title: Modification of a consumer digital audio tape (DAT) for analog data recording.
abstract: A modification of a commercially available digital-audio tape (DAT) for DC recordings such as those used in patch clamp and other electrophysiological experiments is introduced. The modified DAT can record data from 2 channels plus a separate trigger signal for up to 2 h. The bandwidth ranges from direct current to 21 kHz; the signal-to-noise ratio is above 90 dB and the A-D resolution is 16 bit. A 120-min cassette yields a storage capacity of 1.4 Gbytes. The trigger is 'hidden' on 1 channel as a burst of 1-ms duration, thus minimizing interference with the recorded data. The modified DAT offers a low-cost yet high quality solution to most analog data storage needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lüscher
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Frei
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Limoges
mesh_terms: D000669:Amplifiers, Electronic; D004581:Electronics; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013637:Tape Recording / Q000295:instrumentation*