My Personal Favorite (at the moment)

I became a portable digital voice recorder fan several years ago.  It was the easiest way for me to make myself reminders and take phone numbers and addresses on-the-fly.  As a service-tech, I’ve spent, and spend, a lot of time in my vehicle travelling from one service call to another.  I have my office number call forwarded to my cell phone because my vehicle is my office on wheels.  I didn’t, and don’t, want to become a statistic or do the thing you hear about on the news these days.  (Yeh, I used to feel I was fully capable of holding my phone with one hand, taking notes with the other, and steering with my knee.)  Somehow that sounds dangerous to me now.   That is why I invested in my digital voice recorders. 

I use them to take the numbers and addresses, yes, but I also use them to take down notes to myself of things that inspire me along the way, or, things I need to accomplish later. 

When I first began using those little digital recorders, I didn’t think the quality  mattered that much so I would use the lowest quality recording setting and have all of that extra time.  Later I found that I couldn’t always understand what I had said into the device because the quality was so bad and the background noise so high.  I learned the hard way to use the higher quality settings and sacrifice available time for that quality and I still do it that way today. 

Now, I have found that I can use them for other things.  Podcasting, for example.  In a pinch, they do a darn good job of recording.  (In my last post I talked about an inexpensive way to get started, see “(Podcasting Quick Tip #1)  Try this . . . “.)  It only took a little experimentation and practice to find what worked best and how best to use them for whatever purpose I needed them in.  (I even use it for recording some of my guitar licks for later use.  Sometimes inspiration comes when you’re not near your regular recording setup.)  I find that the HQ mode works well for most all things.  Now, mind you, this is not studio quiet and is not the “final” answer, but it works remarkably well and is quick and easy.

My personal favorite these days is my latest device, an OLYMPUS, digital voice recorder, WS320M.  Not only is it portable and produces good quality recording, but, it is also an 1G mp3 player.  It also has a direct USB connection, which makes it extremely easy to use and later load the stuff from it into my computer for editing or saving, etc.  I really love it.  (By the way, the recording is in stereo, too.)  Now I don’t have to carry two devices with me.  I have my digital voice recorder and my mp3 player in one small package that allows me the freedom to take notes, numbers and addresses on the fly and also listen to (and, sometimes, even make) my favorite podcasts.  Plus, sometimes I even refer to it as my portable podcast studio.  How much better can it get??  I think the best is yet to come.

See ya next time