Fostex Fr2 Memory Recorder Owners Manual

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FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)
About power supply voltage
In addition to the BATT indicator, the FR-2 provides the error tone function
which warns you when the battery power drops down.
This function generates the error tone from the internal monitor speaker (or from
headphone output) when the battery power voltage drops down to the specific
level.  You can make the error tone output setting from the Errot Tone menu
item on the Setup menu in the MENU mode. See Setting error tone output
condition on page 87.

¥Supplying excessive voltage may damage the unit. Never supply voltage which
exceeds the regular voltage.
¥If batteries are completely exhausted or the power supply section has a trouble by
surge current, etc., the protection circuit works and the power is shut off. In such a
case, set the [POWER] switch to OFF, replace batteries with new (or fully-charged)
ones, then set the [POWER] switch to ON again.
If the FR-2 does not return to the normal condition after carrying out the procedure
above, there may be some trouble inside the circuit. In such a case, consult your local
Fostex dealer or service station.
¥Never turns off the power when the [ACCESS] indicator flashes. Data currently being
recorded or played back may be damaged.
Battery capacity is sufficient.
Battery capacity is almost half.
You should replace batteries.
: If you continue to use the FR-2 after the BATT indi-
cator gets shorter and batteries are exhausted, the display shows
the warning message as shown right, and the FR-2 automati-
cally shuts down. When operating the FR-2 on batteries, you
should always pay attention to the battery power condition.
While operating the FR-2 on the AC adaptor, the indicator always fully lights up.
While operating the FR-2 on batteries, the length of the BATT indicator changes
according to the battery condition (the lower battery power voltage, the shorter
BATT indicator).  Pay attention to the indicator when you operate the FR-2 on
batteries, and replace batteries at the appropriate timing.
See the next page for details about power voltage.
You can turn on the backlight of the display, as well as adjusting the display con-
trast. See Setting the display backlight/contrast on page 22 for details.
When the FR-2 operates on batteries, you can check the battery condition via the
BATT indicator.
When the battery voltage gets lower, the lighting area of the BATT indicator
becomes shorter. The battery life depends on batteries, however, you can roughly
know the current battery condition via the indicator (when operating the unit on
the AC adaptor, the indicator always fully lights). 
						

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FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)
According to the situation, you can turn the display backlight on or off, as well as adjust
the display contrast.
Turning the backlight on or off
[RIGHT] key
Adjusting the display contrast
: When operating the unit on batteries, to save the battery power, we recom-
mend not keeping the backlight lighting unless it is necessary.
1) When the FR-2 is stopped, press the [LIGHT] key while holding down the [SHIFT] key.
The current contrast value is shown at the position where the current file name is
usually shown (pointed by the arrow below).
2) Rotate the [MENU] dial to adjust the display contrast (adjustable level: 0 to 63).
Rotating the [MENU] dial changes the contrast in realtime.
The lower the contrast value, the lower the contrast is.
The higher the value, the higher the contrast is.
3) Press the [ENTER] key to fix the contrast value.
The display returns to show the previous Home screen, while the selected contrast
value is stored to the Flash ROM.  If you do not press the [ENTER] key for five seconds
after adjusting the contrast, the display returns to show the Home screen and the
contrast value is stored automatically.
REC STBY REC
0 1 2346
7
8
9
10 5
ACCESS
PEAK
R L
SHIFT/ENTER
RELEASECARD
MENU
HOME /
FILECUE
PREV.
NEXT
CONTRASTDEL CUE LIGHT MARK CUE HOLD RESETFR-2  FIELD MEMORY RECORDER
PHONES MONITOR
MAX OFFSP/HP
[SHIFT] key
Setting the display backlight/contrast
By pressing the [LIGHT] key on the front panel, the display backlight turns on for
three seconds and then automatically turns off.
By pressing and holding the [LIGHT] key for more than two second, the backlight
turns on and keeps lighting. To turn off the backlight, press the [LIGHT] key again.
While the unit is stopped, you can adjust the display contrast by following the
procedure below. 
						

							23
FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)
Setting the realtime clock
The FR-2 offers the realtime clock and the time data is shown on the display .
Realtime clock data itself can be used as a file name when a new audio file is created on
the card (i.e. the file name shows the creation date/time of the file).
: By default, when an audio file is created, the realtime clock data is automatically
used as the file name (we call it default file name). The file name is shown on the display as
in the example below (pointed by the arrow).
You can select the default file name between realtime clock data and scene name + take
number from the File Name Mode menu item on the Setup menu in the MENU mode.
Also, when the scene name + take number option is selected in this menu item, you can set
the desired scene name and take number using the Default File Name menu item on the
Setup menu in the MENU mode.
* See Selecting default file name type and Setting the default scene name on pages 81 and
82.
: The FR-2 is equipped with a lithium battery which operates the realtime clock.
Normally, the battery life is approximately four or five years. When battery voltage drops
down to the specific level, the following warning message appears (the warning message can
be dismissed by pressing the [ENTER] key).
If this warning message appears, ask your local Fostex dealer or service station for replacing
the lithium battery (the battery cannot be replaced by a user).
File name
: By default, the realtime clock is adjusted to the local time of the factory when
shipped. Therefore, set the time to your local time before using the unit.
You can adjust the realtime clock from the Adjust Real Time Clock menu item on the Setup
menu in the MENU mode. See Adjusting the real time clock on page 85 for details.
Realtime clock data 
						

							24
FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)
About memory card
The FR-2 records audio data to a memory card such as a CompactFlash card (CFC for
short) and Flash ATA Card (ATA, for short) which are formatted with the FAT32 file
system.
: A virgin memory card which is FAT32 formatted can be used without the need of
initial-formatting, however, we recommend to format such a card using the Format menu
item on the DISK menu in the MENU mode. Also, if you use a FAT32 formatted memory card
which has been used with a PC, we recommend to format it in the same manner.
See ÒFormatting a memory cardÓ on page 76 for details about the ÒFormatÓ menu item.
Inserting/removing a memory card
: You can remove or insert a card regardless of whether the power is on or off,
however, never remove a card while the FR-2 is writing data to the card or reading data
from the card. When you remove or insert a card when the power is on, follow the
appropriate procedures described from the next page. Also be sure to insert a card in
the correct direction and side.  Note that Fostex is not responsible for any damage of a
card caused by incorrect card handling.  Note that Fostex is not responsible for any
damage of a card caused by incorrect card handling.
¥ Fostex is not responsible for any direct damage or indirect damage caused by using the
unit.
R L/MONOANALOG IN POWER ANALOG OUT
L/MONOPHANTOM
3 2 1
COLDGND
HOT
ON
OFF
COMPACTFLASH CARD
PCMCIA
¢
£¢£
COMPACTFLASH    CARDCompactFlash card
Flash ATA Card
A memory card should be inserted to the appropriate card slot on the side panel
of the unit.  A CFC should be inserted to slot (1), while an ATA should be inserted
to slot (2) in the figure below. 
						

							25
FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)
* When loading a card which is not FAT32 formatted
When loading a card which is not FAT32 formatted, the display shows a warning
message (Illegal Format!). You need to format the card according to the proce-
dure described in Initial format of a memory card on the next page.
If you load a memory card on which any audio files created by the FR-2 are stored,
the first file in the entry list (ÒFile001Ó) automatically is selected and the recorder
locates the beginning of that file, while the display shows the Home screen of the file.
¥ Inserting a card
1)  Insert a memory card to card slot (1).
When inserting a memory card to the slot, the display shows the screen for asking
you whether loading the card or not. (If you insert an ATA to slot (2), Loading:
PCMCIA? is shown.)
2) While YES is highlighted, press the [ENTER] key.
The FR-2 starts loading the card.
When loading is completed,  is shown on the display, together with the
remaining time (or space) of the card. This shows that no audio file exists on the
card. When making recording, an audio file is automatically created on the card.
For details, see Chapter 5: Recording/playback from 47 pages.
* When loading a used FAT32 formatted card
When loading a card which has been used with a PC, etc., the display also shows
, as the screen example above. If any data is recorded on the card, the
remaining space which can be used for recording by the FR-2 may be smaller.
Therefore, we recommend to format the card using the Format menu item on
the Disk menu in the MENU mode. See Formatting a memory card on page 76
for details.
The following description assumes that no memory card is inserted to the unit and
the power is turned on. NoMemoryCards is shown on the display.
In the following procedure example, lets assume we are going to use a virgin
CompactFlash card which is FAT32 formatted. 
						

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FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)

¥If a card is inserted in either one of the card slots when turning on the unit, the
unit automatically recognizes the inserted card as the current card, and ap
propriately set the Select menu item on the Disk menu in the MENU mode.
For example, if you insert only an ATA and turn on the unit while the Select
item is initially set to CFC, the Select setting is automatically switched to
PCMCIA.
¥If both CFC and ATA are inserted in the appropriate card slots when turning on
the unit, the current card is selected according to the Select setting (by
default, it is set to CFC).
For example, if both CFC and ATA are inserted in the appropriate card slots
and the Select item is set to PCMCIA when turning on the unit, the ATA is
automatically loaded as the current card.
* How to switch the current card when inserting a card to the other slot
While a card is inserted in either of the card slots, you can insert another card to
the unused card slot and switch the current card.
Assuming that a CFC is currently loaded, the procedure below shows how to switch
the current card from CFC to PCMCIA after inserting an ATA.
2)  While [YES] is highlighted, press the [ENTER] key.
Pressing the [ENTER] key releases the current card (CFC, in this case) and
starts loading the newly inserted card (ATA, in this case).
This operation automatically switches the setting of the Select menu item
(on the Disk menu in the MENU mode) from CFC to PCMCIA.
While memory cards of both types are inserted to the appropriate
slots and the unit is turned on, you can select the current card using
the Select menu item on the Disk menu in the MENU mode. See
Selecting the current memory card on page 74 for details.
1) While the recorder is stopped, insert an ATA to the PCMCIA slot.
The screen as shown below appears, asking whether loading the inserted
ATA or not. 
						

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FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)
¥ Removing a card
REC STBY REC
0 1 2346
7
8
9
10 5
ACCESS
PEAK
R L
SHIFT/ENTER
RELEASECARD
MENU
HOME /
FILECUE
PREV.
NEXT
CONTRASTDEL CUE LIGHT MARK CUE HOLD RESETFR-2  FIELD MEMORY RECORDER
PHONES MONITOR
MAX OFFSP/HP
3) While CFC indicator is lit, press the eject key and pull out the memory card from the
slot.
[CARD RELEASE] key
1) While the recorder is stopped, press the [CARD RELEASE] key.
Pressing the [CARD RELEASE] key brings up the screen as shown below. This screen
shows that a CFC is inserted and mounted, while no ATA is inserted, and is asking
whether releasing the CFC or not.
2) Use the [MENU] dial to select [YES] and press the [ENTER] key.
The display shows Please Wait!, followed by CARDS Release OK!. When the card is
completely released, the CFC indicator lights.
Eject key for slot (1)
Mounted and No Card shown on screens above mean as below.
Eject key for slot (2)
The power is delivered to the card drive (the indicator is unlit). You can-
not eject the card until the card is released. 
.PVOUFE .PVOUFE.PVOUFE .PVOUFE
.PVOUFE
						

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FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)

When both CFC and ATA are inserted to slots (1) and (2) respectively,
pressing the [CARD RELEASE] key brings up the screen as shown below.
This screen example shows the current card is a CFC and the power is
supplied to the CFC card drive, while an ATA is not mounted. Therefore,
you can eject the ATA, while cannot eject the CFC. In this condition, the
CFC indicator beside the eject key is unlit, while the PCMCIA indicator is
lit. (ÒNot MountedÓ : No power is delivered to the card drive and you can
eject the card (the indicator is lit).
To remove the CFC, select YES on the screen and press the [ENTER] key,
then press the eject key after the display shows the screen below.
Mounted and Not Mounted shown on screens above mean as below.
The power is delivered to the card drive (the indicator is unlit). You can-
not eject the card until the card is released.  
.PVOUFE .PVOUFE.PVOUFE .PVOUFE
.PVOUFE
						

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FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)

A volume label is automatically given when a card is formatted. By default, a volume
label is set as below (we call it default volume label), depending on the card type. You
can edit the default volume label using the Volume Label menu item on the DISK
menu in the MENU mode (see page 77).

ATA  ->  PCM000
CFC  ->  CFC000 2) If you are sure, press the [ENTER] key again.
Formatting starts and the display shows Please Wait!, followed by Completed! when
completed, and then returns to the Home screen (note that the Please Wait! and
Completed! screens may not appear when formatting a small size card.
After formatting, no file exists on the card, therefore,  is shown on the Home
screen.  The remaining time or space on the card for recording is also shown (by default,
the remaining time is shown).
Now, the memory card is formatted with the FAT32 file system and you can make record-
ing/playback using it. See Chapter 5: Basic recording/playback which starts from page
47.
Initial format of a memory card
The FR-2 accommodates memory cards formatted with the FAT32(*) file system.
In the following procedure, it is assumed that a card, which is formatted with a file
system other than FAT32, is loaded, and the display shows the warning message (Ille-
gal Format!).
1) While the warning message is shown, press the [ENTER] key.
The FR-2 goes to the Format menu item and the display now shows the caution with
flashing Are you sure?, as shown below. 
						

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FR-2 Field Memory Recorder (Chapter 2: Before using the FR-2)
Memo