Zoom H2 Owners/Troubleshooters Club

[bassman_al]

I thought since this little unit has a lot history and a lot of users, and good info on how to use it and how to trouble shoot it is hard to come by using internet searches, why not start a club here? I never got into the number thing, so please don't ask me.

I bought my H2 a couple years ago on TB for $75 and its gotten heavy use ever since. I record almost all my gigs for learning purposes, what a great tool!

This week I once again ran into the problem that happens when I (all too frequently) forget to power down before unplugging the unit. This results in a file that is the right size that it should be. However, when I try to load it to Audacity, it appears as a blank file. But windows tells me that there is a file and it is the right size. Hmmm... I didn't know what to do, and I always in the past assumed that the file was unusable and therefore I would delete those files.

Well this week I had a set that I really wanted to hear, from a gig that I did this past weekend. So I did a little research, and I was able to solve the problem using only my windows PC and Audacity. I am not sure that all the steps I took where absolutely necessary to do in this order, and I am not sure that all the steps were necessary. I just know it worked. Here you go:

-Copy the file in question
-Rename it using ".RAW" as the file extension. In my case I renamed it from a .WAV file to .RAW.
from the dropdown menu select the settings that match your recording, as you had it set up on the Zoom. In my case 24 bit PCM.
-Select "little-endian"
-Select "stereo"
-Choose "1" or "2" for bytes
-Select a small amount (5%) to import at first, to save time. Once you are able to import successfully, then re-set this field to 100%
-Select the sample rate as you had it set on your H2.
-Import

[kent1113]

That's a great tip for recovering a file that wasn't saved properly. I just assumed it was gone when the power was terminated. I'll remember that one.

The little H2 has served me well for the last 4 years. I record gigs and rehearsals and the occassional concert.

I've found the fidelity to be pretty good if it's setup correctly. I have mine set to 44khz, WAV and usually have the mics set for the 120 degree rear mics. I'll just hit record at the beginning of the session and let it run for as long as it takes. It records on a 16 gig SD card and I use Audacity to breakdown the recording into separate sound files. I can do 2 hours worth in about 20 minutes.

I'm subscribed and hope to see more on this thread.

[Billy K]

ditto use guys.I do the same.I will subscribe because I feel some good info coming down the pike.

[longfinger]

thanks for this. Though, I hope to never have to use this.

One thing to prevent this from happening is to always keep batteries in the unit. The above can only happen if you're working off of AC with no batteries, and the unit becomes unplugged. If you have good batteries in the unit the above won't happen as the unit will switch to batteries.

[kent1113]

A follow up to the OP's description how to save a file not properly saved, i.e. the power was pulled before a write operation.

I had this happen last Saturday and lost our first set. I carefully went over the SD card and could not find any thing with any of my utilities so it really was not there. I have a Mac but I can't imagine a PC being able to find something and a Mac couldn't. It's still a mystery to me.

[FuManChu]

I am a big fan of using the H2 to record and audacity to clean up the files. It wasn't much before this originally came out that I was using mini-discs and a mic to record gigs. I typically use the forward facing 120 degree with good results anywhere from about 20 feet or more from the PA mains/subs. Always low gain for those noisy bar gigs.