Recording with the Portable DAT September 2004 1

What you’ll need:

Portable DAT Recorder

Microphone(s) and cables

Setting Up:

1) Connect the power adapter,

microphones, etc. The DAT has an
internal rechargeable battery, but the
switch by the power supply connection
must be set to “Operate.”

2) Turn on the DAT by sliding the power switch to the right momentarily. Press the
eject button and load a suitable tape.

3) Use the “Input” switch to select digital or analog source. Use the “Analog Input”
switches to select the appropriate input configuration.
Analog Input –
Mic – Uses the two XLR
connections for input
Pad 20 dB – uses the XLR
connections with a
20 dB pad for
recording loud
material.
Line – uses the RCA “Line
In” connections to
record.

4) You may monitor what you are recording by plugging headphones in to the
Phones output on the right side of the DAT. (Optional but suggested)

5) Push the Record button to activate the level meters on the display. Set the
record level with the Input knobs.

Johns Hopkins University Digital Media Center digitalmedia@jhu.edu

Mattin Center 226, Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 516-3817
M.S./studentstaff/17 Sept 04
Recording with the Portable DAT September 2004 2
Recording:

Push and hold the Record button then push the Play button to begin recording. The
display will show total recorded time. Press the Pause button to momentarily stop
recording; press the Stop button when you are finished. The transport controls work as
with any other tape device.

As with other digital devices,

the DAT contains a time code that
must remain intact. Be sure to
leave a short portion of silence (3-5
sec) at the end of recordings that
can be recorded over if you need to
record more. If the time code is
broken it may be impossible to
access parts of the tape before the
break.

Transferring to PC:

Once you have recorded some material, you will probably want to transfer it to PC to
edit or burn to CD. The easiest way to accomplish this is via analog connection with the
MobilePre attached to every computer. You will need a stereo RCA cable and two RCA
to _” adapters.
1) Plug the RCA cable in to the “Line Out” jacks on the DAT. Connect the adapters
to the other end and plug them into the “Inst/Line” inputs of the MobilePre. The
jack for channel two is on the back of the unit.
2) Open Adobe Audition (PC) or Peak 4 (Mac). Create a new document and adjust
the “Gain” knobs on the MobilePre to avoid clipping during recording. If you have
any questions on this step, please see “Audio Recording on the PC” or “Audio
Recording on the Mac” or ask one of the staff.
3) Once the levels are set, press record in Audition (or Peak) and then press play
on the DAT. The recording will play through the MobilePre and you should be
able to listen to it on the headphones connected to the MobilePre.

If you would like to know about transferring your material digitally, please ask our Audio
Specialist or one of the Audio Lab Coaches.

Johns Hopkins University Digital Media Center digitalmedia@jhu.edu

Mattin Center 226, Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 516-3817
M.S./studentstaff/17 Sept 04