath between takes as the machine rewinds seems like it would push the recording process along instead of being constantly tempted to micro-edit and fiddle. Even the HD24 which can have a screen and GUI is less distracting -- audio is all it does. I hope these machines live long and are not easily forgotten for both their good and bad properties.

[@frankowalker4662]

Nice recorder. I've never heard of these before.

[@alyro-ls1dv]

Thanks for the video, I knew Tascam was in that field a major player but didn't know of this really beautiful machine. Thanks for introducing it and looking forward to many more nice video and audio technology programs on your channel. Best Albrecht

[@jkmac625]

Where I worked we used to stock Sony professional Hi-8 video tapes to use in these but you had to use Metal Particle (silver label) not Metal Evaporated (gold label), not sure if we ever used the official DTRS tape stock. The tape must run slower than video Hi-8 (PAL) as the tapes always ran longer than stated on the box. Most of the recorders were of the DA-88 type but I do remember at least one DA-98. There was also a TASCAM hard disk recorder (can't remember the model no) that could also copy using the TDIF interface directly and it had a built-in DVD burner to export the WAV files to disc.

[@Super8Rescue]

I have a DA38. Lovely machines

[@midiaaudioevideo]

I sold all 7 unit from Tascam 98-HR that i bought from a TV auction from Brasil, The most of them had no more than 30 hours of spinning

[@hintoninstruments2369]

I used to have 24 track DA-78HR system used for live recording. Nice machines to operate, but bulky to carry and set up and the drum life (halve to include formatting) is a limitation The lubrication problem is not even mentioned in Tascam documentation, this should be done every 2 years or they may chew up tapes. It wasn't a good idea to base a pro recorder on a fragile consumer media format, same goes for DAT. Where Tascam went wrong was not following these up with plug compatible machines so you can keep all your expensive cable looms. They brought out a 48 track HD recorder that was basically a PC and had zero redundancy. I use a 32 track A&H ICE-16D system now recording to Flash USB drives and it fits in a 3U case.

[@shaynes.9773]

Great video. I have a DA-38 which has the battery warning when I turn it on. This is a great video for me to look for and replace the old dying battery in my unit. Also, I haven't gone too deeply in your videos, so if you have already covered this question, I apologize. If you haven't covered this, I would really find it most helpful if you could do a video showing how to manually clean the head of the DA-88/ DTRS machines. The machines I have are all second hand and I have no idea if they manually have ever been cleaned. I know using the head cleaning function of these machines tends to wear the heads out somewhat, so I would very interested in seeing a video of how to open the unit up and manually clean the heads. Also, would you know how to get old tapes that were recorded on a DTRS recorder that was out of alignment to play back. I have one session that was very important that was recorded years ago on a DA-88 that was not aligned properly. When the studio I recorded with sent their DA-88 out for servicing, it wasn't able to load/ read the tape. Is there is a way to take another DA-88 and mis-align it to the point it could read the tape so I can rescue the recording? Anyway, I enjoyed this video. Thanks for keeping all these machines and formats alive.

[@video99couk]

You could misalign a machine to suit the tapes, but it would be time consuming. Really it would need to be done with the service manual and an oscilloscope to monitor the RF output of the heads. Then the procedure would need to be corrected with a known good tape afterwards. As for manual head cleaning, you need to be very careful doing this and it requires head cleaning sticks which are hard to source. If you don't need to clean the heads, then just don't. These metal formulation tapes don't tend to shed oxide on the drum and so they shouldn't need to be cleaned routinely. But you could clean the tape path with alcohol and cotton buds, keeping those away from the head drum. Also see my previous video about lubricating the back tension arm's pivot post.

[@bobsbits5357]

hi the info on the deck is on a chip somewhere like on the betacam 1800 decks you have to change head drum and pcb to keep info

[@marcse7en]

I don't know about that machine, but in a computer, the CR2032 is used to maintain the RTC, and to retain the bios settings. I doubt that the battery maintains information such as drum hours. I would've thought such data would be stored in non-volatile memory?

[@beedslolkuntus2070]

Those head drum readings are like a odometer of a car. Should last till the end of life of the machine

[@musk771]

I have same DA-98HR and it seems to eat the battery very fast, having to replace it often. Also on mine one of the green channel leds won't turn on, never checked the cause. A couple of time the tape was disintegrated by the mechanism, I had to remove it manually. But most of time it works fine.

[@zx8401ztv]

What a great device, i can't imagine the original cost. i was thinking double AA Alkaline cells in a holder, series wired. Last for years and years :-D. Sorry i havnt been around, ilness really upset the apple cart.

[@Adidasfighter2006]

There gives from Sony as 6 Track on 8mm Cassettes. I have one of this Recorders named Sony EV-850PS. With a 90 Min. Cassette, you can recorded and play 18 Hours Stereo Digital PCM Audio in Long Play....

[@video99couk]

Yes I have equipment for that format too.

[@EgoChip]

I never understood why you needed to dismantle the entire unit for a lot of devices, in order to simply change the back up battery.

[@video99couk]

Especially if the backup battery is rechargeable, on some devices it's almost impossible.

[@zhaohaigaogu7821]

Will the battery discharge faster if the indoor temperature is low?

[@video99couk]

Slightly, probably. It rarely gets cold in my studio.

[@douro20]

I wonder if they made their own mechanism or if they bought it from another manufacturer? I know the Alesis ADAT decks used Panasonic mechanisms.

[@video99couk]

Since a very similar machine to the earlier DA-88 model was sold by Sony (mainly different connectors at the rear), I'm pretty sure the deck was built by Sony.

[@douro20]

@@video99couk Actually from what I read they developed it entirely in house- they have more than enough engineering resources to do so.

[@jameslaidler2152]

Menu number 9? Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9.

[@marcinkowolsky]

Hi, I am using DA-78HR, tested with Hi8, Digital8, Exabyte and DTRS tapes. Strange thing Exabyte 112m tapes in HR mode shows crazy errors higher than standard Hi8 tapes (all new of course). In LR mode B.E.R. < 40dB for Exabyte. I am surprised because usually streamer grade tapes are higher quality than VIDEO/AUDIO tapes. For example I use DAT for 25 years checked with DAT/DDS1/2/3/4/72 tapes over 200 and DAT tapes are in general better (B.E.R.) wise. I preffer DDS-3. Any ideas? I assume DTRS HR mode uses wider bandwith than SR but can't find documentation about technical differences between LR an HR on a tape level, error codin ect..

[@video99couk]

I honestly don't know why the Exabyte tape would perform badly. Data tapes are generally "tuned" for very low dropouts, and it may be that some other parameter such as maximum bandwidth (due to larger particle size) has been adjusted.