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Olympus WS520M voice recorder

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Coach Ike

Regular Member
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Apr 1, 2011
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Lake of the Ozarks, MO
I decided to buy a voice recorder, not just for open carry, but for at work too (I teach high school science). So far I am leaning to the Olympus WS520M with 8gb internal flash. I am posting this to see if anyone has any experience in the negative (or positive) with this recorder. Hopefully, this won't trigger too many discussions on if you should carry a recorder or not. I have decided I am carrying one and I like the fact that this will record over 21 hours on a single charge, has the rechargeable battery supplied, and has a usb connector built in that will also charge the battery.
thanks in advance for any input.
Ike
 
thebigsd

thebigsd

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Sounds like a good one. I like that it records for 21 hours, that way you don't have to keep making space on it. I have been using a recorder app on my iPhone that requires a password to stop the recording. It works pretty well and keeps one less thing off my belt. How are you going to carry it?

Here's the link to the recorder he's talking about in case anyone wants to check it out.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_archived_product_details.asp?fl=&id=1506
 
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Coach Ike

Regular Member
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Apr 1, 2011
Messages
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Lake of the Ozarks, MO
thebigsd said:
Sounds like a good one. I like that it records for 21 hours, that way you don't have to keep making space on it. I have been using a recorder app on my iPhone that requires a password to stop the recording. It works pretty well and keeps one less thing off my belt. How are you going to carry it?

Here's the link to the recorder he's talking about in case anyone wants to check it out.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_archived_product_details.asp?fl=&id=1506
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. I am going to play around with carry options. At work, I will just have it out. I also may use a tie clip microphone so that I can keep it in my pocket and not pick up clothes rustlings.
I plan to turn it on when I get up in the morning and turn it off at bed time, after I download the days recordings on my computer. I will then leave it attached to the computer (to recharge the battery for the next day).
I figure it is better to be safe than sorry, especially with the possibility of made up charges by students/leo and out of control lawyers. I hope I will never need it, but I also feel the same way about fire extinguishers and insurance policies.
 
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shernandez

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Jun 23, 2008
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189
Location
, Wisconsin, USA
I have been using my Olympus vn-4100PC for over four years and the only problem I have with it is that it is not Mac compatiable. I work as a reporter so a reliable recorder is very important. It seems like Olympus products have a good reputation.
 
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Coach Ike

Regular Member
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Apr 1, 2011
Messages
40
Location
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
Thanks shernandez, I think I am going to go ahead and order it later tonight. Hopefully I will get a few more responses to this if someone has anything bad to say.
be safe
 
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Coach Ike

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Apr 1, 2011
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Location
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
shernandez said:
You'll have to let me know how it is. I've been working up to replacing mine.
Click to expand...

I will. It is supposed to get here between the 10th and 15th. Kids come back to school on the 18th and I will be recording all day, every day from then on. (If it works)
You can get lapel/tie clip microphones on ebay for less than 5 dollars but I would like to know if anyone has used any of these cheap ones. The 75 bucks for the recorder was more than I wanted to pay, but I also wanted to get one that had a better reputation and had a chance of doing more, not less, than I wanted/needed.
 
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shernandez

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Location
, Wisconsin, USA
Coach Ike said:
I will. It is supposed to get here between the 10th and 15th. Kids come back to school on the 18th and I will be recording all day, every day from then on. (If it works)
You can get lapel/tie clip microphones on ebay for less than 5 dollars but I would like to know if anyone has used any of these cheap ones. The 75 bucks for the recorder was more than I wanted to pay, but I also wanted to get one that had a better reputation and had a chance of doing more, not less, than I wanted/needed.
Click to expand...

I've got a couple of those that I found (for me) work just fine.
 
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Coach Ike

Regular Member
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Apr 1, 2011
Messages
40
Location
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
mickelhendry1 said:
hey did you bought it? how is it working? I am also planning to buy it.
Click to expand...

I ordered it. It is supposed to be here sometime between today and Monday. I will give a report on this thread when I get it. I am going to try it without the extra mic first and then I may add the tie clip mic later if I think it is needed.
 
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Coach Ike

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Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
40
Location
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
I got the recorder today. I have it charging now and will wear it on a neck lanyard tomorrow and see how it works. I have meetings at work off and on all day. I will be able to check out close conversations and longer distance speaking. I will let you know how it works.
 
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Coach Ike

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
40
Location
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
carried the recorder

I carried the recorder on a neck lanyard all day Friday. I had it set on high quality stereo and recorded for 9 hours straight. It still has over 30 hours remaining (starts around 8 gb and still shows 7.1 gb and it also shows the hours/minutes remaining). The battery has 3 bars when full and it still showed 3 bars at the end. It says it will record 21 hours on a charge and I believe it.

I could hear all the side conversations in large groups and the ones that I was speaking to were clear and crisp, even with the group conversations around us. The recorder is very light and I didn't feel it hanging on me at all, sort of felt like the name tag we wear everyday anyway.

Easy use, just flip one slide (off hold) turns it on, hit record and return slide to hold to disable all the keys while recording. Playback on device and the computer using windows media player was simple.

Still lots of features to check out. Hope this helped those looking for a recorder.
 
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ccwinstructor

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Jul 11, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
Thank you for the information

Coach Ike said:
I carried the recorder on a neck lanyard all day Friday. I had it set on high quality stereo and recorded for 9 hours straight. It still has over 30 hours remaining (starts around 8 gb and still shows 7.1 gb and it also shows the hours/minutes remaining). The battery has 3 bars when full and it still showed 3 bars at the end. It says it will record 21 hours on a charge and I believe it.

I could hear all the side conversations in large groups and the ones that I was speaking to were clear and crisp, even with the group conversations around us. The recorder is very light and I didn't feel it hanging on me at all, sort of felt like the name tag we wear everyday anyway.

Easy use, just flip one slide (off hold) turns it on, hit record and return slide to hold to disable all the keys while recording. Playback on device and the computer using windows media player was simple.

Still lots of features to check out. Hope this helped those looking for a recorder.
Click to expand...

I appreciate these reviews. I need to buy another recorder. Maybe this one would be it.
 
Badger Johnson

Badger Johnson

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Jan 12, 2011
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USA
Olympus has several models. Be sure you get the one with download/upload capabilities (USB port). The cheaper one does not have this. It's useless for our purposes without the capability to save important stuff off line. I think one of the better models as a 'voice detect' and turns if off no conversation - might be a good option, though typically these miss the first few words.

HTH
 
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Coach Ike

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Apr 1, 2011
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Location
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
This model has the retractable usb and also comes with an extension cable so you don't have to hang the recorder directly by the port. It is real easy to copy the file to your home computer for archiving. It also has the voice activated recording, but the rechargeable battery lasts for over 20 hours and recharges in about 3 hours even if it is totally drained.
It has 5 files (if you go to different events) and you can index any file, at anytime, as many times as you want, during recording. I am saving my files by date on my home computer for future needs that may arise. I was going to erase if nothing notable happened, but then I thought maybe something notable did happen and I just didn't notice. I will probably keep all of them for 6 months or so, then delete them.
 
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ccwinstructor

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Yuma, Arizona, USA
What is the size of one day's file?

Coach Ike said:
This model has the retractable usb and also comes with an extension cable so you don't have to hang the recorder directly by the port. It is real easy to copy the file to your home computer for archiving. It also has the voice activated recording, but the rechargeable battery lasts for over 20 hours and recharges in about 3 hours even if it is totally drained.
It has 5 files (if you go to different events) and you can index any file, at anytime, as many times as you want, during recording. I am saving my files by date on my home computer for future needs that may arise. I was going to erase if nothing notable happened, but then I thought maybe something notable did happen and I just didn't notice. I will probably keep all of them for 6 months or so, then delete them.
Click to expand...

Storage space is pretty cheap. What is the size of one day's file?
 
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Coach Ike

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
40
Location
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
ccwinstructor said:
Storage space is pretty cheap. What is the size of one day's file?
Click to expand...

On Friday, I recorded for just under 9 hours and it showed that I had 7.1 gb left. I don't think it has a true 8 gb available, so I know it had to be less than .9 gb. And that was on stereo/high quality. It has several different settings both higher quality and lower. Stereo/hq is somewhere in the middle. You can go up to a quality that only records about 3 hours on 8 gb. I don't know when you would use that, unless you were trying to get close to recording studio quality and then you would need a good external mic.
 
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