Voice Recording Dictaphone, generic

originally posted July 24 2013

This item is no longer used in an official capacity, and with further testing and field investigations, this product is not recommended by NLPRS for paranormal investigations

I really don't like the idea of buying things I only have one use for, but this purchase was a needed one as I didn't want to drain the batteries on the tablet, and plus the fact it is more portable.  This also would free up the tablet to do other things.

This particular recorder, and the selling point in my opinion, is that it has an external microphone jack in addition to a built in microphone.  With a splitter attached to the parabolic, I can have a recording going on at the same time someone carefully listens with the headphones, or have the second feed going into the tablet for direct analysis.  Either way, we can now utilize the parabolic microphone in a higher degree.

Now then, the reason why we have acquired this product is pretty straight forward: to record things.  The parabolic microphone has a built in recorder, but it only has a twelve second span and no output feature.  The recorder will come in handy with every investigative type, from cryptozological hunts and EVPs, to taking dictation while on the field.  Without a doubt, this shall prove a versatile tool!



For those keeping track of our equipment for review purposes, I don't have a name brand, model number or anything yet.  One of those eBay purchases.  I do, however, have the specifications:

* 4 GB memory capacity
* Recording time in 4 modes:(The time means how long of recording file can be stored in the built-in memory.)
* Super High Quality (192 kbps) : 2760 minutes
* High Quality (128 kbps) : 3840 minutes
* Short Play (64 kbps) : 8460 minutes
* Long Play (32 kbps) : 16560 minutes
* Voice Operated Recording (VOR)??When record option is selected, press the Menu button to access the Voice Activated Recording (VOR) function.
* 7 EQ (Equalizer) modes
* A-B repeat function
* MP3 function
* Different languages
* Delete function
* USB connection, for uploads and downloads
* Built-in speaker
* Built-in rechargeable lithium battery
* Battery life expectancy:
* Up to 20 hour continuous recording
* Up to 13 hour continuous playback
* External input
* Stereo earphone 3.5mm Stereo socket
* External Microphone 3.5mm Stereo socket
* USB Cable PC Interface USB 1.1/USB2.0

{EDIT}
This just arrived in the mail yesterday, and haven't done too much in the way of testing.  It records, and that is all that matters.

I tested it as is, and it works just fine; playback is good.  I then plugged the parabolic microphone to it, and it works just as well.

However, when I plugged the microphone into the proper jack, and connected a headphone to the proper jack, there was some background distortion; this could have been due to the fact that I held the microphone less than arm's length away.  It wasn't a feedback distortion, though.  I'll have to do further testing with this.

On the plus side, I have a microphone splitter arriving soon, so there will be a direct feed for both the headphone and the recorder into the parabolic.  That might play out better.