Miniature voice recorder for making field notes (1 Viewer)

[pshute]

I'd like to buy a voice recorder small enough to wear on a lanyard or taped to my binoculars for making field notes. This would only be for making notes, not for recording birds, and size is more important than sound quality. I need to be able to just press a button and speak.

The likes of Sony and Olympus are all too big. I see hundreds of USB flash drives on eBay that claim to double as voice recorders, but they appear not to have a pause function. I want all the notes from a site visit to be in one file.

Can anyone recommend anything?

 

[iveljay]

Just to reassure you that your question has been read....but only giving you a possible alternate approach.

Most folks I know with this sort of requirement tend to use a lavalier mic clipped to their clothing attached to a recorder in their pocket I am afraid.

Not a great help I know, but like a previous thread asking for recommendations on a book to get started on bird recording most folks doing audio work tend to be: office, studio or broadcast/video based and you find most books and equipment are biased in this direction.
Self taught folks find it can be a steep learning curve at the start even to achieve simple things as there is nothing like the standardisation/automation you find in the photographic world, or the depth of 'how to' guides, once you get away from using the internal mics on a music/voice recorder.

My own voice recorder meets my needs having variable level voice activation and a lavalier mic, however in order to do all the things I need it for reliably, pricewise it costs more than the kit some folks use to record birdsong.

You may find that a cheap dictation recorder equipped with a mic input and a lavalier mic will meet your needs, however a lot of the cheaper voice recorders have no provision for an external mic or the ability to adjust its sensitivity.

Once again apologies for not having the answer you were looking for, but I am sure if you do find a suitable bit of kit that meets this need others will be interested, including me.

J

 

[pshute]

Just to reassure you that your question has been read....but only giving you a possible alternate approach.

Thanks.

Most folks I know with this sort of requirement tend to use a lavalier mic clipped to their clothing attached to a recorder in their pocket I am afraid.

I thought of that, but it sounds too fiddly. I don't want to have get wired up and unwired every time I go out. It does sound like it would have the best weather protection though.

My own voice recorder meets my needs having variable level voice activation and a lavalier mic, however in order to do all the things I need it for reliably, pricewise it costs more than the kit some folks use to record birdsong.

Is voice activation reliable? I thought of doing it that way, because some of the tiny USB sized recorders which don't have a pause button, do have voice activation. But I was worried that it might not trigger, causing me to lose notes, or might be triggered by wind or background noise, giving me extra footage to have to listen to later.

You may find that a cheap dictation recorder equipped with a mic input and a lavalier mic will meet your needs, however a lot of the cheaper voice recorders have no provision for an external mic or the ability to adjust its sensitivity.

I've order a cheap recorder like the one being discussed here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3091848&postcount=69

Once again apologies for not having the answer you were looking for, but I am sure if you do find a suitable bit of kit that meets this need others will be interested, including me.

If that recorder works out ok, I'll let you know. I might also try one of the tiny voice activated recorders too if this one ends up being too big to carry the way I want to.

 

[iveljay]

Reliability of voice activation varies a lot between recorders, the ability to vary the activation level is pretty vital. That said you are right that it works best when there is little competition to your voice. Some systems also have a lag between you making a noise and actually recording. There is also the problem that the level of your voice that is needed to activate may well be louder than others round you (or the subject of your notes) wish to hear.
All systems with exposed mics will suffer from wind noise to some extent.
It is an interesting problem you have set yourself.

Good luck

 

[OPTIC_NUT]

The really little ones are really fiddly and limited for record, playback, triggering, and editing options.
One of the Sony 1x3" ones should be great, albeit a little lumpy. I got the ICD-PX820 because it
makes MP3 files I can simply drag onto other drives.

Picking up vibrations can ruin triggering.
You can mount to the binoculars with a band of electrician's tape (holds, easy to remove, cheap)
and a cushion of camping-mat memory foam. Barring that, you can simply put it on a neckband,
wrapped it a little polyester fleece. Rubbing on clothes is way too noisy.
When the mic on the recorder is just under your chin, your voice will get to it
as a 'surface wave' moving along your skin.

A decent note recorder is a lot better in many ways than a little surveillance tick.

 

[Swissboy]

........ICD-PX820 ..........

Going through the operation manual on the internet, it would seem that this device does what pshute is looking for.

See pages 16/17 here: https://www.manualowl.com/m/Sony/ICD-PX820/Manual/71609

It turns to stop if you extend the pause to an hour. Otherwise, it would seem to be just fine, albeit a bit on the largish side if it should go on top of the binoculars.

 

[Swissboy]

Going through the operation manual on the internet, it would seem that this device does what pshute is looking for.

See pages 16/17 here: https://www.manualowl.com/m/Sony/ICD-PX820/Manual/71609

It turns to stop if you extend the pause to an hour. Otherwise, it would seem to be just fine, albeit a bit on the largish side if it should go on top of the binoculars.

I have since bought the Sony ICD-PX333. I guess it's about the same size. They all seem to be. Recording/Pause work just fine.