There are many digital recorders on the market
today and all of them are capable of capturing EVP. In this
article I will not attempt to determine which type is better at
recording paranormal voices, because to be honest, I don't know
for sure. I have a preference for Panasonic IC recorders but
other members of the group have gotten excellent results using
digital recorders from Sony, Olympus and Radio Shack. By the
way, "IC" stands for the "Integrated Circuit" that is in most of
these recorders. Some people know them as "digital note takers."
The focus of this article will be on IC recorders in general.
It really wasn't all that long ago that the
audio cassette recorder replaced open reel units as the recorder
of choice for EVP. Now the digital recorders are quickly making
audio cassettes a thing of the past for EVP. And how could they
not? There are so many advantages to recording with an IC
recorder over a cassette unit, from the tiny size to greater
reliability. Even the smallest micro cassette recorder is larger
than an IC recorder and cassette recorders eat batteries and
sometimes cassettes.
With IC's, there is no tape and hence no
preparation, just hit "record" and your session has begun.
Another advantage of the digital units is a feature that allows
the user to play back the recording with a touch of a button,
immediately, without having to rewind a tape. Like cassette
units, IC recorders start a new recording each time "Record" is
pushed, but unlike cassettes, the IC's begin each recording as a
separate file, saved in numerical order. The files can be erased
with the push of a button or locked to prevent accidental
recording and can be played back immediately by scrolling
through the numbered files. The IC recorders also display the
time and date the recording occurred, which is important for EVP.
There are a few advantages that cassette
recorders have over the IC's. One is the ability to remove an
audio tape when it has reached capacity. You can't do this with
IC recorders except for the models that use a memory card. Even
though new models are being introduced with longer recording
times, the fact remains that eventually a digital recorder will
run out of storage space, leaving the user with no choice but to
erase files or stop using the recorder until the files can be
downloaded into a computer.
On playback, the fidelity from most cassette
units is far better than that from the tiny speakers of the
digital recorders. When you want to really hear that amazing EVP
you just captured, with a cassette, it's as simple as dropping
it into a quality cassette player. Do you want to pass out
copies? With cassettes, no problem but with a digital recorder
it's back to the computer to load the files onto the hard drive
and then distribute them by email or Compact Disk (CD). That's
not a problem for many of us but for some, it makes it
impossible to share your EVP without having to play it back on
the IC recorder itself.
There is one area where cassette and digital
recorders do share something in common. The use of an external
microphone has been a necessity when using a portable cassette
recorder due to the mechanical noise generated by the drive
mechanism. Digital recorders have no moving parts and are
generally not considered noisy but they are very sensitive.
Pressing the record button and putting the unit down in a
desired location almost always results in unwanted sounds being
recorded at the beginning of the session and again at the end,
when picking it up and turning it off. Using an external
microphone eliminates this problem as well as providing a better
quality recording due to the superior quality of the microphone
in comparison to the one built into the recorder. However,
because there are no moving parts, using an external microphone
on an IC recorder is an option you might want to save for a
serious investigation. In general, all the digital recorders
deliver clear soundtracks using the built-in microphone, so if
you suddenly get the urge to hit the record button on a digital
unit, don't feel like you have to stop and attach a microphone.
Just do it.
As I mentioned earlier, to some, the biggest
drawback to using a digital recorder is the need to download the
EVP into a computer in order to clear space, better hear the
recording and to share EVP with others. But actually, this
"drawback" is a strength, because it's given us the ability to
send our EVP captures all over the world via Internet without
having to send a CD or audio tape through the post office. In
addition, it allows us to edit and filter the EVP we record,
greatly enhancing the quality and often times drawing out faint
voices that otherwise would not be heard. This can be done with
cassette recorders, but rewinding and fast forwarding to find
the exact spot before recording into the computer is a tedious
task.
Here's a little information on recording EVP
into a computer. Some of the more expensive digital recorders
include software and a USB connector that connect the recorder
to the USB port of the computer. For those who are so equipped,
the next few steps won't be necessary. However, if you have
multiple recorders, than more than likely you'll be using the
method I'm about to describe since the majority of IC recorders,
including some of the most popular, are not equipped with a USB
connector.
The first thing needed to connect to the
computer is an audio cable available from any Radio Shack. Here
are the part numbers from their catalogue:
PN: 42-2420A—6 foot Audio Cable (1/8 mono
plugs)
PN: 274-327C—Mono Plug Adapter (1/8 mini phone
plug to 3/32 sub-mini phone jack)
Almost all IC recorders and cassette recorders
use the 1/8 mono to 1/8 mono plugs listed above. The Panasonic
RR-DR60, uses a sub-mini phone jack, so if you have one, you'll
also need to order the adapter which plugs into the headphone
jack of the recorder.
You can record onto both channels by adapting
the mono cord to the computer with PN: 274-374 (1/8 mono jack to
1/8 stereo jack). The computer jack is stereo.
Once you have the cable, the last step is to
connect the cable to the recorder and the computer.
Unfortunately, there isn't enough space to write a step by step
guide on how to accomplish this but hopefully these general
instructions will help get you started. If anyone has additional
questions or would like my help, I'm always available through
the AA-EVP Egroup.
To connect the cable, plug one end into the
headphone jack of the recorder and the other end into the "Line
in" jack on the back of the PC next to where the speakers and
microphone are connected. Next, double click on the "Speaker"
icon in the system tray in the bottom right hand corner of the
screen. This brings up the volume control panel. You'll want to
be sure that the "Line In" control is present and not muted.
Then click on OPTIONS, then PROPERTIES and select RECORDING. Be
sure that "Line In" is checked in the box that opens below.
Lastly, click OK and then select "Line In" by checking the
"Select" box below the volume control.
You should be ready to record using the basic
Windows Sound Recorder or by downloading the free trial version
of Cool Edit 2000 (www.syntrillium.com)
or other sound editing programs available online.
Article by Mike Sullivan ~ A
member of the American Association of Electronic Voice
Phenomena.
For more information on EVP ~
www.aa-evp.com
