Zoom H4n RTT Guide

 Contributed by Nathan Statezni and written in Sept. 2010.

Recording RTT stories

To be able to copy a track (in order to have a complete story as well as a story divided into questions), you will need to have the track in MTR (Meter) mode. So you can either record in MTR mode or (the easier and safer way) record in Stereo, move the track to MTR, make copies, and then move the copies back (leave the original in the MTR folder as a backup).

To change to MTR mode, press the Menu button, go to Mode (at the bottom) and choose MTR. You will have to wait a few moments. The red light above MTR will turn on.

To record in MTR mode

Press the Menu button and go to Rec Mode and choose Always New. (Very important! Otherwise you might overwrite your old recordings)

In MTR mode, you can record on four separate tracks, by click the 1, 2, 3, or 4 buttons. The 1,2,3,4 buttons that are currently showing in red are ready to record. But, in order to record in stereo, you will need to link 1 and 2.

If 1 and 2 are not already shown linked together on the screen (with only one circle below the two of them), then you will need to link them. Press the 1,2,3,4 buttons that are currently showing in red to turn them off. Then, turn the wheel until you select the circle under 1 and select this circle (by pushing in on the wheel). A new menu will appear. Use the wheel to scroll to the right until you see Link. Select Link and choose On. When you do this, the top of the screen will show Track1/2 and on the right side of the screen, there will be two bars. Now, it will record in stereo. Press the Menu button to exit. Next press the 1 or the 2 button to turn them both on. Now you are ready to record.

To record in MTR mode when at least one of the 1,2,3,4 buttons are on, first press Stop. Then press Rec to go into Standby mode (the Rec button will blink). Then press Rec again and it will shine red to show that it is recording. Press Stop to stop recording.

Preparing to transcribe the RTT stories

Playing files is difficult from the MTR mode, so once you are done recording the stories, you can make a copy of them and transfer them to Stereo mode.

Make a copy of MTR tracks

1. Check that you are in MTR Mode
2. Press the Menu button
3. Choose File, then the file you want to copy.
4. Then choose Copy.
5. The File Copy menu is now showing. To rename the copy, select Name and then type the name you want. When you are finished, select OK.
6. When you are ready to copy, select Execute.
7. You should make 2 copies of your RTT stories. One copy will be for the full story and one copy you will divide up to ask questions.

Move MTR tracks to Stereo mode

So you can divide the tracks and use them more easily...

1. Press the Menu button.
2. Choose File, then select the track (select only the copies!) that you want to move.
3. Then choose Move.
4. In the File Move menu, choose Move To.
5. Choose Stereo Folder.
6. Choose Next.
7. Choose which Stereo Folder you want to put the file in. You will want to use a separate folder for each collection of RTTs.
8. It will ask you Are You Sure?, choose Yes.

Transcribing RTT stories

One nice feature on the Zoom H4n is that you can play a track back slower, making it easier to hear for transcribing the story.

1. Select the file to play.
2. Press the 3 button (Speed)
3. Choose the speed you want (perhaps 70%).
4. Then press Play. (You can switch to another file by using the Fast Forward and Rewind buttons).

Dividing (splitting) tracks (to insert questions in an RTT)

Unlike the minidisk recorders, you can divide tracks that are imported from your computer. However, you cannot join files back together (remove a split) like minidisk recorders do.

1. NOTE: Dividing tracks is PERMANENT (unlike minidisks). This is why it is good to use only copies of the original when you are dividing tracks.
2. Press the Menu button
3. Choose File.
4. Select the file you wish to divide.
5. Select Divide.
6. Play the track to the part you want to divide. Then press the Rec button.
7. It will ask Are you sure? Choose Yes
8. Wait a few moments (longer than minidisk recorders). The first part of the original will now have an "A" at the end. The second part will now have a "B" at the end.

Importing tracks from the computer

You can import tracks from the computer onto the Zoom H4n (such as for reusing old RTTs).

• Make sure the files are Stereo.
• Connect the Zoom H4n to the computer or insert the SD Card into the computer.
• Go to the Stereo folder
• Choose from Folder01 to Folder10 (you can’t rename the folders) and then paste in your files. Zoom H4n will play the files in alphabetical order, so you may want to use numbers to ensure that the tracks play in the correct order.

Example: A Snake practice story 0-full A Snake practice story 1 A Snake practice story 2 A Snake practice story 3 B Bee hometown test 0-full B Bee hometown test 1-full etc.

Arranging tracks for giving RTT

Zoom H4n will play your files in alphabetical order, so you may want to use numbers or letters at the beginning to ensure that the tracks play in the correct order. Thus, you can't move tracks within a folder except by renaming them.

Example: A Snake practice story 0-full A Snake practice story 1 A Snake practice story 2 A Snake practice story 3 B Bee hometown test 0-full B Bee hometown test 1-full etc

To rename files

1. Press the 2 (File) button.
2. Choose the file to rename.
3. Select Rename.
4. Use the wheel to choose the letter/number you want to change. Select that character and then use the wheel to choose a new letter/number. Here is the order
   1. (space)!#$%&'()+,-0123456789;=@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[]^_`

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{}~

1. 1. Up to 8 letters in MTR mode

To play 1 track at a time

1. Press the Menu button
2. Choose Play Mode.
3. Choose Play One.

Links: Equipment Reviews | Equipment User Guides