Bringing Rosie into the 21st Century, aka digital recorders

It finally happened.

My ancient mini-recorder, which (gasp!) used actual mini cassette tapes, sported many scratches (ok, it looked like it had gone through a war) and stood loyally by my side to record everything from US Senators to high school kids excited to win their first game of the season, finally gave up the ghost.

It was a tragic death, despite being from natural causes (old age). A two-hour interview was nowhere to be found, and the recorder decided it just couldn't rewind anymore, despite new batteries.

That recorder had been a trusted companion for a good part of my journalistic life.

After the cussing and swearing, and doing my best to reconstruct quotes from my notes, the cold hard realization struck.

It's time to get a digital recorder.

I need to get one by Monday afternoon, so I now open the floor to suggestions for reasonably priced recorders. Ease of use counts. What you like about your recorder would also be helpful.

Thanks all.

 

My advice, Rosie, is to not go too cheap. I made the mistake of buying a $40 RCA recorder a couple years ago, and it sucked. In many cases, you get what you pay for with digital recorders.

That said, I'm not sure what you're definition of "reasonably priced" is, but my new <a href="http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1321">Olympus W-110 recorder</a> is outstanding. The recording quality is great, it doubles as a flash drive (which allows you to plug it directly into a USB port and drop audio files on your computer) and it records in WMA format (which can easily be converted to mp3 using a free program called "Switch" if you're a Mac user, like me). It was about $80, and you should be able to find it at Best Buy or some such place.

Take that for what it's worth.

 

I had a Sony cassette recorder that died a few months ago, and I invested in a Sony ICD-8500 digital recorder at Best Buy. Terrific little machine for my needs, cost me about $75 here in Canuckistan.

 

I have six microcassette recorders and three of the regular-sized tape recorders.

When I'm at a "mart," I buy 3-4 packs of microcassettes.

I don't plan to switch. Digital may be great but as long as mine hold out I'll use them.

 

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/electronics/digital-voice-recorders/

 

Olympus DS-2. Bulletproof. Intuitive. Thought I'd hate it when I made the change a couple years ago, but have really grown to appreciate the smaller size and the longer recording times and the convenience.

When you're shopping for a digital, make sure you're getting Windows/Mac software compatibility with your laptop or desktop. Best thing about digital is that it lets you seamlessly transfer your interview files to your computer.

The one caveat with any digital is the risk of unintended erasure. Be mindful of your thumbs.

 

Six?!?!

 

I thought for sure you were going to explain it away with "well, when I got the new job I invested in recorders for the office and I just count them as mine since I bought them."

Kudos for your honesty. We can find you a support group. And if you miss a meeting, it'll be recorded for you!

 

I don't have that many pairs of shoes.

 

Oh, do NOT get him started on shoes.