d8b Forum

Hi all!

I own an Otari Radar 2, a D8B version 5.1 and two HDRs. As I want to use the Otari as AD converter I just purchased two DIO-8 cards on ebay. Later I found out that are several versions of EPROMs. One of the cards has the EPROM chip 2.1 and the other one has the first EPROM version.

My plan is to use the analog inputs of the Radar and its TDIF outputs. From there I want to go to the d8b using the TDIF inputs of the DIO-8 cards.Then I want to send audio from the dio-8 ADAT outs to my PC which has 24 channels of ADAT using a RME PCI card.
Further I want to use the ADAT-ins of the dio-8 for mixing.

As I have no clue of all the digital stuff yet there are some questions:

1.) Will this setup work like I thought it would?
2.) Will the two cards work together with different EPROM versions?
3.) Will the EPROM problem affect the ADATs or only the TDif?
4.) Does anyone have an idea where I can get the 2.1 EPROMs for the dio-8 card and what a new chip would cost?

Thank you all very much in advance!

Cheers
Tom

Big question and long answer to follow from many but at least get up to speed via the manual. One important point is you'll probably have to get a copy of your 2.1 eprom burned and place it in the 2nd DIO-8 card. Best to have the same versions. I doubt Mackie have any factory stock left.

Peter

Hi!
No Mackie haven't any left. neither a forum or any serious support for the old stuff.
Well then I will try it when the second card arrives.
I have no clue how to copy an Eprom and I never thought about copying it by myself but I think I can find someone near by who knows a bit more about it.
I will give it a try.

I took a look at the the RADAR 2 specs and from what I can tell, your plan should work. The RADAR can feed the D8B via TDIF and from there, send ADAT outputs to your DAW. When you're ready to mix, you only need to change the Input type from TDIF to ADAT in the D8B. It should work.

Peter's suggestion is the main thing. Try calling around to PC repair stores. Most of these places have EPROM burners in the shop. You should be able to pop both chips out and have them copy the 2.1 chip into the older chip....as I believe all the chips Mackie used were burnable. Once that's done...you should be good to go.

However, looking at your gear list: 2 HDR's, D8B, RME and RADAR2, I would suggest (and this is a "throw money at it" suggestion) adding a master clock to your setup. If it were me, including a master clock as WC master for everything in that list, will most likely save you a lot of grief going forward.