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Cantar-X User Manual v2.26 (r13) 2009 April 27
p.43
p.43
Internal HDD (hard disk drive)
The Cantar P/ATA 2.5”, 80GB disk runs at a low 5400rpm
for minimum heat. If you replace it*, verify the static elec-
tricity grounding path between the disk housing and the
Cantar chassis is within factory specs (120k ohm ±20%).
The FAT32 format can handle up to 2TB, but Microsoft lets
it be 'universal' below 127GB; Cantar formatting is limited
to this value. *Seagate EE25.2 Series 2.5" P/ATA 80GB
ST980818AM is a good alternative.
Internal SSD (solid state drive)
A must at altitudes greater than 5,000m. Because they
feature a built-in 'wear leveling' function which spreads the
workload to all memory cells, SSDs are far more reliable
than CF cards which hardly survive the many read/write
cycles of audio recording. S/ATA 'SLC' SSDs require an
internal FireWire-to-S/ATA bridge which will be available
by April 2009.
External HDD or SSD
For disks larger than 127GB (e.g. 250GB)
use Partition-
Magic
http://www.symantec.com/norton/partitionmagic
to
format a small FAT32 primary partition (e.g. 40GB) and the
rest under NTFS (e.g. 210GB). Record the workday onto the
40GB partition; and later transfer the files from the FAT32 to
the NTFS partition with your laptop. Hot HDDs are unreli-
able; use a well ventilated enclosure such as the G-Drive-
mini.
Only firmwares v2.24 & later can simultaneously
handle a mix of internal - external, P/ATA - S/ATA drives.
External Compact Flash
To use CF cards, connect a Sandisk 'SDDRX4-CF-901' or
a Lexar 'Professional UDMA FireWire 800' reader to the
Cantar FireWire socket. To 'clean' a card, do NOT delete
former files; re-format the card with Cantar (see p.36).
External Device rules
Connect the drive while Cantar is 'OFF' (see p.5).
Oil bearings of unused HDD become stiff, they must be run
at least once a year. Imagine what will happen to your
archives if you don't stick to that recommendation!
Extend TECHSET.16 'HDD Pwr Dwn' to 255 minutes,
Do not perform an HDD Unmount/Mount operation,
(these instructions will be removed Feb. 2009).
CD/DVD Burners
All former CD/DVD burners should be replaced with the
Panasonic-Matshita UJ-85J (current P/ATA) or UJ875 (future
S/ATA) which burn DVD-RAM and accept 16x DVD±R.
Internal:
To install a new CD/DVD burner, see p.5. When
Cantar goes to REC, the DVD-RAM burner closes its unfin-
ished idle-copy task and generates magnetic interference for
a few seconds; that is why it must carry an Aaton mu-metal
shield plate in Cantars #001 to #240 (see p.57).
Setting TECHSET.01 to '
Unmount
' opens access to the
Cantar DVD-RAM internal burner through the FireWire
socket; this allows you to edit metadata with Majax.
External:
Cantar determines whether an external burner
is FireWire connected, if it contains a blank disk and if the
internal burner is empty, it will choose the external burner to
run the backup.
CD/DVD Disks
never use supermarket branded media
CD-R:
Made by Taiyo Yuden, Maxell 'Pros' are the best.
DVD±R:
Ask the Post Production supervisor what is his
preferred flavor (+ or –). Taiyo Yuden 8x are the best but
difficult to find; to print labels, use their “Watershield” disks,
they are more water resistant than normal white printables.
Cantar burns all DVDs at 4x to improve their lifespan.
DVD-RAM:
Panasonic 3x LM-AF-120LE.
CD/DVD Disk Handling
98% of all media failures are caused by poor handling. A
dirty DVD can still be played, but if it has nothing more than
fingerprints, it is unuseable for recording. Open your thumb
and index-finger in a U-shape and hold the blank disk by its
opposite edges. Do NOT clean it with a cloth in a rotary
motion (best way to destroy a complete track) but by suc-
cessive radial strokes.
DVD-RAM & the MAC
see Majax, p.56
DVD-RAM disks are read-only on Macs, this prevents modi-
fication of the file's metadata. To compensate for this infir-
mity, install '
WriteUDF
'
http://www.softarch.com
and buy
a Panasonic standalone burner or use the Cantar DVD-RAM
burner in its TECHSET.01 '
Unmount
'-ed state.
TUTORIAL 2,
DRIVES & MEDIA
