need recommendation for tone generator to align tape machine
-
- alignin' 24-trk
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2003 8:38 pm
- Location: nj
- Contact:
need recommendation for tone generator to align tape machine
Hey guys,
I just got a Sony APR-24 24 track 2 inch and i need to buy a stanalone tone generator for it that can do 1k and 10k at +4db and 0db. XLR out or something that has an analog BNC out would be great but i can live without.
Steve
http://gradwellhouse.com
I just got a Sony APR-24 24 track 2 inch and i need to buy a stanalone tone generator for it that can do 1k and 10k at +4db and 0db. XLR out or something that has an analog BNC out would be great but i can live without.
Steve
http://gradwellhouse.com
-
- suffering 'studio suck'
- Posts: 418
- Joined: Mon May 12, 2003 2:15 pm
- Location: Cambridge, MA
- Contact:
Re: need recommendation for tone generator to align tape mac
Have you checked out the Neutrik Minirator? I have one and it's great for doing alignments and other diagnostics. It'll do sine/square/noise at a broad range of frequencies and dB outputs. It's also portable.gradwellhouse wrote:Hey guys,
I just got a Sony APR-24 24 track 2 inch and i need to buy a stanalone tone generator for it that can do 1k and 10k at +4db and 0db. XLR out or something that has an analog BNC out would be great but i can live without.
Steve
http://gradwellhouse.com
It was a little pricey ($200), but it's still a lot cheaper than a 2" calibration tape or head relap!
i know it's not the perfect solution, but I use a CD with tones on it....I bought the Mix reference CD years ago and it has the necessary tones plus other stuff [20 minutes of SMPTE???? my favorite track...]
I just put the CD through a console and send the signal to the tape machine through the busses.......
Also, you may find that your console has a tone generator onboard...
I just put the CD through a console and send the signal to the tape machine through the busses.......
Also, you may find that your console has a tone generator onboard...
-
- alignin' 24-trk
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2003 8:38 pm
- Location: nj
- Contact:
In the mood for a DIY project?
Goto www.jameco.com and search for catalog number 20685.
http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdDS/20685.PDF
Downside...you stuff it into an enclosure with a power supply, and you have to measure/adjust the output level for +4 dBu.
Bri
Goto www.jameco.com and search for catalog number 20685.
http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdDS/20685.PDF
Downside...you stuff it into an enclosure with a power supply, and you have to measure/adjust the output level for +4 dBu.
Bri
-
- alignin' 24-trk
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2003 8:38 pm
- Location: nj
- Contact:
FYI:
i just ordered one of the minirators, here is a link if you need one: http://www.proaudio.com/product_info.ph ... cts_id=658
i just ordered one of the minirators, here is a link if you need one: http://www.proaudio.com/product_info.ph ... cts_id=658
The Minirator is a cool gizmo, but with limitations:
1. +6 dBu max output, useless for testing headroom.
2. Max 20 kHz sine wave frequency; you need at least 30 kHz to align a tape recorder at 30 IPS.
3. I prefer a 10 kHz square wave signal to "look at" a desk channel with a scope in order to detect any funny-biz.
At least it is (quasi??) balanced...
Bri
1. +6 dBu max output, useless for testing headroom.
2. Max 20 kHz sine wave frequency; you need at least 30 kHz to align a tape recorder at 30 IPS.
3. I prefer a 10 kHz square wave signal to "look at" a desk channel with a scope in order to detect any funny-biz.
At least it is (quasi??) balanced...
Bri
-
- suffering 'studio suck'
- Posts: 485
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2003 9:58 am
- Location: Vista
- Contact:
This interests me. I've got an old Soundtracs board (16:8:16) that I want to go through. My idea was to send tones through each channel and hook the output up to a scope. Are there specific types of "funny biz" that would be indicative of failure of a specific component or is it really dependent on the channel circuit for the particular board. FWIW I have all the schematics for the board.brianroth wrote:3. I prefer a 10 kHz square wave signal to "look at" a desk channel with a scope in order to detect any funny-biz.
Bri
-
- moves faders with mind
- Posts: 2746
- Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2003 11:26 pm
- Location: Denver, CO
- Contact:
There are a bunch of things that a signal generator and scope can tell you.
I usually use a 100 Hz or 1kHz square wave...in fact, many scopes have a 100 Hz 1V p-p square wave generator built in for calibrating the probes. It'll drive a high impedance line input nicely.
Because square waves contain a wide frequency spectrum, they're a very quick troubleshooting tool. The square wave will misbehave differently depending on what happens to it...and that can help you track down what might be wrong. Sine waves don't have much spectral content, so they aren't so useful at tracking down broadband phenomena.
You can pop in an EQ, and play with some cuts and boosts at different frequencies a hands-on demonstration of how things change.
If the tops and bottoms of the square wave tilt, the low frequencies are changing. They tilt one way for boosts and the other way for cuts. If you have older caps in the board, then this will very likely be happening, even before you play with the EQ.
If the rise/fall of the square wave overshoot the flat parts, then there's an HF boost somewhere.
If the rise/fall curve into the parts, there's HF loss.
Midrange cut/boost make the flat part of the square curve. This can make neato patterns on the scope.
If the trace gets really thick (make sure the beam focus on the scope is sharp first), then it could be noisy, or experiencing HF oscillation. Zoom in the timebase, and see of it ever resolves into a sine or triangle wave, often way up in the MHz range...if so, that's parobably parasitic oscillation of an unstable opamp. If it never resolves, it's probably just noise.
I usually use a 100 Hz or 1kHz square wave...in fact, many scopes have a 100 Hz 1V p-p square wave generator built in for calibrating the probes. It'll drive a high impedance line input nicely.
Because square waves contain a wide frequency spectrum, they're a very quick troubleshooting tool. The square wave will misbehave differently depending on what happens to it...and that can help you track down what might be wrong. Sine waves don't have much spectral content, so they aren't so useful at tracking down broadband phenomena.
You can pop in an EQ, and play with some cuts and boosts at different frequencies a hands-on demonstration of how things change.
If the tops and bottoms of the square wave tilt, the low frequencies are changing. They tilt one way for boosts and the other way for cuts. If you have older caps in the board, then this will very likely be happening, even before you play with the EQ.
If the rise/fall of the square wave overshoot the flat parts, then there's an HF boost somewhere.
If the rise/fall curve into the parts, there's HF loss.
Midrange cut/boost make the flat part of the square curve. This can make neato patterns on the scope.
If the trace gets really thick (make sure the beam focus on the scope is sharp first), then it could be noisy, or experiencing HF oscillation. Zoom in the timebase, and see of it ever resolves into a sine or triangle wave, often way up in the MHz range...if so, that's parobably parasitic oscillation of an unstable opamp. If it never resolves, it's probably just noise.
-
- carpal tunnel
- Posts: 1563
- Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:01 am
- Location: The Oldest Town in Texas
- Contact:
I use Sound Forge to generate tones on the DAW and then send them through the console buss outs to the tape machine. Seems to work fine but I'm not sure about the resolution and whether that makes any difference. Sound Forge will do sweeps any range and length you specify and other stuff like square waves as well. 16 bit 44.1 is what I'm using and that the same as your CD.KFledman wrote:i know it's not the perfect solution, but I use a CD with tones on it....I bought the Mix reference CD years ago and it has the necessary tones plus other stuff [20 minutes of SMPTE???? my favorite track...]
I just put the CD through a console and send the signal to the tape machine through the busses.......
Also, you may find that your console has a tone generator onboard...
-
- re-cappin' neve
- Posts: 685
- Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2003 2:01 pm
- Location: Kansas City Missouri
- Contact:
wow that scope information is really useful thanks for the rundown
this may of may not be helpful, it is a test CD from Bink Audio
http://www.4horsemen.net/binkster/full_cd.zip
documentation available there as well
this may of may not be helpful, it is a test CD from Bink Audio
http://www.4horsemen.net/binkster/full_cd.zip
documentation available there as well
Dave Johnson
allcapsproductions.com
allcapsproductions.com
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 152 guests