Thursday, September 28, 2006
Two tweaks to the Telephone Recording system
Based on the results of today's recordings, I've made two changes. One may be substantial, and one is just for fun.
First, I've replaced my Griffin iMic with the newer version, sometimes called the iMic 2. It may be the same on the inside, I don't know, but a new piece of hardware is always fun to get. And at $22 at Buy.com, it was a steal.
Second, I've gone from using the record function in QuickTime Player to Potion Factory's Voice Candy. This is probably not a huge change -- it's probably not going to affect the humming -- but it's a cute little application and I was very impressed with the fact that the developer responded to a question about ten minutes after I submitted it. I'll write up a full report later.
Also regarding the hum, I exchanged emails with a technical support person at JK Audio, makers of the VoicePath Telephone Handset Audio Tap. It's a higher-end replacement for my current Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control. I explained my situation to them, and the person wrote that
It's very tempting to drop the $60 for a QuickTap, but I'm going to try to maintain good scientific method and only change one thing at a time. Well, maybe two.
First, I've replaced my Griffin iMic with the newer version, sometimes called the iMic 2. It may be the same on the inside, I don't know, but a new piece of hardware is always fun to get. And at $22 at Buy.com, it was a steal.
Second, I've gone from using the record function in QuickTime Player to Potion Factory's Voice Candy. This is probably not a huge change -- it's probably not going to affect the humming -- but it's a cute little application and I was very impressed with the fact that the developer responded to a question about ten minutes after I submitted it. I'll write up a full report later.
Also regarding the hum, I exchanged emails with a technical support person at JK Audio, makers of the VoicePath Telephone Handset Audio Tap. It's a higher-end replacement for my current Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control. I explained my situation to them, and the person wrote that
"All of our products are transformer based so they will bring in the telephone audio cleaner and quieter than the products you are currently using. The Voice Path has two cables, one connects to the “Mic In” and one to the “Line Out” on your sound card so you can either record your phone conversation or play an audio file from your computer back to the phone line. There is a button to select which function you will use. If you only need to record your conversation, you could use a QuickTap. The output of this connects to the “Mic In” on your computer.
All of our products carry a two-year warranty and we have a 30-day return policy. If you purchase a VoicePath (or a QuickTap) and it does not work for you, you may return it within 30 days, provided it comes back in resalable condition."
It's very tempting to drop the $60 for a QuickTap, but I'm going to try to maintain good scientific method and only change one thing at a time. Well, maybe two.
