brand new v2! / micro sd card / b3 & b4 leds / recording

[edisonc]

Hola! Been experimenting with my new v2 for about a week. : )  Looks great, makes the crazy sounds. however -

1. The microsd card cannot be fully inserted without using a pen or pencil. I did not have to force it, though. It does not appear to be the type of microsd card socket that has a spring mechanism to alert you as to its in/out status? Finally, there is no way to remove the card now that I've got one inserted, that I can tell. The card is a brand new Sandisk 32gb.

2. Attempting to record to the sd card during play does not result in the manual's stated blinking Rdy light - instead, holding set for a second just makes the top row of led's flash a bunch, then stop. So I don't think it's able to record.

3. according to the current v2 manual page on the website, using b3 & b4 during play should display a pattern of steady leds indicating either delay status or input status. This does not occur. If i do that, regardless of input type to the Gecho, either the bottom right-most single led lights up or turns off (for b4), or the 2nd one from the bottom right lights on/off (for b3).

I think the input / delay status changes due to what I hear at the output, but there is definitely no array of leds on the Gecho to indicate which mode either of those are in. ?

4. onboard mic input volume from a fully reset Gecho seems very high; I always have to reduce the input volume even if I'm in a very quiet room.

As far as I can tell my Gecho arrived packaged nicely and intact, and there was no damage to the box or Gecho that I can see.


Thanks so much for your help! Go team Gecho.

[mario]

Hi! Welcome to the forum and thank you for your questions!

1. Are you sure it is inserted in correct orientation (logo facing up, contacts down) ? It is a push-push mechanism with spring. First push locks it, second push ejects it. It is easy to do even with a door key or such. If the card is fully ejected it is just about aligned with the slot, and it should be easy to get it out with a knock on the case, and if not, then tweezers. The slot is too deep indeed which is unfortunate but it is already at the very edge of the board, it could not be any closer - as there are standoffs holding enclosure together, I did not see any other way. The idea is that you should not ever need to take the card out, it is mainly meant as a temporary memory space for some channels that work with larger chunks of sound (still work in progress), and as for the recordings, files will be downloadable over USB (this is not yet implemented in the current fw). Hope you can remove the card with tweezers - I believe there is no real problem as that slot would require a very strong force to cause any damage.

2. Blinking red LEDs indicate SD card problem - it is not communicating with the unit - as it is not inserted well. The type you mention should be 100% compatible.

3. By "bottom right-most single led" do you mean whie LEDs? They will react to sensors all the time. Status of inputs or delay is indicated by red LEDs, as explained here - they may be blinking or steady, but the pattern should make it easy to recognize which settings is selected (once you learn which LED represents what - it's either numbers or L/R inputs, outer ones are mics, 2nd and 3rd and their mirror image is line in...)

If something does not behave accordingly it would help a lot if you could record a short video. Everything was tested, for example it is not even possible to program the firmware completely without the SD card working, and if you see all LEDs light up when you trigger sensors, that means they are working well. The board has a self-check, if you see blinking red LEDs after you power it on, that means something is wrong - but I believe that's not the case with your unit. There is a *very* small chance that during transport some element might get loose, so the hardware fault is not completely excluded but I'd be very surprised if that has happened.

4. You should not ever need to lower inputs, as there is AGC and various limiters. Rather the global volume is what helps to tame the sound What's the problem exactly - does clipping occur? Which channel is it? The input volumes (if changed during play) are not remembered, however the output volume is. You can adjust input volumes via main menu too, then it will be remembered (all is explained in detail in the online manual as well).

Hope this helps - if you have further questions or need any advice I'm here

Cheers,
Mario

[edisonc]

Hi Mario. Thanks for the quick response. So -

1. Micro sd card is definitely inserted in the correct way, but it does not behave in the manner you speak of with the push/eject mechanism. I think I know how that ought to work since I have some computers that behave the same way. I just barely managed to remove the card with tweezers, then examined it and tested it in my other devices - the card is a-ok. It is formatted in FAT32 format, though that won't help with a physical problem. ; ) Attempting to reinsert card, I do feel the spring, but it doesn't lock. It just bounces back the same distance each time.

2. Ok. I think I figured out my general LED problem; i did not realize that during a play, for the relevant channels, that when you make the adjustments using using B3 & B4 for input, that the selection is only supposed to make the LED's quickly blink a single time and then disappear! But I guess you need the led's for other purposes during playback.

3. Still not sure about the input volumes but I will keep experimenting with them per your directions.

[mario]

1. OK so maybe you need to push it harder? If the spring works then it's good, but push it until you hear a "click". I would not be able to program the device and would never ship it if this was not functioning flawlessly. The boards where the card does not behave smoothly (so far there was a single one) or where there is any other problem or even a suspicion of, are put aside for later investigation / rework. Yes the FAT32 is good format. I really cannot imagine what else might cause this... If the problem persist you can send it back (just the unit without box and packaging) and I will check it and if there really is a hardware problem I will fix it or replace the board and refund your shipping costs.

2. Cool! Yes it only shows the setting for half a second, then it's back to displaying sensor levels or other things.

3. Good luck, if anything is not clear, please don't hesitate to ask - the documenting is still work in progress

[edisonc]

update:

1. Because you were so confident that the SD slot had to be good... I decided to disassemble the Gecho and take a look at it. The slot looks ok as far as I could see; I was able to successfully insert the card using the spring loading mechanism that way! Then I reassembled the Gecho and tested the card slot recording - boom, that worked. I can't really see why I could not get it to lock while the unit was assembled. My plan is to just leave the card in there as you say.  : )

2. So I did test recording to the SD card and after some hunting around saw there's a way to playback the audio from the Gecho via channel 2222 on your user manual web page. That worked. I am assuming there is not currently a way to get the recordings into my pc digitally until firmware update? Or would it require removing the sd card?

thanks again!

[mario]

That's great news! I hope the slot does not behave like standard USB socket, into which the plug can be inserted only while being observed.

I have no idea either, maybe there was a particle of dust blocking it, the material that the enclosure is made of might cause that... but the acrylic plate should protect it well enough, also from any object blocking it mechanically (e.g. battery holder).

The 2222 can be invoked by holding SET for longer while idle, it's a shortcut (this can actually be re-assigned to any other channel).

No at the moment there is no way how to download the files via USB, it is definitely possible just not as easy because this USB driver chip can't emulate mass storage (it's just a virtual serial port).

[moogyloogy]

COULD SOMEONE EXPLAIN HOW TO RECORD TO SD CARD.HOW DO I TEST TO SEE IF SD CARD IS BEING RECOGNIZED??
I DISASSEMBLED GECHO,TO MAKE SURE THAT SD CARD WAS FULLY INSERTED,IT WAS.

[mario]

Just hold SET until the RDY starts blinking: Quick Start page #1

What card are you using? any 1-32GB should be compatible but newer/faster cards work better.

[moogyloogy]

PATRIOT 32G

[moogyloogy]

CAN I RECORD USING ANY OF THE CHANNELS,OR JUST LINE IN ??

[mario]

Anything that is playing in headphones will get recorded exactly as heard (or almost exactly as it is digital data, so the volume settings do not have any influence here). If you want to record what comes through mics or line-in, you need to select the pass-through channel (123 or 124).

[moogyloogy]

MARIO,I TRIED TO RECORD--CHANNEL 1,HOLD RESET,TILL BLINKS,SANG IN GECHO.CHANNEL 2222,PLAYS NOTHING.WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?? IS IT THE SD CARD?? FEEL LIKE A FOOL !!

[mario]

I assume you meant "hold SET", but anyway, what happens (or does not happen) when running 2222? Are some red LEDs starting to blink?

It would be very helpful if you sent me a video - then it would be a lot easier to tell what's the problem.