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voice recorders

91 whiskey

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2013
Messages
42
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
Just got mine. Right now I've decided that I'm going to keep it in my pocket but I doubt it's a good idea to go sticking your hand in your pocket as the cops are showing up. How do y'all wear yours? Also I need some clarification on state laws when it comes to recording devices. Does the person on the other end need to know they're being recorded for it to be legal? If so and if I keep it running from the instant I leave the house as some suggest what about all the other people I come in contact with? Am I supposed to tell everyone I interact with that they are being recorded?
 

zigziggityzoo

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
1,543
Location
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Just got mine. Right now I've decided that I'm going to keep it in my pocket but I doubt it's a good idea to go sticking your hand in your pocket as the cops are showing up. How do y'all wear yours? Also I need some clarification on state laws when it comes to recording devices. Does the person on the other end need to know they're being recorded for it to be legal? If so and if I keep it running from the instant I leave the house as some suggest what about all the other people I come in contact with? Am I supposed to tell everyone I interact with that they are being recorded?


I keep one in my pocket as well, or on a lanyard around my neck.

In either case, it's just always running. I got a set of rechargeable batteries (Mine runs for about 8 hours on one AAA battery), and start it before walking out the door. If there's audio that needs saving I save it to my computer before wiping it and popping a fresh battery in it once I'm home.

Insofar as legality: So long as you are a party to the conversation, you may lawfully record without notification. IF YOU ARE NOT A PARTY TO THE CONVERSATION, you only need to notify if the party has a reasonable expectation of privacy from your ears.
 
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OneForAll

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
278
Location
Davison
I use a magazine holster because mine fits in it so well and still gets good quality audio. May not be the same for yours.
 

Shadow Bear

Michigan Moderator
Joined
Dec 17, 2010
Messages
1,004
Location
Grand Rapids
I keep mine running from the time I leave the house, until I'm back home. I generally keep in in my shirt pocket, although sometimes it has to be in my pants pocket. I download ALL recordings, regardless of their content. You never know when someone may accuse you of something a day or a week latter.....

So far, I've never had need of them, but I do have some interesting stuff, like a sherriff deputy explaining to an irate citizen why what I was doing is perfectly legal, and KPD sergeant apologizing for hasseling Steel Magnolia, and admitting that she was 100% legal.
 

cmdr_iceman71

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2010
Messages
409
Location
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Yes, I have my voice recorder running before I step foot outside my house and I dont turn mine off until I'm home, or if I have disarmed for some reason. Battery life is superb on my Sony ICD-PX312, it runs for roughly 18hrs on rechargeable batteries and for about 42hrs on the standard alkline type.

As far as legalities go the one thing that I see that hasnt been covered is that you must either stop recording or garner consent to record when and where the person(s) who are being recorded have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" and that means they are on private property in a place where the general public wouldnt normally have access.

I also carry mine in a magazine pouch and it picks up sounds flawlessly.
 

Michigander

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
4,818
Location
Mulligan's Valley
My primary in a situation where I anticipate the possibility of police trouble is always a covert video recorder. My backup in this case, or primary when I don't expect trouble, is a audio recorder held in a pouch on my gun belt.
 
B

Bikenut

Guest
My primary in a situation where I anticipate the possibility of police trouble is always a covert video recorder. My backup in this case, or primary when I don't expect trouble, is a audio recorder held in a pouch on my gun belt.
My primary is a covert video/audio recorder. My back up is another video/audio recorder. My back up for my back up is another covert video/audio recorder...

And my back up for all of them is yet another covert video/audio recorder..

And my back up for that is yet another covert video/audio recorder.

Sometimes my wife carries yet another spare covert video/audio recorder for me.

Am I paranoid? Or do I have the capability to record video and audio of every moment I am open carrying in public while still prepared for a worst case scenario where covert recorders are needed?

All I do know is.. I carry a gun to save my life and the lives of my loved ones and I carry recorders to save my, and their, freedom. I have a video/audio recording of every moment I've open carried in public for the past several years saved in a remote location. Paranoid? I think not since I carry a gun in case I need it to save my life so I also carry recorders in case I need them to save my freedom.

No.. I will NOT reveal what covert recorders I use on an open forum that is monitored by LE agencies from local to Federal. Not that they don't already know what is out there (and some just might use the same units themselves... think about that for a while)... just no point in making it easy.
 
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Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla

Michigander

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
4,818
Location
Mulligan's Valley
Am I paranoid? .


Not a bit. And it can easily be put in perspective with the sweeping catastrophic failure of almost every recorder at one of the most high profile incidents I've ever been involved in, where we had more than 6 people, many carrying multiples, but only got 2 videos, one incomplete, and audio. Chinese junk is junk, and while you are likely alone in having that much footage recorded, it is still an excellent idea.
 

lapeer20m

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Messages
928
Location
Near Lapeer (Hadley), Michigan, USA
And it's also handy that police officers while acting in an official capacity have no expectation of privacy. If they are having a private conversation you are not part of it is still lawful to record them.
 
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Logan 5

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
696
Location
Utah
Lapeer uses the same site I'm quite fond of- http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide. It's a great resource.

I'm fond of the RCA VR-5320. Take two triple A's and has an extendable USB jack so you can plug it in and transfer the files. I found that with practice it's a great little tool to have.
 

Fallschirjmäger

Active member
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
3,823
Location
Cumming, Georgia, USA
I just use a nylon folding knife sheath I had lying around. It has a snap+velcro so it requires turning the window to the inside away from the snap but it's low profile. I thought about having a kydex sheath made, but I'm not totally sure the recorder could stand the 250-degree heat required to mold the kydex. (And if I had any wood working skill, I'd just carve a blank to the same dimensions and not worry about it.)
foldingsheath.jpg
 

Logan 5

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
696
Location
Utah
Fallschirmjager, you do understand that the recorder doesn't exactly have to sit in there snug, right? If you want it to by formed to the size & shape of the recorder, get a small piece of wood and cut it down and carve it. Like a 1"x2" or something. You can likely find some scrap somewhere that'd work. Then after carving it, use it for the molding.
 

Fallschirjmäger

Active member
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
3,823
Location
Cumming, Georgia, USA
Realized, but I prefer to rely on something more substantial than gravity for retention; I want friction and that means molding to shape (or close to it).

Kydex, while being today's flavor of the week, also has the drawback of being just a little too good. Molded to a firearm it will last a generation, molded to a voice recorder it'll be perfectly molded to outdated technology/no longer produced shape by the end of a decade.
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
Realized, but I prefer to rely on something more substantial than gravity for retention; I want friction and that means molding to shape (or close to it).

Kydex, while being today's flavor of the week, also has the drawback of being just a little too good. Molded to a firearm it will last a generation, molded to a voice recorder it'll be perfectly molded to outdated technology/no longer produced shape by the end of a decade.
Didn't know that being durable was a drawback. I mean how much would you invest in material for your confort, safety, and convenience?
 

Fallschirjmäger

Active member
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
3,823
Location
Cumming, Georgia, USA
Didn't know that being durable was a drawback. I mean how much would you invest in material for your comfort, safety, and convenience?
My dad once paid a premium for a custom made suit. Probably cost twice what any other suit would have, but it has a lifetime 'no questions asked' guarantee.' It'll last for generations because of how well it was made. Was it worthwhile for him to pay extra for that durability?
I dunno, but since it's a Nehru jacket, you tell me if you think it was a wise investment in durability and comfort.


Durable with a firearm that's not going to wear out within my lifetime, good.
Durable with a recorder or phone that's going to be replaced within 3-6 years... waste of money. Every Kydex holster I've come across has cost more than any of the voice recorders I've used, lost, or replaced.

Do you think it's cost-effective to spend $50 for a holster for a $40 recorder that will be replaced with something else in a few years that the $50 Kydex holster won't fit? I'll happily take a nylon sheath that does the very same job for $10 and in a few years replace it with another for the same amount.



Now.... if someone were to maybe make a voice recorder that had roughly the same physical dimensions as a Glock magazine, .... I'd be all over that like a frat boy on a free case of Heineken. Heck, make it as slim as a single-stack .45 mag and I'd still be tickled pink.
 
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Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
Didn't know that being durable was a drawback. I mean how much would you invest in material for your confort, safety, and convenience?

My dad once paid a premium for a custom made suit. Probably cost twice what any other suit would have, but it has a lifetime 'no questions asked' guarantee.' It'll last for generations because of how well it was made. Was it worthwhile for him to pay extra for that durability?
I dunno, but since it's a Nehru jacket, you tell me if you think it was a wise investment in durability and comfort.


Durable with a firearm that's not going to wear out within my lifetime, good.
Durable with a recorder or phone that's going to be replaced within 3-6 years... waste of money. Every Kydex holster I've come across has cost more than any of the voice recorders I've used, lost, or replaced.

Do you think it's cost-effective to spend $50 for a holster for a $40 recorder that will be replaced with something else in a few years that the $50 Kydex holster won't fit? I'll happily take a nylon sheath that does the very same job for $10 and in a few years replace it with another for the same amount.

Now.... if someone were to maybe make a voice recorder that had roughly the same physical dimensions as a Glock magazine, .... I'd be all over that like a frat boy on a free case of Heineken. Heck, make it as slim as a single-stack .45 mag and I'd still be tickled pink.

I thought we were talking about making a kydex cell phone holster - my mistake.
 
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