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Welcome to Mumsnet's shopping board. Whether you are after a new family car or a great new coffee machine this is the board for you. Share product recommendations and reviews here. Related: Discuss clothes and fashion on our Style and beauty forum. Check out Swears By to find the products Mumsnetters love and our reviews section to see the best baby and child products put through their paces.
Shopping
frogs · 18/04/2004 23:49
Dictaphone? If you want a more serious portable recording device, then you need the Sony Professional Walkman .
frogs · 19/04/2004 12:39
If you're sitting near the front any tape recorder with a plug-in microphone and adjustable input levels should do it.
The automatic level adjustment thing is called Automatic Gain Control and is a bit of a mixed blessing, as sudden loud noises (eg. someone coughing near the mike) will cause a temporary drop in recording level of the signal you actually want.
You're never going to get a brilliant recording of a lecture unless the lecturer is wearing the microphone him/herself, as the sound source will be at some distance from the mike and there will always be competing background noise.
The quality of the mike is crucial, as is the ability to adjust the input level of the recording device to make up for the fact that you're some distance from the speaker. I haven't encountered special lecture recorders, but there's no magical way of overcoming distance from the speaker and variable signal levels. Have a look at the upper end of the dictaphone market if you don't want to spend hundreds.
bundle · 20/04/2004 15:45
soupdragon, I tend to use a DAT recorder, but many news people use minidisc players (sony) and some still use the sony pro. and in the good old days, we use to record on 1/4 inch tape...ahhhh oh for the days of the uher!
SueW · 20/04/2004 20:49
\link{http://www.spy-equipment.co.uk/Audio_Products/Recorders/k9recorders.html\Spy Equipment have got a recording briefcase (maybe as previously seen on all investigative TV progs but may be over your budget at £275!
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