CompuServe Messages

Rock. I know the feeling. I've spent the last two days getting a Targa 16 up and running correctly (the first problem with the RCPADI drivers was fairly simple, Gary Yost and Kevin from CSA here helped me fix that one in less than a day). The remainder of the time has been spent getting the Diaquest controller to sync to the Targa 16 in composite mode. I've been dropping frames (had some bad SMPTE code and had to restripe the tape) and lastly the Sony VO-5850 deck has been making the edits ok, but the animation frames have been coming out in monochrome. I've finally narrowed down the problem. The signal coming directly off the T16 on the composite preview monitor is rock steady, however when I put the VTR in the loop, the signal ghosts very badly. (I should have noticed this from the beginning, but I didn't). I either have a deck that is way out/off of signal specs or b)there is so much RF in the room that it's causing the composite signal to shift radically at the VTR. I'm going to check both signals (pre-VTR and post VTR) coming from the T16 card this weekend with a borrowed waveform monitor. I'll bet the post-VTR signal looks like garbage. Next step, I'm going to try sheilding the deck by extending the cables and placing the deck about 20' away from the CPU. If that does not work, it's back to the repair shop for this VTR for signal realignment. Regarding your lock up problem… I've worked with BCD contollers in the past, but only using Topas. What it sounds like you're having is a conflict between 3DS's VTRPADI exp driver and the BCD controller's TSR drivers. On the Diaquest controllers, you can force their TSR to stay in base memory (below 640) while the .exp (correct me I'm wrong here Gary) driver loads high. See if you can force the BCD TSR to load low (on the BCD-500 controller an .exe file (5KECHO) loads the TSR, where in memory I don't know. You might use QuarterDeck Manifest to see where it's residing. Reboot, the machine and then start 3DS2 with your VTRPADI.exp loaded. Shell to DOS and use Manifest to see where the VTRPADI.EXP is sitting in memory. You'll probably find that it overlaps the BCD TSR.