Formatting Tapes - Alesis BRC Reference Manual

• If the first ADAT doesn't have a tape in its drive, the Tape
Location counter on the BRC will display "-- -- -- -- --" (the slave
ADATs will display "-- --").
• The BRC will query each unit that contains an inserted tape as to
its format status.
• If the first ADAT's tape is formatted, the BRC will display the
current real-time location of the first slave unit and locate all
slaves to this same location.
• If the first ADAT's tape is unformatted, the BRC will display
"noFO".
Note: The BRC's transport controls are not active for a unit without
tape. They are active for an unformatted tape, but an unformatted
tape will not be controlled as accurately as a formatted tape. If an
unformatted tape is inserted, the ADAT's tape counter will display
"noFO", no audio will sound and the FORMAT LED will flash on
the ADAT(s).

3.1 FORMATTING TAPES

Just as formatting a floppy disk lets a computer know where to place
data, formatting an ADAT tape time-stamps the tape to single-sample
accuracy so that audio is referenced to an accurate time base. This
allows for simplified synchronization, accurate tape counter readings,
and intelligent autolocation.
When formatting begins, ADAT writes some setup data during the
first two minutes and fifteen seconds of tape, then at time -00:05, it
writes the time in minutes and seconds onto a special sync track. This
does not use up any of the eight audio tracks. The time-stamping
continues until the end of the tape is reached, or STOP is pressed.
To format a new tape (or to reformat/erase an old tape):
1. Press the FORMAT button. The FORMAT LED should now be lit
solid;
2. To select a single tape machine to format, press the EDIT button
followed by the FORMAT button.
The display will show the following:
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