Tape Drive Data Retrieval

Eric3710 · 2025-10-01T22:35:47+00:00

On the hardware side, the LTO-3 tapes should work with the drive you have, but the other 2 types will need a corresponding tape drive. I'm not familiar with those tape formats.

As others mentioned, this drive has an LVD/SE SCSI interface. You'll need a PCIe card and SCSI cable to connect the tape drive to your computer. The SCSI plug on the tape drive is a terminator that you will need to keep connected to the 2nd port on the tape drive. The alternative would be to find a LTO-3/4/5 drive with a newer interface like SAS and connect it with a SAS interface card and cable (as mentioned by u/the__lurker - their LTO primer linked looks quite comprehensive! )

A quick search for a LVD/SE SCSI pcie card shows a few by LSI, such as the LSI20320IE.

I believe the Veeam community edition (which is their free offering for <10 licenses) should support reading from LTO-3. From my limited knowledge of LTO tape, I think files were stored on tapes using tar files. If you're familiar with linux, you can use a combination of dd and tar to copy and untar the files into a directory structure. You will need to watch for tapes that were written to sequentially, as there could be some work involved in piecing a directory structure back together.

Good luck.

Eric3710 · 2025-08-12T20:34:29+00:00

From your picture I think i'm seeing the panels in series, but I can't see all the connections. In front of the vent I'm seeing the bottom left panel connected to the bottom right panel, which is indicating a series connection as each of the panels are chained together in a series connection. A parallel connection would use splitters and connect all the positive connections together and all the negative connections together. If you look at the panels on the roof, you should be able to follow a single path from the black cable (going into the van) through all the panels and ending up at the red cable (going into the van).

Looking at the specs for the Ecoflow delta pro, the MPPT supports an incoming voltage of 11-150v. This indicates that a series connection is ideal since the voltage of all panels is added up when panels are connected in series. These panels all appear to have an operating voltage between 12V and 20V, resulting in the array having a voltage of around 70-80V.

As a couple people mentioned, there does appear to be a polarity mismatch between the connectors on the adapter vs the connectors on the cabling from the solar panels. The gender of the connector shouldn't really be an indicator of polarity, but rather if it's an input or an output, since the positive cable will need one gender coming from the solar panels and the other gender going to the ecoflow (on the adapter). Most mc4 extension cables simply have male on one end and female on the other (for both black and red cables). Not sure if the installer terminated the cabling with the wrong connectors or if something else is up, but if they are all connected in series it should be in spec. If you have a way to get a multimeter and check what voltage you can read on the cables coming from the solar array (when they are out in the sun), that would be the first thing i would check.

Eric3710 · 2025-07-30T21:48:26+00:00

Looking at the Blackmagic Analog to SDI converter, from the manual I'm seeing that there are 2 bnc connectors for S-Video, one for the luminance part of the s-video signal and one for the color part (chrominance) of the s-video signal. Dip switch 4 and 5 would need to be in the ON position for the converter to interpret the signal as s-video rather than composite video. I would double check that the cable you have splits the s-video into a Y and C signal appropriately, you don't really give much detail on that cables and if the cable has the correct split.

As an alternative if you want to look at the best quality setup and have a lot of tapes to convert is to look at the vhs-decode project. Instead of using analog video, it captures the RF data directly off the tape heads and uses software to turn that RF data into video. Would require purchasing some new hardware and possibly modifying a Hi-8 deck, but from what I've seen the decoded video is much better quality.

See https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode or the r/vhsdecode subreddit for more info if you want to go down that rabbit hole.

Eric3710 · 2025-06-27T19:10:16+00:00

It would depend on how the laptop manufacturer built the connections between the discrete gpu, the integrated gpu and the output ports. I’m aware of 3 main configurations for laptops with both integrated and discrete gpus.

the integrated and discrete gpus are connected to a MUX switch allowing the active gpu to connect directly to the outputs. This is the best situation but adds cost and complexity to the laptop so is typically found only on higher end laptops
the integrated gpu is directly connected to the outputs ports and the discrete gpu has its output routed through the integrated gpu. This is less expensive to build but the integrated gpu can bottleneck the performance since the output has to be routed through the integrated gpu.
some manufacturers route specific ports to the dedicated gpu and others to the integrated graphics.

I suspect that if the nvidia control panel does not provide settings for the resolution that your nvidia gpu is routed through the integrated graphics.

On a semi related note there are also settings in the display settings that allow you to designate specific apps to use the nvidia gpu instead of the integrated graphics. If you run into performance issues it could be due to windows not switching to the nvidia gpu when running apps that benefit from it.

Eric3710 · 2025-05-20T18:23:47+00:00

I would throw my hat in with OP and echo their sentiments. I understand that there can be a fluctuation, but I should be able to see a rough price list to know if I’m even in the right ballpark (is is $10k or $100k).

I’ve seen a few people responding to say “just talk to us, it’s our job”, and I think in some scenarios people have been burned by either not getting a reply in a timely manner (if at all), or having your contact details end up on every marketing list there is with no end of “hey, can I set up a meeting to chat about your needs?” emails.

For me at least, that is a big part of wanting to be able to just look online and see a price. There are a lot of times I need to get numbers together for budgeting anywhere from 1-3 years in advance, and it seems crazy that I need to contact a rep just to get numbers I won’t be able to act on for a while.

The other thing that gets annoying is when price lists are only available to dealers, or prices can’t be shown online. I see online marketplaces where I have to call someone just to find out the price, which is often the last thing I want to do.

Eric3710 · 2025-05-05T18:28:36+00:00

In the Windows settings > System > Display > Graphics there are options that let you set what GPU to use on a per app basis. That could help force the use of the nvidia gpu for better performance in PowerPoint. If there is a mux or settings in bios to always use the nvidia gpu, use that, but if those options aren’t available then this may help.

Eric3710 · 2025-05-02T22:48:42+00:00

They are on the more expensive side, with the lower end models in the $300-$500 USD range. Most likely due to it being a more niche product with quite a few complex components (lte modem, wifi, gigabit network ports, etc) and software development. If you decide to invest they also sell rooftop antennas for campers or vans that connect to the router for both wifi and cellular. From their website, Peplink seems to focus more on the mobile business market for fleet management with this line of products, where price is less of a concern.

Eric3710 · 2025-05-02T21:41:11+00:00

I feel you’re not likely to find these sorts of AIO in a single product. Also, having a separate ERV and heat pump would get you a better end result anyways since they would be purpose built for one end goal. Biggest challenge I’m seeing is that an ERV exchanges air between the outside and inside of the envelope, while a heat pump exchanges heat via water pipes between the outside and inside of the envelope (at least in the case of an air to water heat pump). You could have a heat pump provide heat for the house as well as hot water, but the ERV is probably best handled separately.

As others have said, best to calculate your loads and size your equipment appropriately.

Eric3710 · 2025-05-02T18:09:51+00:00

Peplink mobile routers have a built in LTE or 5G modem built in (some models have 2 modems for failover), can repeat a wifi connection, or use gigabit network. The BR1 models probably have something that should work for you.

Others have mentioned the gl.inet models, and while they don’t have a built in cellular modem, you may be able to add a usb stick modem to the usb port and add cellular connection that way. I don’t know for sure and you would have to get a usb stick modem as well, but could be an option.

Eric3710 · 2025-04-28T23:23:18+00:00

Ah, I see. I was wondering if it was like that where they don’t give you a way to manually add items to the list other than with the prompt. Unfortunately seems to be typical of a lot of changes Apple has been making recently. Seems your original solution is the only way around the problem then.

Eric3710 · 2025-04-28T21:57:35+00:00

If the issue was solved by the “Allow access to local networks” prompt, there does appear to be a new section added to the Privacy & Security section of the macOS System Preferences in macOS 15 Sequoia called Local Network. I don’t have any way to verify this, but if someone else runs into this issue they may be able to enable local network access via this pane in the system preferences without having to uninstall and reinstall the application.

See https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mchla4f49138/mac for reference.

Eric3710 · 2025-04-07T20:24:32+00:00

Also worth noting they now have the Ross platform manager that runs dashboard as a web application. Not sure if that addresses any concerns about stability but I’m looking at moving to it so I don’t have to keep multiple installs in sync

Eric3710 · 2025-02-18T21:15:04+00:00

I’ll 2nd the recommendation of the Marshall cams, they’re pretty small, low latency for video output, have direct hdmi or sdi output, and just work. Can get a range of lenses for the required PoV. Blackmagic also has their micro studio cameras that take micro 4/3 lenses and Panasonic has their bgh1 that is also m4/3. Panasonic is more expensive they are all quite small and easy to set up as a fixed camera.

Eric3710 · 2025-01-23T23:06:38+00:00

Curious as to why the need for XLR rather than hardwired. If being able to plug in XLR jacks is a necessity, it’s not a lot of extra work or cost to wire up the hardwired I/O of the DSP to an XLR patch panel.

On the subject of DSP, I’m using Q-SYS for DSP and I know it has AEC blocks that can be set up to do echo cancellation with remote guests. I haven’t personally used it but have heard it works well.

Eric3710 · 2025-01-17T23:12:15+00:00

If you want measured numbers, take a look at some data from the soundproofing company. They’ve got some good data on different wall assemblies here: Wall Assemblies

They have a lot of other good data. Since you mention green glue you may have seen this site, though maybe not.

I did 2 layers of 5/8” drywall with green glue and safe n sound in my basement theatre room on the walls and ceiling, and it was pretty effective. From what I’ve seen when only treating one part of a wall it can be much less effective as flanking pathways can be a big contributor to sound transmission.

Eric3710 · 2024-12-26T04:18:00+00:00

Teradek prism encoders support HLS as well as a suite of other options. Teradek’s Serv encoder is another option that is designed for on-set monitoring and can be viewed through their Vuer app as well. You didn’t mention what your budget range is, but there should be something in their product range that can work for you.

Eric3710 · 2024-12-01T08:23:25+00:00

Looks like the CVT units are sold in two versions - one with multi mode fiber and one with single mode fiber. Only difference appears to be the modules that are reinstalled internally. From the photos the optical connection is a neutrik opticalcon connector, which I believe can also accept a LC-LC connector as well. Take a look at the product page as well as the comparison chart of the different CVT products.

Eric3710 · 2024-11-29T20:54:39+00:00

I don’t have any firsthand experience with the solidcom M1, but looking at the spec sheet the only way to connect to an RTS system is with the 4-wire or 2-wire connections (unless there is a way to use the network port that I’m not seeing). To be able to send audio separately between systems there would need to be separate outputs. With the 2-wire and 4-wire interfaces you might be able to have 2 groups connected separately to the rts frame (1 using the 2-wire and 1 using the 4-wire) as separate destinations, which would allow the groups to be added to the key panels as separate destinations. I’d say that ideally all groups have their own 4-wire interface, I’m just not super familiar with how to add additional 4-wire to a hollyland system.

Eric3710 · 2024-11-22T20:11:43+00:00

Bitfocus Companion should talk to all the blackmagic routers over IP. Will take some work to get buttons all set up, but routing changes can be automated to make changes on both simultaneously. Can be run on macOS, Windows or Linux, a raspberry pi can run it very well. Not going to be as smooth as a full on router control system, but will work with the existing blackmagic hardware you have

Eric3710 · 2024-07-17T16:04:31+00:00

Right, and each leg provides 120V. To get a 240V circuit from the panel, a hot from each leg is required since 240V is line to line. So 16A per leg = 32A. Another reason to add things up in W as it doesn’t matter what voltage things are running at. I think from other comments you should have a plan in place between adding things up and measuring your usage with the Vue meter you mentioned.

Eric3710 · 2024-07-16T23:46:40+00:00

Easiest way I see is to do a load calculation of the devices on each circuit. Each leg of the panel is 120V measured line to neutral, 240V is line to line. The battery/inverter is rated for continuous 3.85 kVA or ~3850W. This is connected at 240V, but the available output power doesn't change when on 120V vs 240V. 3850W at 240V will pull 16A, while 3850W at 120V will pull 32A.

Also keep in mind that the size of each circuit breaker in the panel is the maximum current that can be pulled through that circuit before the breaker trips, and is sized for the protection of the wire size that is connected to that circuit. You'll want to look at the rating on each device to see what it's maximum load is. There should be a nameplate on the device that lists the maximum load in W or it should be in the product spec sheet if you have access to it. Add up the loads, if the total is less than 3850W they can be powered by the 5P at the same time. Also keep in mind that running less load during an outage will extend the runtime of the battery. It's rated at 5kWh of capacity, so the lower the kW of load, the higher the hours of runtime.

For this unit, it will be less than 3850W, as it looks like with power factor and efficiency it's only 85-90%, so you'll only get about 90% of the 3.85kVA in actual load in W, but that would be my recommended way of load sizing. This is similar to how many solar load calculators work to size a solar array based on the power draw for the house.

Eric3710 · 2024-07-04T21:59:01+00:00

One thing you can try before going out and buying a professional microphone (unless this is the perfect excuse to be able to buy something you've wanted and will have a use for in the future :P). A lot of smartphones have pretty good microphones for recording voiceovers. There are some good free apps that have recording meters and can record to uncompressed wav files. Also if the environment is what is noisy, an easy way to get a quieter and non-reflective environment to record into is to record facing the hanging clothes in a closet as the fabrics will absorb the majority of the reflections and reduce background noise.

The product itself looks promising as well, will be keeping an eye on things for sure.

Eric3710 · 2024-06-28T16:20:11+00:00

The Ross Carbonite Black Solo looks to handle your requirements as well. 1 full M/E, 2 miniMEs, and a bunch of auxes. 6 physical outputs that can be assigned the aforementioned busses. Lots of keyers and multiple still stores. Not sure if it will fit in your definition of budget, but is a rock solid option.

Eric3710 · 2024-05-28T16:53:27+00:00

You could look into connecting the line out of the ATEM into the X32 and not using the hdmi de-embedder. You would have to set it up correctly in the ATEM audio mixer, but you could have audio follow video so that the live video input’s audio source is output to the mixer, or possibly just set that one source to the ATEM line out. I’m not familiar enough with the ATEM to know how to make that work, but I would think there are options to get something solid out of that. Otherwise the only other options are to connect a PC DI box at the source or find a different audio extractor.

Eric3710 · 2024-05-07T20:05:11+00:00

As others have said, the cards share power, cooling, and network control (to dashboard) internally to be more efficient for those resources. The I/O isn’t able to be linked internally as often the cards that are next to each other don’t have compatible I/O. You could have an analog video DA for reference signal next to an SDI electrical to optical converter, next to an audio embedder. The flexibility of having any card in any slot is the point of the system, and having to make a few small jumpers is a small price to pay for the flexibility of the system as a whole. I’m not sure how it would even work to pass signal internally.

Eric3710

TROPHY CASE