NAGRA-SD USER MANUAL
Contents
1. e Inthe menus or directory moves upwards 10 RIGHT key e Forwards during playback when pressed and held e Skip forwards to the next index during stop or play e Inthe menus moves to the right e Selects right channel sensitivity adjustment in stereo mode see keys 12 13 11 RECORD key centre key e First press puts the recorder in EE Test mode LED starts blinking slowly e Second press starts a recording LED continuously on e Create a new file seamlessly while recording e Executes a selection in the menu mode 12 13 INPUT LEVEL keys e Decreases 12 or increases 13 the input sensitivity e In combination with the or gt key adjusts left or right input sensitivity independently in the stereo mode 14 15 OUTPUT LEVEL keys e Increases 14 or decreases 15 the output level for the speaker or the headphone output 16 PEAK LED e Lights up when input clipping occurs Page 4 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 3 2 Rear side 1 MIC GAIN switch e Selects high or low sensitivity for the microphone input This is used for dynamic or condenser microphones respectively 2 FILTER switch e Turns the low cut filter on or off and is useful when working with directional microphones 3 AGC switch e Turns the automatic gain control or Limiter depending on menu setting on or off 4 FILE TYPE switch e Selects a mono or a stereo file type 5 MIC POWER switch T e Turns on o2. 19 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 9 1 5 VOR Access to the parameters of the Voice Operated Recording von mode VOR Level This sub menu allows selection of the input trigger level The recording starts when the input level goes above the trigger level setting and stops when the level 25dB below the trigger level for a specific period VOR Mode Pause In this mode the recording will be paused if the level drops 25 dB below the trigger level If the input level rises again above the trigger level the recording on the same file will continue This is linked to the VOR delay time selection Split The recording will stopped if the level drops 25 dB below the trigger level If the input level rises again above the trigger level recording will re start and a new file will be created This is linked to the VOR delay time selection VOR Delay Selects the length of time that the recording will continue once the input level drops 25 dB or more below the trigger level before the Pause or Split command is activated 9 1 6 Input device Selection of the input device external microphone or line input 9 1 7 Auto split The Auto split function allows the user to select the duration after which a new file will be created automatically by the device while in record mode 9 1 7 Prefix name This sub menu allows the first 4 characters of the file name to be customized Once USER is highlighted use
3. July 1 2013 10 MICROPHONES AND SETTINGS The Nagra SD can use the following microphones External mono cardioid clip on mic White band External standard stereo cardioid clip on mic Red band External mono clip on mic Blue band External high quality stereo cardioid clip on mic Green band The standard Stereo microphone Red band contains two cardioid capsules The high quality stereo microphone Green band has two high quality cardioid capsules mounted on special shock resistant neoprene mountings The capsules are individually selected and matched in both noise and gain characteristics according to a strict selection and measurement protocol This microphone offers a good stereo image and is very versatile The mono capsule Blue band is an omni directional capsule which offers two principal differences to the stereo capsule Firstly being an omni directional capsule it captures much more of the ambience and is ideal for on the move journalism especially because most interviews are mono Secondly in an interview situation it is not necessary to point the microphone at the person speaking The omni directional characteristics allow all those being recorded to be captured equally hence making the journalist job less intimidating In addition it offers longer recording times to the Nagra SD as the recorded files can be mono The mono cardioid microphone White band contains one of the same capsules present in th
4. Pressing the or key will toggle from Left Right Both inputs allowing independent adjustment of left or right input sensitivity in the stereo mode and is indicated as shown in ee EIN Bon the picture Both channels being adjusted which is shown by the indication between the two channel level indications 6 12 Volume adjustment Another fuel gauge window will appear when the volume keys are pressed The output level is shown on the upper status bar Page 7 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 7 USING THE NAGRA SD Basic Introduction and General Information The NAGRA SD is designed as a flexible hand held recorder for a variety of applications It can perform many functions which are all covered in this manual This introduction covers various important global subjects More complex operations can be understood by studying the different menus in detail The topics covered are Recording in the field Playback a previous recording Storing settings in a template Downloading to a computer 7 1 Recording in the field General preparation Before making a recording the type of recording file format mono stereo input device etc need to be chosen Two different set ups can be pre selected and stored in the HIGH and LOW templates in the menu mode These templates correspond to the position of the QUALITY switch on the rear panel So for example it may be decided that the
5. System update NS Update complete To update the internal operating software of the Nagra SD copy the update file NagraSD coe from our web site www nagraaudio com to the root directory of the SD card This can be done either by inserting the card into an SD slot on the PC or via an USB connection with the Nagra SD In the system update menu select OK and press the EXE key 11 At the end of the update cycle the Nagra SD will automatically switch off When the Nagra SD is restarted the new updated version will be used This can be verified in the menu System update Loader Ver 1 2 0 0 Are you sure to update Y System update Checksum OK Starting update 9 2 17 Export Import the configuration This function allows the settings of the high and low templates to be saved in a file on the SD card which can in turn be uploaded into other NAGRA SD recorders Select Export configuration and the templates are automatically saved to the SD card To load the templates on to another machine insert the SD card containing the configuration select Load and confirm Beware that the previous stored templates in the machine are overwritten by the new configuration Export configuration Import configuration Export finished Import configuration Are you sure to import configuration from SD card CSR Page 22 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012
6. TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 Sound Pressure Level 140 dBsPL Threshold of Pain Sound Pressure mm Jet Engine 25 m distance 120 Por et Take of EN 100 m distance A8 4740000000 a NAS 2 L ai ME gs sl ai Kier e og IAR yi Ci E WEEN 77800000 Conversational SH Speech Sn Wit malt muis sii ia aie y y RR H Im wies 1000 eee TT DURS El Ee NET 1 Hu LAN AM e Library 8 0 Threshold of Lee Page 10 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 7 1 2 Cue points during record If during a recording cue points need to be inserted to mark a specific moment during the recording simply press the CUE key at the desired moment The lower left corner of the main display shows the number of cue points already entered In e BE this example 2 cue points are already stored and it is located at 2 of 2 02 02 i MAAN NI Beware that no cue points can be stored in RAW file types PIS ad 3 01 49 13 02702 USEROOTS WAw 7 2 Playback of a previous recording The NAGRA SD can playback files irrespective of the current file format mode selected To playback the last recorded file press PLAY PAUSE and the machine starts playback immediately To stop the playback press the STOP key To pause the playback use the PLAY PAUSE key To playback a specific file pr
7. blink slowly while the recorder is in pre record mode and will light continuously once the record function is activated 9 2 3 Beep settings This menu turns on or off the beep warning signals in the headphones The fon beep signal confirms that any function has been correctly interpreted bg 9 2 4 Speaker settings The built in monitoring speaker can be turned off or set to auto In the auto mode the speaker only active in the playback mode and will be muted in all other situations The playback level of the loudspeaker is controlled with the output volume buttons Speaker settings el 9 2 5 Auto skip If On is selected then all files of the same file format will be played back de consecutively without stopping at the end of each file Selecting Index loop restarts the playback of the same index continuously in a loop function 9 2 6 Display extinction To save battery power the screen can be set to turn off automatically after a pre selected time This time starts to count after the last key press After extinction the display will re light as soon as a key is pressed Display extinction gt 9 2 7 Auto power off This menu allows a time delay to be selected after which the recorder will power down when no keys have been pressed for the specified period except when in record or play modes Selecting Off disables this mode Auto power off gt 9 2 8 Battery type Selects the type of ba
8. only one microphone PL RS MOM connected to the left input will record the same signal on the left and right channels Both from left L only mute R Record file set OutputL OutputR E Mono from left Input L Input L Mono Mix Left amp Right Inout L amp R Input L amp R 9 1 3 Pre record The pre record buffer will record audio into a buffer of a pre set length allowing 1 or 3 seconds of audio prior to the record start to be recorded It can be turned off or set to 1 or 3 seconds The pre record function can also be used in conjunction with the VOR function if desired 9 1 4 AGC Limiter The Nagra SD has both an AGC AGC Limiter Kl CT Automatic Gain Control and a oe 3dBFS limiter The AGC is used to adjust SABES the recording level automatically depending on the input signal strength The limiter prevents overloads from unexpectedly high level signals Two Target level and attack time Rearswiteh Mage parameters of the AGC and Limiter Limiter sd can be set to adjust the way in which they function The target level is that which the AGC or limiter start to act and the attack time refers to the reaction speed The AGC switch on the rear of the unit can also be programmed to activate the AGC or the Limiter as desired depending on the selection made in this menu The AGC is not an audio limiter The AGC operates in the digital domain and allows the operator to make recordings wit
9. selectable Compress Bit Rates 32 to 384 kb s Mono Stereo Switchable Dynamic Range Adjustment 45 dB for 0 dB record Filters Flat LFA Automatic Gain Control ON OFF programmable Audio limiter ON OFF programmable INPUTS Mic Inputs 3 5 mm stereo jack connector Mic Powering 3V Electret Mic Input Sensitivit Minimum 1 5 mV Electret for full scale Minimum 650 uV Dynamic Line Inputs 3 5 mm stereo jack connector Line Input Sensitivity 33 mV to 6 2 V for 0 dB recording OUTPUTS Headphone Line output 3 5 mm stereo jack connector Line Output Level Maximum 0 9 V RECORDED FILE THD AN at 1 kHz 0 025 Frequency Response 25 Hz 20 kHz 3 dB in EE mode Total Dynamic Range Line Output Up to 80 dB Total Dynamic Range On Recorded File Up to 90 dB Built in Speaker 0 1 W USB 2 0 POWER SUPPLY Internal Batteries 2 x AA cells Consumption 3 V maximum 150 mA gt 10 hours PHYSICAL Dimensions 107 x 63 x 24 mm 4 2 x 2 6 x 1 inch w o plug on microphone Weight 250g 0 5 lb incl batteries w o plug on microphone Specifications are subject to modification without notice Page 26 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND SA Chemin de l Orio 30A CH 1032 Romanel sur Lausanne Switzerland Phone 41 0 21 643 7240 Fax 41 0 21 641 7532 E mail info nagraaudio com All rights reserved July 2013 Page 27 of 27 Copyr
10. things to remember e Some computers will not play MPEG 1 Layer Il compressed files without appropriate audio editing software Typically some versions of the Windows Media player fall into this category e Audio CD s will only accept 44 1 KHz linear PCM 16 bit if they are to be played on a standard CD player 14 USB The miniature USB port serves two purposes File download upload or external DC powering Audio can be extracted either through the line output in normal playback mode or alternatively via the USB port to the PC MAC Connect the USB cable to the computer and to the recorder and power up When the USB is connected a sub window appears giving the possibility to select Power or USB communication Make a selection and press the CENTRE key The USB power position is for simply powering the Nagra SD through the USB port for normal operation without internal batteries If the USB transfer is selected the machine will immediately appear as a removable disk in the explorer of the PC MAC The Nagra SD display shows USB Connecting On a PC or Mac the Explorer will display a folder called RECORD in which all recorded indexes are stored e Download speed from the machine to the computer is at a fixed bit rate and will take about 1 minute per GB to copy Page 24 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 15 CE NORM DECLARATION DE CONFORMITE 4 DECLARATION OF CONF
11. HIGH position of the switch corresponds to 96kHz 24 bit PCM linear Stereo recordings and that the LOW position corresponds to MPEG 1Layer II Mono at 64kbits sec If nothing is set in the templates prior to the first recording then the default settings will be adopted The default settings are as follows For the LOW quality position MPEG 1 Layer ll Stereo 48 kHz sampling at 256 kbits s Mono 64 kbits sec For the HIGH quality position PCM WAV 16 bits Stereo at 48 kHz sampling Once completed the Input device external microphone line input for the recordings and AGC Limiter settings need to be selected This is also done in the RECORD SETTINGS menu Before selecting RECORD verify the position of the switches on the rear of the SD MIC GAIN This should be set to LOW if you are using either an external electret microphone or any of the clip on Nagra capsules It should be set to HIGH when using an external DYNAMIC microphone FILTER Ideally this should be set to OFF when working with an OMNI directional microphone and set to ON when using a directional Cardioid microphone especially in windy conditions AGC LIMITER These can be used as required FILE TYPE Mono or Stereo as necessary MIC POWER This should be ON when using any of the Nagra plug on capsules or an external electret microphone that is not equipped with its own battery It should be OFF for dynamic microphones QUALITY According to the desired file
12. LETE key and confirm to delete the file 7 5 Downloading to a computer Two methods can be used e Remove the SD card from the machine and insert it into a computer PC or Mac Use the Explorer to view the SD card and open the folder default folder is RECORD to show the recorded files e Turn on the Nagra SD connect it to a computer PC or Mac with a USB cable As soon as the SD is connected a sub window will appear Select Connection and press the centre key 11 The display will show USB connected Use the Explorer to view the external memory device and open the folder default folder is RECORD to show the recorded files Files can then be dragged and dropped to the computer as desired Page 12 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 8 FILES amp WORKING FOLDER 8 1 Walking through the working folder Pressing the Files menu key momentarily shows the audio files of the working directory COR 00 00 Sto SS W e pu USEROOO WAV USERDOO2 WAvY e us USEROOO3 MP2 The above pictures show several recorded files or folder names and the actions that can be taken upon them The A Y keys permit to scroll between the different audio files or folders Pressing the centre key on the folder icon or pressing the key shows sub menu gives access to the different existing folder s present on the SD card Pressing the centre key on an audio file starts stops
13. NAGRA SD USER MANUAL 50 40 24 i2 P H PA PIFI CH LL IIS 02 5 1 04 00 00 USERO002 WAY ees tte thes ERT E na MAL ana wu te k x PEAK VIEW CUE FILES MENU i d i ASB NAGRA SD Software version V1 2 0 12 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND SA S A 2013 L OUARANT rs es a Re a nt 3 SEENEN eege EE eet 3 3 PANEL DESCRIPTION cat a 4 I Front panel Key le ele EE 4 E le Ur en TOU NEO an 5 A EE 5 EE RO OE eg terse O seater Sac tee cece ince ee eee es etc ceck eee eee tora ee ee ce chia te 5 O el ea ect see A tee ne A A O PO A PR EU 5 INS TAELEIN B AT TEE 6 5 FIRSTPOWER ON sin aca ii da EE 6 C DISPLAY DESCRIPTIONS o laa O aa i 6 A lee A A O O A Mean nant manne cen 6 A A ed 6 6 3 Modulometer bar rap o e ed al ei 6 64 R nmode REG Lee 6 69 Cuer an UE COURS o dei cute ne 6 6 6 Flay RECON COUMICN geed 6 O ln Er 6 6 8 ele leben EE 7 EE ei cas iaa 7 6 10 Audio file format and date time details Picture BI 7 AAA AA Ee SEEN RO 7 0 12 Voume aC USEC causes os BH nee eee ei cae eee em Le lead b ela l Anti 7 T USING THE NAGRA SD ISO nr citar dai 8 aa Le Wl e Er 8 TASA USO INPUL IC VG Sissi soii 9 Pelee GUC PONS sO UNINC POCONO ae iones 11 7 2 Playback of a Previus ee te ele cision etek secs a ia ae seaca 11 7 21 AG USIING Pla DC el 11 7 3 Cue point selection during DY geesde 12 7 4 Deleting an audio recording rapidly csecccccccseeeccecceeeececccaueece
14. ORMITY FABRICANT NAGRAVISION S A KUDELSKI GROUP 1033 Cheseaux SUISSE MANUFACTURER NAGRAVISION S A KUDELSKI GROUP 1033 Cheseaux SWITZERLAND APPAREIL Nagra SD MODEL Nagra SD NORMES APPLICABLES APPLICABLE NORMS Champ lectromagn tique rayonn EN 55022 CI B Radiated electromagnetic field EN 55022 CI B Immunit aux champs lectromagn tiques EN 61000 4 3 Immunity to electromagnetic fields EN 61000 4 3 Immunit aux d charges lectrostatiques EN 61000 4 2 Immunity to electrostatic discharges EN 61000 4 2 Immunit aux aux transitoires lectriques rapides en salves sur c bles d entr es sorties signaux EN 61000 4 4 level 1 500V Immunity to burst on input output signal line EN 61000 4 4 level 1 500V Cheseaux 2 me trimestre 2011 Cheseaux 2nd quarter 2011 Paul Rebmann KE TE Gestion des d chets d quipements lectriques et l ctroniques Regulation on waste electrical and electronical equipment En fin de vie de l appareil amener a un centre de r cup ration des d chets Please dispose off through an appropriate recycling centre Page 25 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 16 SPECIFICATIONS GENERAL Data Storage medium SD HC card FAT 32 Recording Method Digital PCM or Digital compression Compression type ISO MPEG Layer II III File Format 16 24 Bit Wave Format xxx WAV or MPEG Raw xxx MP2 xxx MP3 Sampling Rate From 24 to 96 kHz
15. a period of two years from the date of delivery This guarantee covers the repair of confirmed defects or if necessary the replacement of the faulty parts excluding all other indemnities All freight costs as well as customs duty and other possible charges are at the customer s expense Our guarantee remains valid in the event of emergency repairs or modification being made by the user However we reserve the right to invoice the customer for any damage caused by an unqualified person or a false manoeuvre by the operator We decline any responsibility for any and all damages resulting directly or indirectly from the use of our products Other products sold by Audio technology Switzerland S A are covered by the guarantee clauses of their respective manufacturers We reserve the right to modify the product and or the specifications without notice 2 DELIVERED WITH The package includes 1 NAGRA SD 1 USB cable 1 USB memory key manual 1 Working case 1 Wrist strap 1 SD card 1 Plastic machine support stand 1 Mono microphone input cable with XLR plug Optional accessories 2070 120000 Standard Stereo Cardioid clip on microphone red 7070 121 000 High quality Omni Directional Mono clip on microphone blue 7070 125 000 High quality stereo Cardioid clip on microphone green 7070 122 000 High quality Cardioid Mono clip on microphone white e 2070005000 Tripod for table top use e 7070123000 Stereo microphone inpu
16. ccaseeeeeeeesaeeeeessueeceeeesaueeeesseaeceessaadeeeessaaeeeeessaaeeeeessanseeeees 12 0 DOWMIO AGING OA COM e a 12 9 FILES S WORKING FOLDER tasa 13 8 1 Walking through tie WOrking UA o e ec isa 13 A A e A ins uen eu ut 13 8 4 FIleS And viewing He INTO Mal EE 13 IMENU EE 14 OA Record EEN 17 TT ane 17 JAMAIS ee Eege 18 DES ll TO COINS Se ec 18 AT AGC e RSS ER den DD tem nee 18 GE RS n EE 20 GE IMPULSO la 20 ANMAT SM cesaci n 20 AA EN 20 Salio Preocupa Ee EE 20 o oo A E 21 A NA o II A A A RE EE 21 A A eee 21 92 9 Beep E le EE 21 GE de Le EE 21 2 0 Ree GE 21 9 26 DIS SX TING Occ ss ace ta AU eae ea A a 21 O27 AUO Met EE 21 9 2 9 Bater DEE 21 92 Q USB WrIIe DrOlIeCION EE 21 EIERE Ehe 21 D 21 ETS EB een ee EE 21 AA O de n NU un eee nc dt 22 SA KE OR EE 22 A NT RTE I TU UE 22 ER EE 22 92 16 SV SUC WUC aS ER Sd A A 22 92 17 Export Import ING COMTQUALON etnia 22 TO MICROPHONES AND SETTING E 23 ERGOE FLETE nt o e a 23 I2 SDCARD PP RE ci 23 13 AUDIO COMPRESSION WHY AND WHEN TO USE IT cid A A EA AS 24 A TR staan 24 TO GCENOR LEE od e o o oo Coin Os 25 10 SPECIFICATIONS EE 25 Page 2 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 1 GUARANTEE Audio Technology Switzerland certifies that this instrument was thoroughly inspected and tested prior to leaving our factory We guarantee the products of our own manufacture against any defect arising from faulty manufacture for
17. conds the machine turns on and shows the STOP window display from where all the internal menu settings can be accessed and modified if necessary Press the centre key 11 to set the recorder in TEST the led starts blinking slowly and the input signals can be monitored in the headphones and seen on the modulomenter The levels can be adjusted using the UP DN level keys 12 13 and indicated by the level adjust bar graph display that appears Pressing the centre key a second time will start the recording process and the red LED will remain alight A long press on the DN key 7 will stop the recording Press the UP key 9 to play back the last recorded file Note An SD card must be installed for the STOP window to be displayed 6 DISPLAY DESCRIPTION The main display of the SD can be switched by pressing the VIEW key 1 The two displays are shown below as A and B All the important areas of the displays are explained below 6 1 Status bar Mode Play Mode Mark Enable Headphone Level di The status bar area along the top of the SD display shows the current ae et gll e status of the SD as well as various different bits of information Ma HEAR SPP SES BE MESS depending on the mode of the SD The different indications that Battery Auto skip mode A B mode appear on the top of the display are shown in the picture All the other lt P gt Folder repeal areas of the display are explained below i p 6 2 Inpu
18. e cardioid high quality stereo mic It gives monophonic directional characteristics and will capture less of the ambient surrounding noise than the blue band mono mic This microphone is particularly useful for interviews in rooms where there is a distinct echo The use of the foam windshield is strongly recommended with the clip on NAGRA microphones particularly outside when using cardioid capsules where wind conditions can affect the recordings 11 LOW CUT FILTER 1 0 The Nagra SD is equipped with an analogue low cut filter ae integrated within the microphone preamplifier This filter can be Ce turned ON or OFF as desired ac 5 5 0 The frequency of the cut is at 100Hz with a gradient of 40 dB Se octave TA 3 100 1k 10k 20k 40k 100k This filter can be activated for each microphone type using the Reuse li switch on the rear of the Nagra SD It is especially useful for recordings made using directional microphones outside in windy conditions such as the green band stereo microphone In fact cardioid speed capsules such as the NAGRA microphones are susceptible to vortexes induced by wind moving round the microphone capsule contrary to omni directional pressure capsules which are not Note however that the NAGRA microphone is equipped with a fine silk screen directly behind the grill basket carefully positioned to compensate for these vortexes and pop effects It is also recommended to use the external foam windshield when
19. ess the FILE key briefly move the cursor to the desired file and press the lt lt or gt gt button and select PLAY If the recording was made with markers cue points during the playback first press the Cue key CM for markers appears on the display briefly press the RIGHT or LEFT keys to jump to the next or previous marker position respectively The number of the marker will be shown in bottom left corner of the display To playback another file cancel the Cue CM removed briefly press the RIGHT or LEFT keys to scroll through the recorded files available Once PLAY is pressed the new file will be played immediately During a playback of a file the full PLAY PROGRESS BAR corresponds to the total length of the selected file When a new file has been selected for playback the TOTAL TIME counter will indicate its full length and the PLAY TIME counter starts incrementing once the playback begins The white portion indicates where we are with respect to the entire file During playback to REWIND press and hold the LEFT key to go FORWARD press and hold the RIGHT key Note When playing back consecutive files there will be a gap in the audio at the junction of the two files if played back on the SD itself However there is no actual gap in the recording and if the files are downloaded to a PC there will be no gap between the files when read with an audio playe
20. ever one works outside when unexpected wind noise may be encountered 12 SD cards The Nagra SD can use SD cards up to 64GB However SDXC type cards are not accepted by the USB driver inside the machine so although they will record and playback perfectly on the recorder you cannot transfer files from them to a computer using the USB cable SDXC cards need to be put into a special SDXC card reader connected to the PC Page 23 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 13 AUDIO COMPRESSION WHY AND WHEN TO USE IT The Nagra SD is able to record using different Audio qualities PCM Linear MPEG Layer II MP2 and MPEG layer III MP3 that have their own particular advantages which are explained below Audio Quality What to use Firstly the less compression used the better the quality of the recording will be However at higher bit rates 384 kbits s you can easily record music and probably not notice any difference 32 by un DCH near A few guidelines should be considered For journalism interview work it is unnecessary to use PCM linear Generally MPEG 1 Layer ll is used and the compression bit rate is generally defined by the broadcaster For music effects PCM linear is the best quality although MPEG at a high bit rate is probably good enough and gives faster download time For ultra long recordings use a very low bit rate where quality will be Dictaphone quality Some important
21. explained in detail thereafter Page 14 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 Page 15 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 Note While surfing through the different menu windows in some cases the CENTRE key or RIGHT key can be used to advance one step but also the UP and DOWN keys To go one step back or to escape from a particular screen press the LEFT key Page 16 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 9 1 Record settings 9 1 1 Templates Before the templates can be selected with the QUALITY switch 6 on the rear side they first need to be configured Two templates High and Low are available and each allows the file type sampling rate and bit rate to be stored Several possibilities exist WAV PCM 16 or 24 bits MPEG1L2 MPEG1L3 MPEG2L2 Select one of the possibilities using the UP or DOWN keys and press the CENTRE key to confirm and to go to the next step Once the file format type is selected the corresponding sampling rate and bit rate need to be chosen Page 17 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 9 1 2 Matrix The input matrix permits the routing of the analogue input signal to the left es and or right recording channel As an example After having selected Stereo both from left making a stereo recording with
22. format HOLD OFF to allow the keyboard to operate and ON to block all the keys When ready press the centre key 11 and the NAGRA SD will go to the TEST mode where the audio inputs can be heard on the headphones and the levels seen on the display and adjusted using the level keys as necessary The microphone input gain can now be adjusted in 0 5 dB steps using the keys 12 13 and the value is shown in a sub window on the display The PRE RECORD feature will now be active if selected max 3 seconds The centre LED starts blinking slowly To begin recording press the centre key 11 once more The red LED will light permanently and the record symbol will be shown on the display The levels can be seen on the display and adjusted during recording as necessary as long as the AGC Automatic Gain Control is not activated With the limiter ON the levels can be adjusted in the normal manner Pressing the REC key again while recording will create a new file or take seamlessly and the file number will be incremented accordingly Each new recording will be given a file name made up of 8 digits This file will be stored in the working directory Note Although a new file is created seamlessly there will be a gap in the audio if played back on the SD however if the files are downloaded to a PC there will be no gap This gap is caused by the processing time needed to open the next file while playing back which is limited within the rec
23. hout under over modulating when the audio levels are unpredictable It makes recording in the field easier and guarantees that a respectable level will be recorded Automatic adjustment systems are rarely better than the manual modes but can be considered safer in certain circumstances It is also strongly recommended to switch on the low cut filter when using the AGC for recordings in noisy environments example street noise The audio limiter can be programmed instead of the AGC to protect the recordings from accidental overloads the parameters of the limiter are set in the menu mode The limiter will not adjust the recording level in any way but will protect the recording from unexpected overloads due to high level sounds The picture on the following page shows the different working areas when using with the ALC or the limiter of the SD Page 18 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 ALC performance Rec level dB full scale Area accessible without ALC Line accessible with ALC Range accessible with input level ad 0 Saturation level Target level Input level dBspl 70 80 90 100 110 120 128 Rec level Limiter performance dB full scale Area accessible with limiter Range accessible with input level adj TI O Saturation level Target level 10 20 Input level dBspl y 70 80 90 100 110 120 128 July 1 2013 Page
24. ight AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013
25. order To enter markers during record press the CUE key Max 99 markers NOTE Cue marker points CANNOT be entered when recording RAW file formats To stop recording simply press and hold the STOP key 7 for 3 seconds until the time line window is filled Page 8 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 7 1 1 Adjusting input levels The input levels can be adjusted using the or input level keys 12 amp 13 in steps of 0 5 dB from 128 dB to 84 dB for microphone or from 15 dB to 29 dB for line input dBSPL means Decibels of Sound Pressure Level If the modulometer shows and average of 10dBfs full scale and the scale of the input potentiometer shows 94dB then this means that the acoustic level on the input is 94 10 84dBSPL To adjust the Left and Right microphones respectively particularly when working in dual channel mode One mic on the interviewer and the other on the interviewee press the or input level key momentarily to show the sub window indicating the levels for both channels followed immediately by pressing momentarily the or gt arrow key selects left or right sensitivity Press directly the or input level key to adjust the selected input sensitivity See picture in point 6 11 above Once the sub window disappears both channels will be adjusted simultaneously while maintaining any pre set delta between the channels Page 9 of 27 Copyright AUDIO
26. r This gap is caused by the processing time needed to open the next file while playing back which is limited in the recorder itself 7 2 1 Adjusting playback levels In playback additional boost of 1 to 12 dB is available steps of 1 dB This value is also shown on top of the display HP followed by a number In record or pre record the output volume level can be adjusted by the OUTPUT LEVEL buttons in steps of 0 5 dB from 64 dB up to O dB Page 11 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 7 3 Cue point selection during play If a file contains cue points it will be shown in the lower left corner of the main display In this example it shows 00 04 meaning that the play position is actually before cue 1 00 and that 4 cue points are present in this file 04 Before starting or during playback press the CUE key once the letter M is shown on the display This permits to jump from one cue point to the next using the lt or gt keys When EEEIEE LILIL jumping from one cue point to another the SD will automatically select the PAUSE 0004 US EROOT Au mode When PLAY is pressed the playback will start from the beginning of the selected CUE point 7 4 Deleting an audio recording rapidly Any audio file can be selected from the STOP mode Press the LEFT or RIGHT keys to locate the desired audio file Once the corresponding file is shown on the display press the DE
27. r off the 3V for Electret power for external microphones MIC POWER 6 QUALITY switch e Selects one of the two templates named High or Low previously stored in the memory 7 HOLD switch e Locks or unlocks the keyboard during all modes including power off 8 SPEAKER e Build in speaker for playback monitoring automatically disconnected when using headphones 9 BATTERY COVER e Slide down to open must be correctly installed to allow the recorder to be turned on 3 3 Left side 1 USB CONNECTOR e For transferring files or external power e Software update 3 4 Right side 1 SD slot An SD card must be installed to allow the recorder to turn on 2 HEADPHONE LINE output 3 5 Top face LINE input e Dual 3 5 mm stereo jack for line mic inputs with mechanical fixings Page 5 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 4 INST ALLING BATTERIES Insert 2 AA batteries taking care of the correct polarity and close the cover completely the recorder will not switch on if the battery box cover is missing or incorrectly installed Rechargeable batteries NiCd or Ni mH can also be used but they cannot be charged inside the NAGRA SD The battery type used can be selected in the menu mode to give the correct battery reserve readings 5 FIRST POWER ON Verify that an SD card is inserted and that the battery cover is correctly installed Push and hold the Power key 6 for 3 se
28. t cable with XLR plugs e 7070127000 Mono line input cable with XLR plug e 7070128000 Stereo line input cable with XLR plugs Page 3 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 3 PANEL DESCRIPTION 3 1 Front panel key functions 1 VIEW key e Swaps between different data displays default display or file rec format date amp time e f pressed when the directory of the memory is on the display all details of the selected file will be shown File format date time etc 2 CUE key e Press to enter cue points during record or to select the cue mode during playback Max 99 markers 3 FILES MENU key e A short press selects the directory folders a long press selects the configuration menus A FAA 4 ACB key LPL 02 50 39 e To enter 2 markers for a playback loop ER0009 W AY 5 DELETE key e Deletes the last recorded index or the selected index when in the Files listing 6 POWER key e To turn on or off the Nagra SD Must be pressed for 3 seconds to avoid accidental operation 7 DOWN key e Stops a recording or playback NAGRA SD e To move downwards in the directory or menus 8 LEFT key e Rewinds during playback when pressed and held e Skip backwards during stop or play e Inthe menus shifts to the left or quits them e Selects left channel sensitivity adjustment in stereo mode see keys 12 13 9 UP key A e Starts a playback e Put the playback or record in pause mode
29. t device input device Indicates the currently selected input device or source that is being used external microphone EMIC or line LINE input GS EMIC 6 3 Modulometer bar graphs The modulometer bar graph indicates the signal level in both EROS USARA i RECORD and PLAY of the audio for the left and right A ep wm channels The scale goes from 50 dB to 0 dB with peak hold indicator aia EMIC LH 103 6 4 Run mode REC mode Module This icon indicates the current operating mode of the SD meter Different symbols are used to indicate various modes of the 50 HO 2H e aE y A recorder which are listed below Run mode gt gt FN CAI e Rec mode LILI 02 50 39 Stop Cue and Monitoring EE mode pre record buffer Cue counter 00 00 USEROO09 WAY Record Play recordcounter File name gt gt lo A Total file remaining record time 44 Rewind Il Pause se AGC automatic Gain Control active ur Limiter active P VOR Volume Operated Recording in Pause mode vr VOR recording 6 5 Cue and Cue counter The right most pair of digits indicates the total number of cue marks in the current file The left two counter digits indicate the current playback cursor position 6 6 Play Record counter Display in hours minutes amp seconds since the playback or recording was started 6 7 File name The name of the current file during record or playback Page 6 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 J
30. the UP and DOWN keys to select a character Press the RIGHT key to move to next character etc Once all characters have been entered press OK and press the EXE key 11 Example of a file name USERO001 9 1 8 Prefix time When selected the current date and time will be added to the file name as a prefix e g 2013011 1150522 USER001 Page 20 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 b E gt VOR level VOR delay L Input Device gt 10 dBFS 20 dBFS 30 dBFS Pause La 3 i Line in Auto split gt Prefix time Fra ON July 1 2013 OFF 9 2 System settings 9 2 1 Time amp Date The TIME amp DATE sub menu sets the current time and date for the internal 201006115 Real Time Clock RTC which will be used for each recording Use the i RIGHT key to highlight the item to be set Use the UP or DOWN keys to select the corresponding digits and press the RIGHT key to move to the next digit Once the settings made highlight OK and press the CENTRE key Remark The super capacitor will keep time and date running without batteries or USB power for approximately 24 hours 9 2 2 Record LED A RED recording indicator led is integrated in the centre key 11 Select the IRA desired function and press the CENTRE key In the ON mode the recording log led will
31. the playback of the highlighted file Pressing the key shows sub menu permits to select Play or Stop or Delete the selected file If deleting is selected a confirmation is requested 00 00 00 EA 2 1 po 00 um a El USEROOO WAV 8 2 Working with other folders The working folder is by default the RECORD folder Additional folders can only be made with Windows Explorer or Mac by connecting the NAGRA SD to a PC or by inserting the SD card into a PC If other folders are created by PC or Mac any one of them can be selected as a working folder as follows e From the main menu by pressing Files menu select Folders e Keep the folder icon highlighted and press the key sub window appears showing Up level Press the centre key and all the different available folders will be listed The default folder is named RECORD e Highlight the folder that needs to become the working folder and press the gt key Another sub window will appear showing Open and W folder e Select in the sub window W folder to validate The working folder is marked with a small triangle just below the folder icon see last picture above e Press the Files Menu key again to exit the menu The SD is now ready to record in the new working directory 8 4 Files and viewing file information e From the main menu pressing Files menu key will list all the files already recorded on the SD card e Pressing the ke
32. ttery used in the recorder This ensures that the remaining power indicator is correct Dry cells will deliver 3V rechargeable Ni i mH deliver 2 4V which alters the indication of the battery fuel gauge 9 2 9 USB write protection When turned On no files can be copied to the recorder from a PC or Mac via fon USB 9 2 10 Language settings English French or German are available for all menu tree positions Language setting gt 9 2 11 SD information Gives information about the size the free memory space as well as the used memory on the installed SD card SD Information Capacity 3878 M Free 3870 M Used 8 M SD Information gt Page 21 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 9 2 12 SD speed test This menu allows the record and playback speed of an SD card to be tested Some low cost SD cards are not particularly fast and may cause problems during recording particularly at higher sampling frequencies Test finished SD speed test Are you sure to test SD speed Y e 9 2 13 Format Formats the SD card Attention All files and folders will be erased Only the Format E mm Giele selected working folder will be maintained but its contents will be UA 9 2 14 Version Shows the hardware and software versions of the Nagra SD 9 2 15 System reset Reset all internal parameters to the factory default values System reset ae 9 2 16 System update
33. uly 1 2013 6 8 Total file Remaining record time This horizontal progress bar shows the current position within the file being played back In record the counter indicates the remaining SD capacity left in hours minutes and seconds 6 9 Battery status 3 stripes inside the icon indicate full capacity A fully charged set of dry cells should power the Nagra SD for around 10 hours 6 10 Audio file format and date time details Picture B This area appears when the VIEW key IS pressed and ATT ERIC 111103 indicates two additional lines of information E The upper line indicates the current audio file format from left EER eth tee to right the current file type bit rate and sampling frequency ME rr ae E T The lower line indicates whether the file is Mono or Stereo followed by the current date and time according to the internal W PChi 16b 4 KHz clock of the SD ST 10 12 06 08 35 42 00 00 USEROOO9 WAY Audio file format and date time details 6 11 Input record level This sub window is shown when pressing one of the input level keys 12 amp 13 during TEST or RECORD modes The bars indicate the position of the input level potentiometer for each input The value in dBSPL indicates what acoustic adidas EMITE pressure will record OdB level The record level for microphone input can be adjusted in steps of 0 5 dB from 128 dBSPL to 84 dBSPL 45 dB range and for a line input from 29 dB to 15 dB
34. y wull show a sub window allowing the highlighted file to be played back or deleted as desired Press the centre key to activate the choice e From the main display press the Files menu key The files are listed numerically in the list USEROOO4 MP2 da l i 2011 07 07 10 34 44 e When a file is highlighted in the list pressing the View key shows all the information MP2 16h 00 00 19 concerning the specific file ST 80Kbps 24KHz The information displayed is the file name date and time that the file was recorded the file format as well as the duration of the recording Page 13 of 27 Copyright AUDIO TECHNOLOGY SWITZERLAND S A 2012 July 1 2013 9 MENUS Most of the settings and parameters of the NAGRA SD are made through a selection of Menus To display the Menus mode of the recorder press and hold the FILES MENU key until a sub menu appears giving access to the RECORD SETTINGS and SYSTEM SETTINGS These represent the two principle branches of the menus tree The RECORD SETTINGS menu gives access to all the file parameters which will affect he actual files recorded and the SETTINGS menu gives the user access to all the parameters related to the operation of the machine The UP or DOWN LEFT and RIGHT keys are used to navigate through the menu tree and the EXE key 11 is used to execute a specific feature The entire menu tree is shown on the following pages and each menu is
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