Mbeat Usb-tape02 User manual

mbeat® USB Tape to Digital Recorder

Model: USB-TAPE02

Read instructions carefully before use and store in a safe place for future reference. Product color and specification

are subject to change without prior notice. The manufacturer or distributor reserves the right to amend the

instruction manual at anytime to reflect the latest product design changes or limitations

Product introduction

Quick guide for use

Initial start up

Power on (Play back mode)

You need 2 x AA batteries to power up the device or you can choose a +3V AC/DC power adaptor

with the right size of pin connector to power up the device if you want to listen the music like a

normal walkman.

Power on (USB conversion mode)

If you just need to convert the tape to digital via PC, you do not need to put battery or power, the

USB tape to digital can work with USB power cable directly

Earphone (Audio out) connection

You can connect your earphone plug to the earphone jack or simply connect your speaker audio

line in into the earphone (Audio out) jack to playback music

Play the tape

1. Insert the tape into the tray

2. Put batteries in or connect with external power

3. Press “PLAY” button to playback the music or start to record ( in USB mode)

4. Adjust volume up/down to suit your earphone plug or adjust the volume up/down during

recording ( in USB mode)

5. Press “ FF” to fast forward the tape , press “RW” to rewind the tape, press “ STOP” to stop

playing

6. Plug USB cable into the tape recorder and connect it with PC to start the USB conversion

process after your installed audacity audio editing software on the PC

After use care

1. Remove the tape and remove the batteries

2. Keep manual and driver CD for future reference

3. Place the device in a safe place to avoid direct sunlight and moisture environment

4. Do not drop the device in ground or hard surface

5. Tape head may need to clean up if the playback quality is low in months use

* To clean tape heads, use pure isopropyl alcohol and lint-free swabs. Wipe the metal parts

of the transport with alcohol (DON'T wipe the rollers!) and allow them to dry. Throw the

swab away after use.

To use USB tape to digital function

Step 1. Install the “Audacity” audio edit software

Put the CD disk into your computer and run “Aduacity.exe” file to install the software on your

computer. After installation you can launch the software on your desktop, looking for this icon

on your desktop or starter menu on your Windows OS.

When first time to launch the software, select your prefer language as “English”

Follow the on screen instructions to install this audio editing software program. With the software

installed, you can record tape into digital format and store it on your PC.

*If you using Windows 7 OS or MAC OS X, you can also download the free version of the latest

“Audacity” software to install on your computer (Details please refer “Audacity Software Quick Guide”

later). Download link: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

Step 2. To connect your Tape recorder with your PC

1. Plug your USB tape to digital recorder to the USB port of your computer.

2. Open the “audacity” program that you have installed.

Step 3. How to use Audacity to record your music

mbeat® USB tape to digital recorder is able to transfer music from TAPE to PC with USB connection

by using the powerful audio edit software named “Audacity”. For the detailed software guide please

refer to the “Audacity Software Quick Guide” and Audacity official website as well.

Please note your computer audio configuration may slightly different as our manual

description, please check it carefully and make prompt changes to suit your system.

Some software knowledge is required to operate software in handling more complicated

functionalities (Please read this chapter carefully in order to find the right Audio In and Out

for your tape to digital recorder and your PC)

1. Turn on the USB tape to digital recorder, connect the USB cable to the device and computer, no

extra driver is required to drive the tape recorder

2. Your computer should detect a new “USB PnP Audio “device (USB Plug and Play Audio Device)

or it could named like “Generic USB Audio Device”, or whatsoever, they are the same thing, just

depending on how your PC call it.

3. Double click to open up the Audacity program and you will see this similar interface screen on

your computer.

4. Check the Stereo Mix column in the drop down menu and just to keep the default settings, the

software shall be able to auto default the USB tape recorder setting as “Stereo Mix” or “Line”, or

remain gray inactive color according your computer hardware configuration. Those factors are

not such key important and you can set up in“Preference” , under “Edit” menu as well

5. Adjust the output and input volume to get your desire sound volume when you using computer

speaker to play back , please note that this setting will not effect the final recording track volume

level, only effect the computer speaker volume, just works like your Windows OS volume and

microphone controller panel.

6. Very Important is to Select the “Edit” menu on the top bar of the software and then select

“Preference” in the drop down menu, it will lead you to the audio input/output source

settings. (Some users may not right set up the correct Audio I/O , so the PC can not capture

the recorder’s audio signal , thus you can not record )

After enter “ Preference” section, choose Audio I/O section:

Under Playback drop down menu:

Select “Realtek HD Audio output “ , which means it is your sound card audio output to listen the

music playback through tape recorder while doing the recording internally.

Under recording drop down menu:

Select “USB PnP Audio”, which indicated the audio source from the tape recorder when it is

plugged into the computer. Your system may show the name like “Generic USB Audio device”,

or “USB PnP Device”, it does not matter. Important is to find the proper recording source that is

match with this USB tape to digital recorder

Please also tick “Software play through (Play new track while you are recording)” this

function enables you to real time monitor the recording track and playback (SEE DETAILS AS

BELOW)

7. When everything is ready, then you can select the RECORD button to start recording

your tape music into digital format.

8. You can turn the USB tape to digital recorder volume down and turn on the computer speaker to

monitor your records.

7. Select the PAUSE button to pause the recording.

8. Select the STOP button to stop the recording.

9. Select the to skip to start.

10. Select the button to go to end.

11. You can see the recorded file on your computer and convert the recorded file to other formats

including .WAV/ MP3/Ogg Vorbis. Once the tape reaches its end, the tape recorder will stop to work

and you can turn around another side or change a new tape to keep recording as you like

Please note: if you try to convert the file into MP3 format, you need to install

“LAME” encoder software, and you install it at the first time you using then it will

work in the future

How do I download and install the LAME MP3 encoder?

Because of software patents, we cannot distribute MP3 encoding software ourselves. Follow these

instructions to use the free LAME encoder to export MP3 files with Audacity.

Windows OS Users, follow these steps

zCheck your CD disk , there should have this file in the CD disk , and you

can copy into your computer somewhere that you can find to reload it on Audacity

zIf you can not find out this file, you can download and follow below steps to install it. Go

to the LAME download page. (Steps as Below)

zUnder "For Audacity on Windows", left-click the link "Lame v3.98.2 for Audacity on

Windows.exe" and save the file anywhere on your computer. Do not right-click the link

to the .exe file.

zDouble-click "Lame_v3.98.2_for_Audacity_on_Windows.exe" to launch it (you can

safely ignore any warnings that the "publisher could not be verified").

zFollow the "Setup" instructions to install LAME for Audacity. Do not change the offered

destination location of "C:\Program Files\Lame for Audacity".

zThe first time you use the "Export as MP3" command, Audacity will ask for the location of

"lame_enc.dll". Navigate to "C:\Program Files\Lame for Audacity", select "lame_enc.dll",

then click "Open" and "OK".

zIf you prefer the Zip option for the LAME download, save the zip file to anywhere on your

computer, extract "lame_enc.dll" to any location, then show Audacity where to find it as

in Step 5 above.

zIn case of difficulty, please view our more detailed instructions on the Audacity Wiki.

12. Play the saved file.

Put the saved file in the Audacity program and press the PLAY button to play the file.

13. Download music into the digital MP3 or iPod device

Please save those converted music into a folder that you can easily to find, then you can copy or

paste those converted MP3/WMA/OGG files into your MP3 /MP4 player, or you can load them into

your iTunes then transfer into your iPod.

Please note, some of the digital MP3/MP4 player may not able to fully support all type of converted

music file, such as FLAC,. OGG due to the original hardware limitation, however most of digital music

player can support MP3 or WMA files.

Trouble shooting and FQA

1. Device is not power on

zCheck your batteries get enough power

zCheck whether the power LED indicator is light on

zCheck whether your USB cable connection is intermittent, or your USB cable is damaged (in

USB mode)

2. Can not play back tape

zCheck whether the tape is jammed in the tray

zCheck whether the tape is play to the end and need to change side

zCheck volume settings is not mute

zCheck the earphone is working properly

3. Noise from the tape earphone plug

zYour old tape may has little background noise due to its natural acoustic character and

minor background noise is consider as normal

zCheck the earphone plug is fitted with earphone jack, no intermittent

zCheck whether the tape roll is damage or fade out due to storage issues

zDo not turn the USB tape to digital recorder volume to max to get distortion on your

earphone

zCheck whether the tape head is due to clean up and need to be cleaned

4. Can not find the USB audio device when plug it into my computer

zPlease refer manual topic “To use USB tape to digital function ” , please pay attention to

Audio I/O section settings on the audacity software , to get the record signal , you need to

set up the proper in / out source under“Preference”

zOr you can refer the following “Audacity Software Quick Guide” – under topic “ Software

configuration”

5. Can not convert music into MP3 file and Save it

zYou need to install “LAME MP3 encoder” into your computer first time to make the audacity

save the music into MP3 format please refer “How do I download and install the LAME MP3

encoder?

6. How can I playback my recorded music?

zYou can play back your recorded music using Windows Media Player or iTune, for details

please refer Microsoft and Apple website for download and support content

****************************************************************************************************

Audacity Software Quick Guide

For the complete manual please check the following website.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/documentation

Before recording and editing music please install the supplied software first. You can

also download the software from the website directly if your disk is not readable

http://audacity.sourceforge.net

****************************************************************************************************

To Install Software (PC) & Record

1.Insert the CD that came with your product

2.Click on the “Audacity” file to open it and then click on the “audacity.exe” to run it. Follow the

on screen instructions to install the program.

3.With the software installed, you can record tape to your PC.

4.Plug in your tape to digital recorder to the USB port of your computer.

5.Open the audacity program that you have installed and press PLAY button to playback your

tape and press the Record button on the software to start recording

Software Configuration

1. Select the “Edit” menu and then “ Preferences”

Select the USB audio device under the “Recording” selection as shown. Select “Software Play

through” to hear the audio while recording.

Note: The USB tape to digital recorder may show up with a different name in Windows

operation system. This may depend on your computer model and operating system. Please

select the proper device name

If you are still having difficulty finding the USB tape to digital recorder, try to check your system

settings or control panel to adjust audio input settings from the sound control panel.

After you have completed the above settings, you are ready for recording.

To record

1. Start tape recorder and insert the tape to the tape tray and press PLAY button to play. Click

the red record button on the toolbar to begin recording from tape to PC.

2. When the track has finished recording click the orange stop button.

3. Drop down the“File”menu and select the intended music format to be “exported as”.

4. Select where you would like to save the file e.g. my music, name the file and save. (as the

audacity software can not save MP3 directly, please install the “lame_enc.dll” that can be found on

the installation disc, all other formats will save automatically).

Toolbars

Selection tool - for selecting the range of audio you want to edit or

Listen to.

Envelope tool - for changing the volume over time.

Draw tool - for modifying individual samples.

Zoom tool - for zooming in and out.

Timeshift tool - for sliding tracks left or right.

Multi tool-lets you access all of these tools at once depending on the

location of the mouse and the keys you are holding down.

Audio Control Buttons

Skip to Start - moves the cursor to time 0. If you press Play at this

point, your project will play from the beginning.

Play - starts playing audio at the cursor position. If some audio is

selected, only the selection is played.

Loop - if you hold down the Shift key, the Play button changes to a Loop button,

which lets you keep playing the selection over and over again.

Record-starts recording audio at the project sample rate (the sample rate in the

lower-left corner of the window). The new track will begin at the current cursor position, so

the“Skip to Start” button first if you want to the track to begin at time 0

Pause-temporarily stops playback or recording until you press

pauseagain.

Stop-stops recording or playing. You must do this before

applying effects, saving or exporting.

Skip to End - moves the cursor to the end of the last track.

Edit Toolbar

All of the buttons on this toolbar perform actions – and with a couple of exceptions, they’re all just

shortcuts of existing menu items to save you time. Holding the mouse over a tool will show a

“tooltip” in case you forget which one is which.

Cut

Copy

Paste

Trim away the audio outside the selection

Silence the selected audio

Undo

Redo (repeat last command)

ZoomIn

ZoomOut

Fit selection in window – zooms until the selection just fits inside the

window.

Fit project in window – zooms until all of the audio just fits inside the

window.

Track Pop-Down Menu

The Track Pop-Down Menu appears when you

click in a track’s title. This lets you access a few

special commands that apply to individual

tracks.

Name - lets you change the name of the track.

Move Track Up – exchange places with the

track above this one.

Move Track Down – exchange places with

the track below this one.

Waveform(dB) – similar to Wave form ,but

on a logarithmic scale, measured in decibels

(dB).

Spectrum – display the track as a

spectrogram, showing the amount of energy in

different frequency bands.

Pitch (EAC) – highlights the contour of the

fundamental frequency (musical pitch) of the

audio, using the Enhanced Autocorrelation

(EAC) algorithm.

Mono – makes this track a mono track,

meaning it is played out of just one speaker, or

played out of the left and right speakers

equally.

Left Channel – makes this track come out of

only the left speaker.

Right Channel – makes this track come out

of only the right speaker.

Make Stereo Track – if there is another

track below this one, joins them to make a

single stereo track, with the top track

representing the left speaker, and the bottom

track representing the right speaker.

When tracks are joined into a stereo pair, all

edits automatically apply to both the left and

right channel.

Split Stereo Track – if the selected track is a

stereo track (a pair of left and right tracks joined

together as a single track), this operation splits

them into two separate tracks that you can

modify and edit independently.

Set Sample Format –this determines the

quality of the audio data and the amount of

space it takes up. 16-bit is the quality used by

audio CD’s and is the minimum quality that

Audacity uses internally converted when you

open them). 24-bit is used in higher-end audio

hardware. 32-bit float unless you have a slow

computer or are running out of disk space.

Set Rate – sets the number of samples per

second of the track, 44100Hz is used by audio

CDs.

Tracks can have different sample rates in

Audacity; they are automatically re-sampled to

the project sample rate (in the lower-left corner

of the window).

[MENU]

File Menu

New – creates a new empty window

Open …- opens an audio file or an Audacity

project in a new window (unless the current

window is empty).

To add audio files to an existing project window,

use one of the Import commands in the Project

menu.

Close – closes the current window, asking you

if you want to save changes. On Windows and

Unix, closing the last window will quit Audacity,

unless you modify this behavior in the Interface

Preferences.

Save Project –

saves everything in the

window into an Audacity-specific format so that

you can save and quickly continue your work

later. An Audacity project consists of a project

file, ending in “.aup”, and a project data folder,

ending in “_data”. For example, if you name

your project “Composition”, then Audacity will

create a file called “Composition.aup” and a

folder called Composition_data. Audacity

project files are not meant to be shared with

other programs – use one of the Export

commands (below) when you are finished

editing a file.

Save Project As… - same as Save Project

(above), but lets you save a project as a new

name.

Recent Files –

brings up a list of files you

have recently opened in audacity to be

re-opened quickly.

Export As WAV - exports all of the audio in

your project as a WAV file, an industry-standard

format for uncompressed audio. You can

change the standard file format used for

exporting from Audacity by opening the File

Format Preferences. Note that exporting will

automatically mix and re-sample if you have

more than one track, or varying sample rates.

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