The Hack

Disclaimer:  The information on this website is for educational purposes only, and this website is in no way responsible for any misuse of the information.  Undertaking any procedure on this website is at the risk of the person(s) involved and the website cannot be held responsible for any damage this undertaking may cause.  


What you will need:

  • A hex editor.  For this I will be using the HxD Hex Editor found here.  
  • The official Tascam DR-08 Firmware found here.  Please download the file 'DR-08 firmware version 1.04 - 572.26 KB'
  • The official Teac VR-20 Firmware found here. This site is in Japanese, but all you need to do is download the V1.03 zip file. See photo below for further clarification on what file to download.
File to download from Teac Japan

Setting Up:

1. Install the HxD hex editor.  

2. For simplicity, I recommend extracting both firmware zip files into the same folder. You should then have a .103 file and a .104 file in the same folder. 

Your folder should look like this.

Creating the Modified Firmware:

1.  Run the HxD hex editor.

2.  In the hex editor, open both the VR-20-40.103 file and the DR-08-43.104 file. 

When files are opened, they should look like this.

3.  Select the VR-20-40.103 tab found at the top of the editor.

Select the circled tab.


4. On the VR-20-40.103 file, select the first 20 hex characters and copy them.

Copy the first 20 characters

5. Go back to the DR-08-43.104 tab.  Select the first 20 characters and Paste over the top of them.

Select first 20 characters. Right click and select 'Paste insert'.

6. You have now finished modifying the firmware!  Save the file as Tehack.104.

Save File as Tehack.104

Installing the Firmware:

On how to install firmware on the Teac/Tascam recorders, your best resource is the official documentation found here (look at the "DR-08 version 1.04 release notes" PDF).  Just remember that instead of installing the official firmware file, you should install the Tehack.104 file. 

Below is a brief summary on how to install the file:


  1. Connect your device to your PC.
  2. Transfer Tehack.104 file to the UTILITY folder of your device.
  3.  Disconnect device from the computer and ensure the device is turned off.
  4. Hold in 'Play' and 'Function' buttons and turn on your device.
  5. On the UPDATE screen, select Tehack.104 and click the 'Play' button.
  6. When asked "Are you sure ?", click the 'REC' button.
  7. Allow the firmware to install, this should take about a minute and the device will turn off when it is finished.
  8. Once installed, turn the device on. You should be greeted with a TASCAM DR-08 startup logo. 
  9. Enjoy!

10 comments:

  1. Unknown14 November 2012 at 14:11

    Worked perfectly!! Thanks for figuring this out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown17 April 2013 at 05:13

    i just get a vr-20w. but, in step 4.Hold in 'Play' and 'Function' buttons and turn on your device.,it have no response.why? thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. HeywoodPeace15 April 2018 at 21:35

    the VR-20 just says ERROR when trying to install the hack

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alpine Geek6 September 2020 at 10:06

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  4. Jackson10 January 2019 at 10:17

    I'm thinking this should work on the DR-03 also. It looks the same. But no firmware download for the DR-03 from Tascam. Is there a way to get it from the device itself?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jackson17 January 2019 at 17:03

    CONFIRMED! This works perfectly on the Tascam DR-03 as well. Now says, "DR-08" when booted up. Records at 96kHz/24bit! Had to email Tascam to get the DR-03 firmware.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Eusebios18 June 2020 at 02:53

    Hello, is there any way to modified firmware from DX--05X to DX--05 so DX-05 can be used as live microphone on PC?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Alpine Geek6 September 2020 at 08:45

    Will this also work on the VR-10?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alpine Geek11 September 2020 at 06:27

      Although this hack worked on my VR-20, I only get an error when trying on the VR-10, which is odd since it uses the same firmware as the VR-20.

      Delete
    2. Alpine Geek11 September 2020 at 06:48

      Edit... it will work on the VR-10, but not with the VR-20 firmware, which is what the US site has for a firmware update on the VR-10. I found a Japanese site with the correct VR-10 firmware and the hack now works fine.

      Delete

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