Nice little shirt pocket recorder

Bodryn · 07-19-2010, 09:41 PM

Recently I have found some really nice values in pocket recorders. Particularly I like the Olympus VN series such as the VN 4000, 5000, and others - some of their offerings have PC connectivity so you can copy directly to your PC. Every year new ones come out with more memory than before. My VN 5000 from 2009 has so much memory I can routinely use the highest quality recording and yet have something like 12 hrs capacity. I find myself using this so much that I capture lots of ideas immediately that I would maybe have written down before, but only if it were convenient. This year I bought the VN6200 and VN7500 because they connect to my PC and the prices were ridiculously low at $59 each, I believe, at Radio Shack.

I can foresee a time when notes on such a recorder could be fed into a PC with good voice recognition software which would immediately type them into text files for me. Not sure Dragonware (sp?) Naturally Speaking is there yet...

Such text could be converted to use in my pocket PDA and make up things like ToDo lists, etc.

These are a far cry from my first tape recorder, a "Realistic" purchased from Radio Shack when it was just a mail order company. That was the size of a medium suitcase, weighed maybe 15 pounds, and used 7" reel to reel tape (cassette tapes hadn't yet been invented).

Jon Foster · 07-19-2010, 10:37 PM

Devices like these are excellent to have with you at all times. Some of the gun guys we know carry two of these at a time. If they ever get harassed by the local police they record everything that happens on two devices simultaneously. They work like a charm.

Jon.

Bodryn · 12-07-2010, 02:32 PM

I have to make a sad update to my comments about the VN6200 and the VN7500. I started using them a bit more and have to admit the quality of the sound is atrocious on those. I have gone back to using the VN5000 and VN7000 because they give excellent sound. Since they do NOT connect to a PC, at regular intervals I copy these audio notes to a CC Witness, (available from CCrane) which converts them into mp3s directly onto SDHC cards which can be readily copied to a computer using the now common card readers. Since the VN7000 has a capacity at high quality sound of some 77 hours, I have the option of copying hundreds of audio notes back onto the VN7000 into individual files and listening to them at my leisure. This is turning out to be an EXCELLENT way to remind myself of ideas or things I want or need to do. It is a lot of fun and a great boost to my creativity. But I made a bad recommendation about the PC connectable ones, unless you like gravelly sounding voices.

Ken-L · 12-16-2010, 11:19 AM

I bought this Xmas gift for my wife - she sings and plays piano. Not exactly a "shirt-pocket-recorder, but just the right one for my wife's needs.

Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H2-Portable-Stereo-Recorder/dp/B000VBH2IG"]Amazon.com: Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder: Musical Instruments@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416shQDX8hL.@@AMEPARAM@@416shQDX8hL[/ame]

Bodryn · 12-17-2010, 04:13 PM

Thank you for this information. A recorder like that looks like it could handle just about everything and at high quality. If I had known about it I would probably have one right now.

Anyway as I have gotten more into my recording memoes to myself, I find the biggest bottleneck with me is typing up my notes - I am planning to use Dragon Naturally Speaking to type them up for me if I can train the software well enough to make it worthwhile. I also have used it to record keyboard sessions at our Yamaha YPG535 and the sound quality is good enough that it enables me to record my improvising at the keyboard in case I need to recapture something I just did.

harryset · 02-28-2011, 07:53 PM

Older thread, but I'll throw in my .02.

I do winter cold weather testing for Roush Inc. We drive cars for 10 hours a day and are required to make comments every couple of hours as to what we think, or find out. I use either my Olympus VN-7000 or WS-312M to record notes as I go. Some of the guys try to write as they drive. . .

07-19-2010, 09:41 PM	#1
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	Nice little shirt pocket recorder Recently I have found some really nice values in pocket recorders. Particularly I like the Olympus VN series such as the VN 4000, 5000, and others - some of their offerings have PC connectivity so you can copy directly to your PC. Every year new ones come out with more memory than before. My VN 5000 from 2009 has so much memory I can routinely use the highest quality recording and yet have something like 12 hrs capacity. I find myself using this so much that I capture lots of ideas immediately that I would maybe have written down before, but only if it were convenient. This year I bought the VN6200 and VN7500 because they connect to my PC and the prices were ridiculously low at $59 each, I believe, at Radio Shack. I can foresee a time when notes on such a recorder could be fed into a PC with good voice recognition software which would immediately type them into text files for me. Not sure Dragonware (sp?) Naturally Speaking is there yet... Such text could be converted to use in my pocket PDA and make up things like ToDo lists, etc. These are a far cry from my first tape recorder, a "Realistic" purchased from Radio Shack when it was just a mail order company. That was the size of a medium suitcase, weighed maybe 15 pounds, and used 7" reel to reel tape (cassette tapes hadn't yet been invented). __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on Tech Today Online, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

07-19-2010, 10:37 PM	#2
Jon Foster Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: White Lake, MI Posts: 149	Devices like these are excellent to have with you at all times. Some of the gun guys we know carry two of these at a time. If they ever get harassed by the local police they record everything that happens on two devices simultaneously. They work like a charm. Jon. __________________ Come visit us on the web at AITec Services

12-07-2010, 02:32 PM	#3
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	I have to make a sad update to my comments about the VN6200 and the VN7500. I started using them a bit more and have to admit the quality of the sound is atrocious on those. I have gone back to using the VN5000 and VN7000 because they give excellent sound. Since they do NOT connect to a PC, at regular intervals I copy these audio notes to a CC Witness, (available from CCrane) which converts them into mp3s directly onto SDHC cards which can be readily copied to a computer using the now common card readers. Since the VN7000 has a capacity at high quality sound of some 77 hours, I have the option of copying hundreds of audio notes back onto the VN7000 into individual files and listening to them at my leisure. This is turning out to be an EXCELLENT way to remind myself of ideas or things I want or need to do. It is a lot of fun and a great boost to my creativity. But I made a bad recommendation about the PC connectable ones, unless you like gravelly sounding voices. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

12-16-2010, 11:19 AM	#4
Ken-L Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 150	I bought this Xmas gift for my wife - she sings and plays piano. Not exactly a "shirt-pocket-recorder, but just the right one for my wife's needs. Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H2-Portable-Stereo-Recorder/dp/B000VBH2IG"]Amazon.com: Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder: Musical Instruments@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416shQDX8hL.@@AMEPARAM@@416shQDX8hL[/ame] __________________ "An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way." - Bukowski

12-17-2010, 04:13 PM	#5
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	Continuing the thread... Thank you for this information. A recorder like that looks like it could handle just about everything and at high quality. If I had known about it I would probably have one right now. Anyway as I have gotten more into my recording memoes to myself, I find the biggest bottleneck with me is typing up my notes - I am planning to use Dragon Naturally Speaking to type them up for me if I can train the software well enough to make it worthwhile. I also have used it to record keyboard sessions at our Yamaha YPG535 and the sound quality is good enough that it enables me to record my improvising at the keyboard in case I need to recapture something I just did. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

02-28-2011, 07:53 PM	#6
harryset Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Bemidji, Minnesota Posts: 45	Older thread, but I'll throw in my .02. I do winter cold weather testing for Roush Inc. We drive cars for 10 hours a day and are required to make comments every couple of hours as to what we think, or find out. I use either my Olympus VN-7000 or WS-312M to record notes as I go. Some of the guys try to write as they drive. . .

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