Voice recording is carried out using tape recorders, analog and digital voice recorders, computers, as well as mobile phones and players. At the same time, built-in and external microphones are used, which differ from each other in the principle of operation and design.
Instructions
Step 1
In mobile phones and MP3 players, the voice recorder function is auxiliary. Use them for voice recording only if the quality requirements are low. Although the microphones built into them are electret, their sensitivity is so low that any attempt to record the speaker's speech, even from the front rows of the hall, is doomed to failure in advance - you will get a quiet mumbling in which it will be difficult to make out the words. If you wish, you can place the device in the speaker's shirt pocket - only then will sufficiently intelligible speech be recorded.
Step 2
Built-in microphones work much better in pocket recorders - both cassette and microcassette, and digital. When purchasing an analog dictaphone, keep in mind that it is quite difficult to buy cassettes or microcassettes for it, since due to the spread of digital technologies, they are no longer in demand. The solution may be to reuse the same cassette after converting the recordings into digital form using a computer sound card and then erasing it from an analog medium. If you are purchasing a digital voice recorder, pay attention not only to the amount of memory, but also to the quality of work with the USB port. When purchasing a cheap device, ask the seller to demonstrate that there is no sudden interruption in data transfer, even if the device is plugged into a USB port and has been active for a few minutes.
Step 3
If you still have a tape recorder, and it is well adjusted, you can use it for voice recording. With a built-in microphone, the recording quality will be better than with an MP3 player or mobile phone, but worse than with a dictaphone. The recording made by the tape recorder can also be transferred to the computer through the sound card.
Step 4
The use of a computer to record the report will allow avoiding additional manipulations. The most convenient in this respect are notebooks and netbooks with built-in microphones. Install the Audacity program on the machine - it is cross-platform and suitable for various operating systems. Remember to also enable the mic input in the mixer - sometimes it is disabled by default.
Step 5
If any of the devices described above have an external microphone input, its use will significantly increase the recording quality. You can connect a headset to a mobile phone, an electret microphone to a dictaphone or a computer, and a dynamic one to a tape recorder. The exception to this rule is some Toshiba notebooks that are designed to work with dynamic microphones. Connecting a microphone of a type that the device is not designed for will result in a complete lack of sound or a drop in its volume. Note also that a dynamic microphone, due to its lower sensitivity, requires placement directly in front of the speaker's face, but almost does not register external noise. In very noisy environments, it is advisable to use a differential microphone or throatophone.
