HHB PDR-1000 PortaDAT
A British-designed, Japanese-built location DAT deck from HHB, aimed at serious field recording.
Overview
The PDR-1000 was HHB's attempt at a genuinely professional portable DAT recorder. The headline feature is the four-head, direct-drive transport. The extra pair of heads is there for confidence monitoring, so the machine plays back off tape while it records. The operator hears what is actually going onto the tape, not what the electronics think is going onto it. Mix (February 1995, p.108) field-tested the PortaDAT and treated that confidence-head arrangement as the main appeal for location work.
Around that transport HHB built a connectivity set for field work: balanced XLR mic and line analog inputs, two RCA analog line outputs, and digital I/O on both S/PDIF (RCA) and AES/EBU (balanced XLR). Mic input attenuation is switchable per channel between 0 dB and −30 dB. 48V phantom power is onboard, along with a built-in limiter and an internal monitor speaker. The illuminated LCD carries clock and counter, peak level metering, a margin display, battery status, ID number, tape source status, and machine status. That is a lot of information, but it is the kind a recordist actually checks mid-session.
Power comes from a supplied Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable battery good for roughly two hours. The included AC adapter/charger recharges it in about the same time. HHB's literature points out that the NiMH chemistry has no memory effect, which mattered when careless charging routines could quietly cripple a pack. Mix (February 1995, p.111) noted the charger's refresh switch, which drains the battery fully before recharging.
The design and the operator's manual are British, and the build is Japanese. EQ (May 1995, p.90) reviewed the machine under the heading "Night of the Living DAT" and found no major weaknesses. It singled out the confidence head, margin indicator, and record level lock as particular strengths, alongside the two-hour battery life. The same review praised the manual as thorough, precise, and clear, which is an unusual thing to find in a review. The reviewer also called out the sculpted panel that shields buttons and switches, and said the simple transport and circuit-board layout should mean long service life.
There were two versions. The base PDR-1000 listed at $3,995. The PDR-1000TC added timecode record, generate, and reference capability in all existing international standards, and listed at $6,995. The TC variant supports all standard SMPTE/EBU time codes including 24, 25, 29.97 (drop and non-drop frame), and 30 fps, plus external synchronization to video, field sync, and word sync. A spare battery ran $180. HHB later announced an upgrade path allowing existing PDR-1000 owners to bring their machines to PDR-1000TC specification for $3,995 - the same figure as a new base unit.
Two accessories rounded out the system for sync-critical work. The MS1000 Master Sync module, which HHB claimed would hold drift to no more than one frame every ten hours, and the HM1000 Headphone Matrix, a rotary switch offering Stereo, Mono Left, Mono Sum, and M/S monitoring selections. They were aimed at film and video production, ENG/EFP, and any session where the recording had to line up with picture later.
Mix (February 1995, p.111) put the unit at slightly more than four pounds with battery — light enough to carry all day, heavy enough to feel like a tool rather than a toy. The reviewer described being comfortable with the PDR-1000 in the field, which is the verdict that matters for gear in this class.
For anyone chasing one today, the practical notes are the obvious ones for a thirty-year-old DAT machine. The transport and heads are the wear items, and the NiMH pack will almost certainly need replacing. The confidence-head feature that made the PDR-1000 desirable is only as good as the heads themselves. The TC version commands more when it surfaces, partly for the timecode capability and partly because fewer were made. The documentation survives, which helps when a machine this complex starts misbehaving.
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