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What voice recorder do you guys use?

skidmark

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Jan 15, 2007
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hometheaterman wrote:
Looking for suggestions as to which voice recorders you guys use and prefer?

I'm gonna be the grumpy old phart for this question -

We've gone over this question so many times it seems like we never get away from it.

Do your homework and run a search on the various keywords, If that does not give you what you wanted to know, come back with specific questions.

stay safe.

skidmark
 

hunter45

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I use this one. It works fine for me.

8717953_sb.jpg


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+...kuId=8717953&st=sony voice recorder&cp=1&lp=9
 

peter nap

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I'll help you out.

I have about a thousand dollars worth of recorders. Video recorders, audio recorders, MP3-4 players and recorders..Etc.

Don't do that. Look at recorders at Wally World or Sams Club.

$30.00 or so.

The recording quality is about the same on all of them.

You want one that you can put a lanyard on so you can carry it around your neck.

You want easy to activate controls. One click recording is best.

You want one with a USB port so you can easily transfer files.

The rest is just sugar coating.

They're no good if you can;'t get them in service FAST.
 

Marco

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peter nap wrote:
I'll help you out.

I have about a thousand dollars worth of recorders. Video recorders, audio recorders, MP3-4 players and recorders..Etc.

Don't do that. Look at recorders at Wally World or Sams Club.

$30.00 or so.

The recording quality is about the same on all of them.

You want one that you can put a lanyard on so you can carry it around your neck.

You want easy to activate controls. One click recording is best.

You want one with a USB port so you can easily transfer files.

The rest is just sugar coating.

They're no good if you can;'t get them in service FAST.
1+
or get one that records 20+ hrs and leave it on all day.
 

hometheaterman

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peter nap wrote:
I'll help you out.

I have about a thousand dollars worth of recorders. Video recorders, audio recorders, MP3-4 players and recorders..Etc.

Don't do that. Look at recorders at Wally World or Sams Club.

$30.00 or so.

The recording quality is about the same on all of them.

You want one that you can put a lanyard on so you can carry it around your neck.

You want easy to activate controls. One click recording is best.

You want one with a USB port so you can easily transfer files.

The rest is just sugar coating.

They're no good if you can;'t get them in service FAST.
I will have to check out Sams Club. I looked at Walmart and all the ones were around $50 that had the USB ports on them.

I was planning to pick this one up
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Olympus...rder/9327052.p?id=1218085598318&skuId=9327052

However, when I got to the store it was $65 not on sale like on the website. I thought I'd come home and order it for in store pickup but when I came home and tried that it told me that it wasn't in stock at our store. Not sure the deal there since it clearly was in stock just not on sale there. I may just go get one at Walmart or check Sams. I want something a little better than what I have now.
 

hometheaterman

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skidmark wrote:
hometheaterman wrote:
Looking for suggestions as to which voice recorders you guys use and prefer?

I'm gonna be the grumpy old phart for this question -

We've gone over this question so many times it seems like we never get away from it.

Do your homework and run a search on the various keywords, If that does not give you what you wanted to know, come back with specific questions.

stay safe.

skidmark
I searched but didn't find anything about this. I'm sure it was there but I didn't want to go through a ton of pages and it had a ton listed for me to look through. I looked through a few then gave up looking at old threads.
 

hometheaterman

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Actually I was wrong. Walmart did have an RCA one with a usb port for $35 I hadn't seen in the past. Anyone use this one? Is it decent? Does it hold up okay?
 

heliopolissolutions

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The best you can afford, same as with your gun. Believe me, if you think a hundred bucks is expensive then you can't afford the possible legal fees associated with UOC.

To contradict the above statement, I would say that it doesn't matter if it cost you 30$ or 200$, the most important part about having a voice recorder is never, NEVER, forgetting it in your car, or being lazy and leaving it at home, or forgetting to hit the button or keeping the batteries fresh.

Save yourself the pain and headache, and heart ache and feeling of nausea that comes with it being your word against the LEO's.
 

richarcm

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Richmond, VA
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My voice recorder was free. Well......after I paid $200 + $90/month fees on my iPhone. Well, the app was free anyways....

Good thing is that my cell phone is always on me.
 

shad0wfax

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Spokane, Washington, USA
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I have an Olympus DS-40 and I have to say the length of recording time, the sound quality, and the clarity even in an arena full of cheering people is top-notch.

I posted an audio file here after an encounter with the VA Chief of Police at the Spokane VA Paralympic games and you could hear our conversation clearly even over the roaring of a crowd in an echo-chamber. The recorder was in my pocket at the time.

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=28585&forum_id=55

That thread, my second post (post #5 in the thread) has the audio from that encounter available for download if you want some real-world concealed recorder to listen to.

Or just Click here if you're lazy.
 

Capn Camo

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Radio Shack micro cassette recorder. Dont use a digital recorder, that is not as good an evidence as a magnetic tape. The magnetic tape does not lose information once its recorded. Digital data is easy to forge/modify. To record to computer, plug a microphone into the computer and lay it beside the recorders speaker.



"To contradict the above statement, I would say that it doesn't matter if it cost you 30$ or 200$, the most important part about having a voice recorder is never, NEVER, forgetting it in your car, or being lazy and leaving it at home, or forgetting to hit the button or keeping the batteries fresh.

Save yourself the pain and headache, and heart ache and feeling of nausea that comes with it being your word against the LEO's."

Da*n Straight. Its their word against yours, and even if theyre lying, the system will hold them up.
 

Michigander

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In some states, it isn't really necessary. Especially somewhere very gun friendly, like Arizona.

In other places, like Michigan, where we've had a lot of police problems until recently, I think it's a superbly important thing. I carry 3 recorders. 2 spy cams, and a regular obvious voice recorder. Sometimes police will take and turn off obvious recorders, so the spy cams are very important. State laws will vary on them however, so be sure to investigate that before recording anyone.

I also keep a phone handy, set to speaker, and in my hand when I am worried about bad police contact. If I get unlawfully detained, I can call 911 and talk to a dispatcher even with my hands in the air, and request the help of the state police. I haven't had to do this yet, but this plan is derived from being detained many times, and not having had the foresight to do this back then. Another important thing to remember is that 911 calls are recorded, and almost no one would argue their admissibility into court.
 

Plankton

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hometheaterman wrote:
Actually I was wrong. Walmart did have an RCA one with a usb port for $35 I hadn't seen in the past. Anyone use this one? Is it decent? Does it hold up okay?
I have it; works just fine. Use it on the highest quality setting. That will give you 17 hours of hi quality audio that can be transfered to your computer if needed. It also has a "lock" feature, so you can start recording and no amount of movement will accidentially shut it off. :)
 

scorpio_vette

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i'm still looking to see if and/or which recorder i want to get. but on my phone i just programmed the voice recorder function to one of the speed buttons. so if i want to use my voice recorder it only takes 3 buttons.

so on one hand i keep thinking that i don't need a voice recorder because it would just be one extra thing that i would have to maintain and carry, but on the other hand a one-touch voice recorder would probably be quicker and easier to handle.

that and it would obviously be cheaper to use the cell phone since i already own that.
 

okboomer

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There is only one issue with using a cell phone ... if you do have to go to court, they will want the original recording. This could mean that you will have to provide the cell phone to your lawyer, then to the courts ... if you have something else, such as a digital recorder, you can provide the recording without having to send a cell phone.

For those who have a digital recorder without usb or some such transfer mechanism, you can transfer the recording to a cassette tape and provide it as an original copy. The rule of thumb is to not let the original out of your hands for any reason unless it is in to your lawyer's hands.

This brings into play the concept of "original" and "chain of custody" and you will need to be able to testify under oath that you have not modified or edited the original, which is proven by producing it in court, and that the copy has not been modified in any way that you are aware of.

Remember, the DA is NOT your friend ... it is his job to tear apart anything you say or alledge and make you look as bad as he can ... if you end up in court, everything you ever did or said can and will be used against you ... even if it didn't happen.

I had to defend myself against a serious misuse of firearm charge several years ago and part of it revolved around the fact that I employed a convicted felon. They tried to make it out like I was married to him and that "every one in town knew it." I knew I had the investigator when he said that under oath as it was nothing but hearsay and he didn't even have any names of anyone who allegedly said that, no recordings of them saying it, nor any date or time of interview. I also had a business partner who testified that I had always been clear with him about my relationship and that I was not a married woman. (1995, state of Oklahoma struck down the recognition of common-law marriage.) This matters because I also entered property ownership documents that showed me as the sole owner of the property, while Oklahoma is a community property state and by law, my spouse would have had to be on the contracts. I was also able to supply a divorce decree which happened to be from another state, while my marriage license was listed in Oklahoma. So, they did some of the investigation they should have, and they had the information to have found the divorce decree if they had followed the rules of investigation.

As it was, they didn't want the truth, they wanted to prove their theory and would twist whatever facts they had to fit the theory. This was very eye-opening as I thought that the truth was where justice should start. Not someone's interpretation of the facts in the worst possible manner. But that is what I have realized about DA's and the Oklahoma court systems, and my guess is that a lot of other's operate in that manner.

You should also check with an attorney to find out what the laws regarding recording and how that evidence needs to be handled to be able to submit it in a court proceeding. Oklahoma is a one-party state and chain of custody is best if maintained by an officer of the court (attorney is one.)
 

scorpio_vette

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good point. i did forget to mention one other item. everything that is recorded on my phone saves to a separate memory card that can be removed from the phone without affecting the phones ability to function normally. honestly i'm not even sure if they still make phones nowadays that don't accept memory cards. I have a 8gb and a 4gb memory card just for my cell phone.
 

rcawdor57

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I use a Creative Labs VADO HD with built in 8 Gig memory. Runs for 2 hours 11 minutes in HD, longer if you record in a lower video quality.

http://us.store.creative.com/Vado-HD/M/B001LK8P14.htm

I got mine on sale for $99 delivered. The video and audio is amazing on this device.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=creative+vado&x=0&y=0

I had an old voice recorder but decided against "only audio". When it can be seen and heard there is little wiggle room left for debate about what happened.
 

Yard Sale

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I just picked up a Sony, with a simple record button and a lock to prevent halting the recording. It works while concealed in my pocket.
 
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