BEST Concealed Voice Recorder?

[JackOR]

I've done some searching on the forum and could not find a thread where everybody shares their favorite voice recording technology.

I have a basic Sony voice recorder that I keep in my pocket when OC'ing, but I'm sure some of you have a lot higher quality devices, and ways to carry them without them interfering with everyday life, so lets hear it

 

[Nevada carrier]

I'm looking for one that has a mic that I can clip onto a collar or lapel. any ideas?

 

[paul@paul-fisher.com]

Personally, I use my Blackberry Curve and leave it in my pocket. It works good enough and I can instantly email it to someone if need be.

 

[DanM]

I wear an Olympus WS321M suspended from a necklace with cell phone lanyards (necklace and lanyards can be bought at most craft stores), just below collar-level on my upper chest. The device is small and light, and makes quality recordings. At the position it rides, it picks up very well both my voice and people speaking to me.

I tried other things, like using a clip-on microphone while wearing the device elsewhere on my body. I quickly grew weary of the following:
--The time and tedium of putting the rig on and taking it off.
--Not being able to quickly turn the device on, because either it is concealed or in a belt holder.
--Burning through a lot of batteries by keeping the device on to avoid the above.

Nothing beats "rigging up" with the recorder by just simply putting the necklace on or taking it off. Also, I quickly access it to turn it on or off by just simply popping it out a little above my collar. And, because it's already sitting in a good position to record, no fuss, no muss, and no extra expense with external microphones.

 

[XDSTEEL]

I was thinking about a small little camera w/audio. nothing bulky. just in case

 

[Kloutier]

HTC EVO for me. My app will FTP the audio clip to my sever when its done recording. so they cant remove it.

 

[ZO6Vettever]

I have a voice recorder. I carry it in my head. It probably won't stand up in court but none the less it's with me 24/7. Damned lawyers will twist your desire to protect yourself by recording the incedent to "he intended to commit this...blah, blah or he would not have recorded it". I don't know how to protect our right to defend ourselves in this liberal world. Use good judgement but do not hesitate.

 

[Fallschirjmäger]

"Does the prosecution have an opening statement?"

"Your Honor, the people will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused intended to commit the offenses that Officer Friendly has accused him of; that he willingly carried a (shudder!) voice recorder with which he recorded his interaction with Officer Friendly; and that such recording will provide irrefutable proof that violations of the law occurred."


"And the defense's opening statement?"

"Your Honor, the defense is willing to concede to the prosecution that the recording provides irrefutable proof of all that transpired. As the recording shows violations of both State and Federal the law were committed by Officer Friendly and that no violations of either State or Federal law were committed by my client we ask for immediate dismissal of all charges and ask that Officer Friendly be bound over for criminal trial."



Back on topic, I don't know if the "best" recorder has been marketed yet, but when it comes out it will broadcast the recorder to a separate location other than the unit itself (so as to preclude "accidental erasure". Smart phones seem to be the best bet right now.

 

[paul@paul-fisher.com]

"Does the prosecution have an opening statement?"

"Your Honor, the people will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused intended to commit the offenses that Officer Friendly has accused him of, and that he willingly carried a (shudder!) voice recorder with which he recorded his interaction with Officer Friendly which the prosecution stipulates will provide irrefutable proof that violations of the law occurred."


"And the defense's opening statement?"

"Your Honor, the defense is willing to concede to the prosecution that the recording provides irrefutable proof of all that transpired. As the recording shows violations of both State and Federal the law were committed by Officer Friendly and that no violations of either State or Federal law were committed by my client we ask for immediate dismissal of all charges and ask that Officer Friendly be bound over for criminal trial."

+1!

I was accused of 'setting up' the Madison police department because I recorded the encounter. I used my Blackberry Curve, held in my hand and didn't start recording until the officer made clear it wasn't a consensual stop.

Listening to the recording, you can clearly hear that me and my party were in the right. Federal lawsuit will be pending.

 

[cmdr_iceman71]

I wear an Olympus WS321M suspended from a necklace with cell phone lanyards (necklace and lanyards can be bought at most craft stores), just below collar-level on my upper chest. The device is small and light, and makes quality recordings. At the position it rides, it picks up very well both my voice and people speaking to me.

I tried other things, like using a clip-on microphone while wearing the device elsewhere on my body. I quickly grew weary of the following:
--The time and tedium of putting the rig on and taking it off.
--Not being able to quickly turn the device on, because either it is concealed or in a belt holder.
--Burning through a lot of batteries by keeping the device on to avoid the above.

Nothing beats "rigging up" with the recorder by just simply putting the necklace on or taking it off. Also, I quickly access it to turn it on or off by just simply popping it out a little above my collar. And, because it's already sitting in a good position to record, no fuss, no muss, and no extra expense with external microphones.

I’m also in the market for a new recorder. DanM, I’ve been combing these forums related to voice recorders and the two name brands that keep popping up are, Olympus, Sony, and RCA models but they all look too big and cumbersome to hang on some kind of chain or necklace. Secondly, in none of the pics on amazon did I see where one could run a chain or lanyard through the voice recorders. That was one of the primary reasons why I hadn’t made the purchase.

How did you rig it so as to attach a lanyard to the recorder?

Since you wrote the device is small and light, can you post some pics of your recorder next to a penny or AA battery or some other everyday common item so we can get a sense of scale?

 

[Michigun]

HTC EVO for me. My app will FTP the audio clip to my sever when its done recording. so they cant remove it.

what app is that?

 

[Super Trucker]

what app is that?

QIK comes preloaded on the EVO. I am not sure if that is what he is using but it is supposed to do the job he described.

 

[DanM]

I wear an Olympus WS321M suspended from a necklace with cell phone lanyards (necklace and lanyards can be bought at most craft stores), just below collar-level on my upper chest. The device is small and light, and makes quality recordings. At the position it rides, it picks up very well both my voice and people speaking to me.

DanM . . . How did you rig it so as to attach a lanyard to the recorder? . . . can you post some pics of your recorder next to a penny or AA battery or some other everyday common item so we can get a sense of scale?

See pics attached to this post. I tied a thin black cord tightly around the top part of the recorder to anchor the cell phone lanyards. The necklace is then threaded through the metal lanyard loops. You will see that I wear the recorder with it's "front" facing toward my chest. This is intentional. The stereo microphones are oriented correctly left/right in that position. Also, the pic of it out on my chest is just for illustration. I always drop it behind the outermost layer of clothing I have on, to conceal it.

 

[Kloutier]

I would check out Voie Recorder, Its a free app for android that will upload to gmail the recording to gmail. Free is ftw. And If our in IPhone user..... then you can use this one. http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284675296&mt=8. You can set a pass code so if they take your phone they can't stop the recording.

 

[MKEgal]

it's like any other piece of safety equipment...

The best life jacket, the best helmet, the best gun, the best recorder is the one you're wearing when you need it.
If it's comfortable to wear, you're more likely to have it when you need it, 'cause you sure as heck can't take the time to put it on then.

I have a pen camera that does reasonably well at both audio & video, plus can take still photos. Found it on ebay, and now the seller has jacked the price by like 15x. I thought it was a bit of a stretch at $70, so wouldn't buy one from him now.

So far, thank goodness, I haven't had to use it for real. But I've got some great video of me at my bank, transacting business, and the teller goes about his thing like there's nothing different. Definitely not what the anti's would have people believe... he should have been screaming & running in fear to hide in the vault while he called police.

 

[skipbadger]

Reason Magazine posted this great article on recording:

http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/21/how-to-record-the-cops

Also, Buy.com has a voice recorder on sale, it has gotten pretty good reviews. I might get this a backup piece to my video using iphone and Ustream. I can just keep this in the car.

http://www.buy.com/prod/olympus-vn-...e/q/loc/111/listingid/74155950/211251576.html

 

[Bearhawk]

I too was looking for a recorder. The other day I ordered an MP3 player that also records. It's a Sansa Fuze. I don't have it yet as Amazon has been slow to fill the order. My thought is Mr. Friendly isn't going to be concerned about an MP3 player and probably not going to think it's recording everything if he finds it. I could be wrong but either way it fulfills the need I have. Should be small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and not draw attention to itself like a voice recorder would if found. I see other Sansa brand devices also record and are very small.

I also believe the smartphone that records off site is the best. I just can't justify the money (although it might be worth it someday).

 

[j4l]

I must advise folks to carefully consider doing any surreptitious recording of conversations with anyone, much less with LEOs.

Federal laws are one thing, but one should first check your State's laws on doing so- lest you find yourself in some serious legal issues above and beyond whatever situation you have gotten into to be recording to begin with.

"The 12 states which definitely require all parties to a conversation to consent before it can be recorded are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. (In California Law, there is an exception – you can Record an Audio Conversation with the consent of only one party if certain criminal activity (kidnapping, extortion, bribery or a violent felony) is involved. "

Not liking what officer friendly is saying to you about something you know may well attract his attention does not come under "certain criminal activity".
Attempting to have said recording entered as evidence in any court is also going to put the court-and Judge- on notice that you intended to do something you reaonably expected to create legal controversy,and so decided to equip yourself to record the situation in the 1st place..
Tread very carefully on this.

 

[j4l]

As to using phones/iphones/smart phones, etc. to do any of this: NO NO NO NO.
The moment you do so, you are in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
A HUGE no-go, and a federal offense.

 

[XDFDE45]

I've seen a couple of members here in WI who found this key chain recorder on ebay. $25 w/free shipping.