2 - Parts of the tape deck
14
TASCAM DA-40
NOTE

If the DATA dial is turned by mistake, either

leave the tape deck alone for five seconds to

cancel the operation, or press the STOP key.

2.4 Command keys
These command keys have two modes: the primary
mode, labeled in white above the key, is the most
common use for the key. The secondary, or shifted,
mode is labeled in blue above the key, and is only
operative when the SHIFT indicator [31] is lit (see 4,
"SHIFT functions" for details of these secondary
modes).

[20]COUNTER MODE

Use this key to cycle through the different tape
counter modes available:
•ABS time— the absolute time as recorded on the
subcode of the tape. This is expressed in hours,
minutes and seconds. If the tape is at an unrecorded
location, the tape counter will show all dashes.
•PGM time— the elapsed time since the last
START ID which has been read from tape (the
beginning of the program). If, when the display is
in this mode, the tape is located to a point outside a
START ID and playback restarts, the tape deck will
be unable to determine the time since the start of
the program and the display will show all dashes
instead of a time value.
•REMAIN time— the time remaining on the cur-
rently-loaded cassette; to minute accuracy. Cas-
settes from different manufacturers may vary
slightly in length, resulting in different values
being shown for tapes which are nominally the
same length.
NOTE

In LP mode, the counter shows one second of

tape time for every second of real time in the

ABS, PGM and REMAIN counter modes. For

example, after one hour’s playback or record-

ing in LP mode, the counter will only show 30

minutes. Bear this in mind when you are using

the LP mode.

• Tape Counter mode— no indication is given on the
display of the mode, and a 4-digit number is used
to show the tape position. This value is relative to a
user-definable reference “zero” point (see
MARGIN RESET [22]).

[21]CHAR

If characters have been recorded on the tape as a tape
or program title, pressing this key will allow the tape
deck to display these characters, scrolling across the
display, as the START ID containing the title is
played back. They will be replaced by successive title
contents as they are read from tape. If characters are
read from a START ID, the CHAR indicator will
light in the display to indicate this. If no characters
have been recorded on the tape, pressing this key will
have no effect.

[22]MARGIN RESET

Pressing this key resets the margin (available head-
room) to its lowest level of 40dB. Note that in some
display modes, there is no visible effect when this
key is pressed.
The margin is measured in 1 dB increments between
40 dB and 20 dB and in 0.1 dB increments between
19.9 dB and 0 dB.
If the time display is in the 4-digit tape counter
mode, pressing this key will reset the tape counter.

[23]DISPLAY

Regardless of the current counter mode set by [20],
this key is used to display other information. The
options available, which are accessed by repeated
presses of this key, are:
•Program number and Margin mode— where the
current program number and margin in decibels are
displayed:
•Frames mode— where frames are displayed as
well as hours, minutes, and seconds. The frames
used are “digital audio” frames, i.e. there are 100
frames in every three seconds; 33 in the first sec-
ond, 33 in the next, and 34 in the third. The pattern
then repeats itself.
PNO MARG
ABS 00
H26
M35
S09 6.3
dB
PNO MARG
PGM 03
M17
S09 6.3
dB
PNO MARG
REMAIN0003
M09 6.3
dB
PNO MARG
01 26 08 6.3
dB
PNO MARG
ABS 00
H23
M08
S07 6
.3dB
ABS 00
H23
M08
S_32
FP09