by csp » Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:59 am
Fred,
Unfortunately I do not know a great deal about the HDR recorders (I use the Alesis HD24), so I am not sure if they come with any form of analogue input --- I am sure that others will be able to answer this.
If there are some analogue inputs (RCA, 1/4" or whatever), can you try recording something directly into these inputs --- say from a CD player, Ipod, etc, If you can do this then, hit the play button on the HDR to see if any of the VU meters are showing some form of signal on any of the tracks.
Assuming you have some signal on a HDR track, plug the recorder into the desk via the light pipes and go to Bank 2 then hit the play button on the HDR to see if you can see the signal on the desk.
If there are no analogue inputs on the HDR, I am not sure if there is a way (as on the HD24 recorders) of removing the disk drives and connecting them to a PC and from there uploading a couple of WAV/Aiff files to the hard drive, then re-install the drive back into the HDR and go from there.
Another thought --- do you have access to (say) a tape based ADAT recorder, or something similar. If so, connect the light pipe out from the ADAT recorder and connect this to one of the HDR's optical inputs and play the ADAT recorder and record the signal on to the HDR.
If none of the above helps, I can only suggest that other forum members who know about the HDR units might be able to help you. From what you have said previously, I would think that you have the desk set up correctly and that the problem lies somewhere in the HDR, but without having a signal to plsay, it makes it very hard to trace faults.
David