Voice recorder and mic

anyone use one while carrying?

If so, what do you reccomend and why?

Id like a little insurance...

take care, be safe, and thanks!

I would recommend one that will work with new PC operating systems...if electronic in nature.

I bought one when Vista was out & new ... now won't work with Windows 7 ...

I've been quite satisfied with my Sony ICD PX-312

When I was illegally detained for walking in a public park it came in quite handy in proving that I was doing nothing illegal nor out of the ordinary (except being legally armed, of course).
At that time I had it in a shirt pocket, but lately I've taken to carrying it horizontally on my belt in a nylon folding-knife sheath.

One thing that might come in handy is to measure whatever your daily carry magazine is, and then try to find a voice recorder of similar size that will fit into a magazine carrier (to be worn strong side, so as not to be confused with a magazine.)

I’v been carrying a Sony ICD UX523BLK 4 GB Voice recorder for the last five months. Haven’t needed yet thought. What I like about it, it has a built in USB port so just plug it in recharge the battery and sofouth.

I've been carrying a recorder for several years. The current one I have is no longer produced, but was obtained at a Radio Shack store. I have several suggestions.

PC Port
As others have recommended, get one that has a port that easily lets you move voice files to your PC.

Batteries
Disposable batteries will eventually become a drag, both in cost and convenience. If its possible, get rechargeable batteries. The recorder I use takes AAA batteries, so I obtained several sets of batteries at a battery store to get the highest amp-hour output available to get the longest run time out of a single battery charge. The rechargeable batteries in department stores and pharmacies didn't have enough amp-hour performance and would run out during the course of the day. 1000 milliamp-hour batteries are what I have and they appear to allow continuous recording times on a single charge in excess of 24 hours. In practice, each night, I remove the batteries from the recorder and put them on the charger and insert a freshly charged set.

Date and Time stamp
The date and time stamp could become important if the recording becomes evidence, so I make sure I carefully check and set the date and time. I use the same time that appears on my cell phone as the cell phone provider sets this time automatically.

Voice activated mode
Some of the new recorders have a voice activated mode where the recorder turns on automatically when it detects sound. Mine doesn't have this, but I wouldn't use this unless each time the recorder starts the file gets a unique date and time stamp. I let the recorder I have run continuously so that its possible to establish a time line from the date and time stamp on the audio file.

Use
If something happens and you find yourself in a situation where you need to record something, you won't have time or won't remember to turn the recorder on. When I leave the house, I turn on the recorder and leave it on all day. When I come home, if something interesting hasn't happened, I turn it off and erase the recording. Kind of like a cockpit voice recorder in an airplane.

Hope all this helps.

i bought this Veho vcc-003-muvi-pro 30fps, comes with a 4gig micro sd good for about 160 minutes of video WITH timestamp! it gets the job done for $50.

the nice thing it you can have the power "on" and it will hibernate and if you need to start recording you simply hit the top button and yer good. to stop hit it again. you can repeat this till the card is full. 8gig microsd is max that it will accept, 45minutes =1gig.

voice activated feature 65db
standby time 250 hours
batt usage 70-90 minutes
2 hr charge with mini usb (no stupid proprietary crap) cable and stubby included

it is plug and play, the cd has a small utility to set date and time. its very small and discreet, wear it on your neck and clip it to yer shirt.

markand, to record all day will take a lot of storage and battery to do such. you are best off recording only when you know or are about to have interaction with others. you could carry multiple memory cards with you, they are small enough too. plus a usb charger pack

I carry the Olympus WS-802. It has a rechargeable battery and an SD card. I believe I can record and store 100+ hrs. It also has a USB plug so I can charge it at home or work or in my car.

forgot to mention the one i listed was a video recorder.

PFC HALE said:

markand, to record all day will take a lot of storage and battery to do such. you are best off recording only when you know or are about to have interaction with others. you could carry multiple memory cards with you, they are small enough too. plus a usb charger pack

Click to expand...

The recorder I've got stores just under 80 hours of audio and the batteries are good for more than 24 hours on a single charge. And yes, you're right that file would be a big one. That's never been a problem, however. Transferring a file that large to the PC only takes a few minutes.

The problem with turning the recorder on only when you need it is that a critical event you REALLY want recorded usually happens without warning and so fast that you won't have time or won't remember to turn the recorder on at all.

markand said:

The recorder I've got stores just under 80 hours of audio and the batteries are good for more than 24 hours on a single charge. And yes, you're right that file would be a big one. That's never been a problem, however. Transferring a file that large to the PC only takes a few minutes.

The problem with turning the recorder on only when you need it is that a critical event you REALLY want recorded usually happens without warning and so fast that you won't have time or won't remember to turn the recorder on at all.

Click to expand...

im with ya on that, i guess the video i could use as a piggyback and turn it on when shtf along with the good audio

PFC HALE said:

markand, to record all day will take a lot of storage and battery to do such. you are best off recording only when you know or are about to have interaction with others. you could carry multiple memory cards with you, they are small enough too. plus a usb charger pack

Click to expand...

Most digital voice recorders have at least 36 hours continuous recording capacity. The limiting factor will be battery life. Battery life is defined by amp-hours - or in this case mili-amp hours (mAh). My Olympus VN6200 (no longer made) goes 72 hours on a set of 2500 mAh batteries.

Alkalines may get you as much as 12hour. They can be recharged somewhere between 5 & 10 times, but wear down faster after each recharging.

Nickle Cadmium (NiCADs) might go 18 hours, but take a "set" if you do not recondition them before every recharge. It'sa a PITA and adds as much as 18 hours to the recharge time, depending on the recharger. They can be recharged up to about 100 times, but start losing the ability to hold a charge after anywhere between 25 and 50 recharges.

Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH) can be charged over 1K times, and do not lose charge capacity over time*.

The cost of two sets of 2400 mAh (or higher) NiMH batteries may scare you at first. When you factor lifetime cost as opposed to alkalines ir NiCADs they actually are cheaper.

Most recorders do not need an external mike unless you bury them underneath a heavy winter jacket/coat. Tucked in a shirt pocket they pick up conversation just fine.

stay safe.

PFC HALE said:

i bought this Veho vcc-003-muvi-pro 30fps, comes with a 4gig micro sd good for about 160 minutes of video WITH timestamp! it gets the job done for $50.

the nice thing it you can have the power "on" and it will hibernate and if you need to start recording you simply hit the top button and yer good. to stop hit it again. you can repeat this till the card is full. 8gig microsd is max that it will accept, 45minutes =1gig.

voice activated feature 65db
standby time 250 hours
batt usage 70-90 minutes
2 hr charge with mini usb (no stupid proprietary crap) cable and stubby included

it is plug and play, the cd has a small utility to set date and time. its very small and discreet, wear it on your neck and clip it to yer shirt.

Click to expand...

I also have one of those only it was like $7 on ebay from China. It has surprisingly good audio and video. One downside is there is no battery level indicator. I also have and have used an Olympus WS-400 audio recorder. It works extremely well on a lanyard under a shirt etc.