Zoom F6 Timecode not working?

[chrisspiegl]

I have tried running the ltcdump on a file that was recorded on a Canon EOS R with the timecode coming from the Zoom F6 timecode port into the mic port of the EOS R.

For some reason, it seems to not recognize this time code at all?

Am I doing something wrong here? The strange thing is that the Tentacle Sync Studio successfully reads the timecode with no problem?

I also am discussing this with the ltcsync dev at arikrupnik/ltcsync#28

There I also provided a small demo file CSP_8307-1-right.wav.zip

I hope we can figure this out and get it to work.

Thank you.

[chrisspiegl]

I have since added a clean 32bit float recording of the Zoom F6 timecode:

201105_009_Tr1.WAV.zip

This test file is recorded by plugging the Zoom F6 TC output directly into the F6 with the Rode VXLR+ mini jack to XLR adapter.

[x42]

It's an invalid file. It looks like a high-pass filter was applied to the signal, or it was otherwise degraded (perhas impedance mismatch, incorrect wiring):

It's still possible to recover parts of the information, even though it's not a valid LTC stream, but libltc is not aimed to be a diagnostics or surgical tool. So the decoder does not respond.

A valid LTC signal consists of 2,4kHz square waves with a rise-time rise time of 40 us +/- 10 us. The waveform should look like

[chrisspiegl]

@x42 Thank you for your input. I have no idea where the mismatch is coming from. I am just using some basic aux wire to connect the cable to the camera (and also tried with a 3.5mm jack to XLR adapter.

I appreciate this input and I will see how I will figure this out.

[chrisspiegl]

Update: arikrupnik/ltcsync#28 (comment)

I have found that the issues are most likely coming from:

1. stereo cables in different configurations and
2. Line Level signal strength vs Mic Level input expectation

The Canon EOS R Mic port gets artificially attenuated when the signal is too loud and that probably destroys the signal in the way it does. Additionally, I have found that the use of my adapters does not work as expected.

I have ordered some stereo to mono adapters to see if I may be able to mitigate the result… This is interesting but at least I am on a path to a solution.