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Matt[_5_] Matt[_5_] is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a device
with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a problem.
The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more then 22
hours without changing the batteries. For example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICDP520...0938&s r=8-14


The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is because
I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape recorder
for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3 recorder
does not. If there are alternative recording devices that could give me
an even longer recording time, then that would be perfect.

Kind Regards,

Matt
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Matt[_5_] Matt[_5_] is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a device
with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a problem.
The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more then 22
hours without changing the batteries. For example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICDP520...0938&s r=8-14


The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is because
I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape recorder
for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3 recorder
does not. If there are alternative recording devices that could give me
an even longer recording time, then that would be perfect.

Kind Regards,

Matt


Just had a thought: if I get a device that has voice activated recording
and has a battery life of, say, 36 hours; if it only spends half of its
time recording and the standby time is ages, then that might be fine.

How good is voice activated recording? Is it the sort of thing that
would record any noise it detects, or does it tend to miss words out?

Kind Regards,

Matt
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Laurence Payne Laurence Payne is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:14:29 +0000, Matt
wrote:

Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a device
with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a problem.
The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more then 22
hours without changing the batteries. For example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICDP520...0938&s r=8-14


The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is because
I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape recorder
for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3 recorder
does not. If there are alternative recording devices that could give me
an even longer recording time, then that would be perfect.

Kind Regards,

Matt


Just had a thought: if I get a device that has voice activated recording
and has a battery life of, say, 36 hours; if it only spends half of its
time recording and the standby time is ages, then that might be fine.

How good is voice activated recording? Is it the sort of thing that
would record any noise it detects, or does it tend to miss words out?



Can we cut straight to the post where you reveal just what you're
trying to do? Better answers will ensue :-)
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Scott Dorsey Scott Dorsey is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a device
with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a problem.
The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more then 22
hours without changing the batteries. For example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICDP520...0938&s r=8-14



What is the application? Can you just use an external battery pack and
be done with it?

The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is because
I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape recorder
for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3 recorder
does not. If there are alternative recording devices that could give me
an even longer recording time, then that would be perfect.


Sure, ask your local pro audio dealer for a logging recorder. Most
of them are 19" rackmount, and record for a very very long time on some
sort of digital media (or on tape for older machines).
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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Randy Yates Randy Yates is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt writes:

Matt wrote:
Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a
device with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a
problem. The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more
then 22 hours without changing the batteries. For example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICDP520...0938&s r=8-14


The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is
because I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape
recorder for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3
recorder does not. If there are alternative recording devices that
could give me an even longer recording time, then that would be
perfect.

Kind Regards,

Matt


Just had a thought: if I get a device that has voice activated
recording and has a battery life of, say, 36 hours; if it only spends
half of its time recording and the standby time is ages, then that
might be fine.

How good is voice activated recording? Is it the sort of thing that
would record any noise it detects, or does it tend to miss words out?


The power in such devices is consumed by the electronics/CPU while
operating. Voice-activated recording requires at least part of that
electronics to be operating continuously (whether you're recording
or not) in order to run the recognition function, thus your battery
life on such a device is likely to be less than a standard device.
--
% Randy Yates % "So now it's getting late,
%% Fuquay-Varina, NC % and those who hesitate
%%% 919-577-9882 % got no one..."
%%%% % 'Waterfall', *Face The Music*, ELO
http://www.digitalsignallabs.com


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Scott Dorsey Scott Dorsey is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Just had a thought: if I get a device that has voice activated recording
and has a battery life of, say, 36 hours; if it only spends half of its
time recording and the standby time is ages, then that might be fine.

How good is voice activated recording? Is it the sort of thing that
would record any noise it detects, or does it tend to miss words out?


If it doesn't have timecode, then you don't know when a given utterance
was made. This makes it inadmissable in court for a lot of things.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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John Williamson John Williamson is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a device
with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a problem.
The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more then 22
hours without changing the batteries. For example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICDP520...0938&s r=8-14


The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is because
I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape recorder
for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3 recorder
does not. If there are alternative recording devices that could give me
an even longer recording time, then that would be perfect.

Kind Regards,

Matt


Would an external battery pack/ power supply be acceptable?
If so, anything that uses a wallwart supply can be used indefinitely up
to either its memory limit or the size of the external pack. You just
need to match voltages & plug type/ polarity. Modifying the one you're
on about to use an external pack with a couple of D cells in it would
give you up to a week, maybe. It'd take a competent tech an hour or two
to do the mod, if you can find one willing to do it. One problem you may
suffer from is a built in limit on file size or recording length, which
may vary from unit to unit. One with voice operation may increase
battery life, as they only record (And make a new file) when there's
something to record.

Other than that, flash recorders are run a close second on battery life
by the HD based units, but they're somewhat larger, with bigger built in
batteries.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.
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Matt[_5_] Matt[_5_] is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Would an external battery pack/ power supply be acceptable?

I don't see why not. A wall outlet might be a problem, so where would I
get an external battery pack from in the UK?

If so, anything that uses a wallwart supply can be used indefinitely up
to either its memory limit or the size of the external pack.


What's a "wallwart supply"?


Kind Regards,

Matt
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Matt[_5_] Matt[_5_] is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

What is the application? Can you just use an external battery pack and
be done with it?


An external battery pack would be fine, I just need to know where I
could get one from.

Sure, ask your local pro audio dealer for a logging recorder. Most
of them are 19" rackmount, and record for a very very long time on some
sort of digital media (or on tape for older machines).
--scott


I can only find ones that run with tapes, are ones that run on digital
media less common?

Kind Regards,

Matt
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Richard Crowley Richard Crowley is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

"Matt" wrote ...
Would an external battery pack/ power supply be acceptable?


I don't see why not. A wall outlet might be a problem, so where would
I get an external battery pack from in the UK?

If so, anything that uses a wallwart supply can be used indefinitely
up to either its memory limit or the size of the external pack.


What's a "wallwart supply"?


It is a power cable with a "wart" or large "plug"
which contains the mains power supply. It is
intended to connect to the mains outlet.

Since you won't reveal the application, are we to
assume that it must be portable and self-powered?

If you want to continue to play a game of 20-questions,
your responses will be limited to those who also wish
to play.



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Richard Crowley Richard Crowley is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

"Matt" wrote ...
What is the application? Can you just use an external battery

pack and be done with it?

An external battery pack would be fine, I just need to know where I
could get one from.

Sure, ask your local pro audio dealer for a logging recorder. Most
of them are 19" rackmount, and record for a very very long time on
some sort of digital media (or on tape for older machines).
--scott


I can only find ones that run with tapes, are ones that run on digital
media less common?


There are quite common, but perhaps for different uses than
your (unidentified) application They tend to be based on big
arrays of hard drives, etc. For example...
http://www.eventide.com/loggers/loggers.htm

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Matt[_6_] Matt[_6_] is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Since you won't reveal the application, are we to
assume that it must be portable and self-powered?

If you want to continue to play a game of 20-questions,
your responses will be limited to those who also wish
to play.


My apologies. The application is a set of lectures over a three day
period that I will be unable to attend, so I want to leave the
recorder going in my absence.

Kind Regards,

Matt
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Scott Dorsey Scott Dorsey is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Would an external battery pack/ power supply be acceptable?


I don't see why not. A wall outlet might be a problem, so where would I
get an external battery pack from in the UK?


Maplin will sell you a wide variety of lead-acid battery packs in different
voltages and capacities. You may have to make a cable up to go the the
recorder.

If so, anything that uses a wallwart supply can be used indefinitely up
to either its memory limit or the size of the external pack.


What's a "wallwart supply"?


An "AC adaptor" with a transformer that hangs on the wall.

Kind Regards,


So how long are you going to do without explaining what your application
is? Are you trying to be deliberately obscure?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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Scott Dorsey Scott Dorsey is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
What is the application? Can you just use an external battery pack and
be done with it?


An external battery pack would be fine, I just need to know where I
could get one from.


What is the application?

Sure, ask your local pro audio dealer for a logging recorder. Most
of them are 19" rackmount, and record for a very very long time on some
sort of digital media (or on tape for older machines).


I can only find ones that run with tapes, are ones that run on digital
media less common?


No, the digital units are much more common these days. What is your
application?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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John Williamson John Williamson is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Would an external battery pack/ power supply be acceptable?


I don't see why not. A wall outlet might be a problem, so where would I
get an external battery pack from in the UK?

Maplins ( www.maplin.co.uk )or RS online ( www.rswww.com )with a bit of
soldering is the way I'd do it. They'll sell you a battery holder, a box
& all the other bits (Switch if wanted, fuse & holder, cable & plug) for
under a tenner. Depending on the make of recorder, the makers may sell
one. If you're not worried about how it looks, the battery holder, some
wire & a plug to match the recorder power input will do it, insulated
with tape.

You could also try it with the Lithium disposable cells, which seem to
offer a higher energy density than standard alkaline ones. These *may*
solve your problem with the recorder as it comes out of the box. I've
not tried them yet, so I don't know if they just have lower internal
resistance for high drain applications or higher capacity.

If so, anything that uses a wallwart supply can be used indefinitely
up to either its memory limit or the size of the external pack.


What's a "wallwart supply"?

Sorry, it's a mains supply that plugs into a wall socket, looking a bit
like an oversized wart....

--
Tciao for Now!

John.


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John Williamson John Williamson is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Since you won't reveal the application, are we to
assume that it must be portable and self-powered?

If you want to continue to play a game of 20-questions,
your responses will be limited to those who also wish
to play.


My apologies. The application is a set of lectures over a three day
period that I will be unable to attend, so I want to leave the
recorder going in my absence.

Could you not ask someone to take a recorder in with them or ask the
venue for a recording? I've got a recorder here that I bought from PC
World that'll record for about 8 hours on a single AAA cell, using a 2
Gig SD card. It's about an inch long & half an inch wide, & is quite
sensitive, with auto gain control. Either clip it to a lapel & sit at
the front, or clip it to the lectern. Either way, it's unobtrusive. An
obsolete type, but there are similar ones still on the market.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.
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sansa.user sansa.user is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?


On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:00:45 +0000 'Matt'
wrote this on alt.music.mp3.hardwa

The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is because
I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape recorder
for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3 recorder
does not. If there are alternative recording devices that could give me
an even longer recording time, then that would be perfect.



I have a small shirt-pocket size voice recorder which runs for a
long time on 2 small quickly replaceable AAA batteries. Sanyo
model ICR-B32. Useful for covertly switching on when arrested
by the police or to record other peoples' private conversations ;-)

Cost me about 25 pounds sterling several years ago...
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Laurence Payne Laurence Payne is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Sun, 6 Jan 2008 07:55:57 -0800 (PST), Matt
wrote:

My apologies. The application is a set of lectures over a three day
period that I will be unable to attend, so I want to leave the
recorder going in my absence.


Can't one of the other attendees record them for you? If they all
hate you so much that no-one will, equipment you set up is going to be
sabotaged (or stolen) anyway :-)
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Matt[_5_] Matt[_5_] is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Can't one of the other attendees record them for you? If they all
hate you so much that no-one will, equipment you set up is going to be
sabotaged (or stolen) anyway :-)


I've never met any of the other attendees, so I'd rather take care of it
myself

Kind Regards,

Matt
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Mike Rivers Mike Rivers is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Jan 6, 10:00 am, Matt wrote:
Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a device
with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a problem.
The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more then 22
hours without changing the batteries.


In that case, look for one with an external power jack and power it
from an AC supply or a larger battery pack. But when you start to get
upwards of 20 hours on a reasonably sized memory card, you start to
make some pretty big compromises in quality because of the low sample
rate and high data compression.

As to where to buy a battery pack, this depends on the power
requirements of the recorder. Most of us around here in rec.audio.pro
are pretty resourceful and would just make our own. If you can't do
that, there are probably places that will do it for you, perhaps even
a local electronics repair shop. There's not much to it, you just need
the proper connector and the right size batteries. It can be as pretty
or as ugly as you want it.


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Mike Rivers Mike Rivers is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Jan 6, 10:55 am, Matt wrote:

My apologies. The application is a set of lectures over a three day
period that I will be unable to attend, so I want to leave the
recorder going in my absence.


Why don't you just find someone who will be attending the lectures you
want to record, hand him your recorder, and ask him to record them for
you? Take him to lunch for his trouble.

Have you checked to see if the organization sponsoring the lectures is
recording the program? It's pretty common these days.
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AZ Nomad AZ Nomad is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:00:45 +0000, Matt wrote:
Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a digital voice
recorder, that has the longest possible recording time. Finding a device
with enough memory to record a few days of material is not a problem.
The problem is I can't find a device that will run for more then 22
hours without changing the batteries. For example:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICDP520...0938&s r=8-14



The reason I'm going for an MP3 recorder over anything else is because
I'm assuming it will have the longest recording time. A tape recorder
for example has a motor that needs powering, whereas an MP3 recorder
does not. If there are alternative recording devices that could give me
an even longer recording time, then that would be perfect.


What are the portability requirements? Exactly how much run time
do you need? At what quality level?

Connect an external battery to a hard drive mp3 player with record capability
and you should be able to record a full month.
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Peter A. Stoll[_2_] Peter A. Stoll[_2_] is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote in news:cdeda384-bd31-4311-89e7-
:

Since you won't reveal the application, are we to
assume that it must be portable and self-powered?

If you want to continue to play a game of 20-questions,
your responses will be limited to those who also wish
to play.


My apologies. The application is a set of lectures over a three day
period that I will be unable to attend, so I want to leave the
recorder going in my absence.

Kind Regards,

Matt


Only three days? Ah, in that case my answer is overtaken by events. But
just in case someone reads this who wants longer:

With recent firmware release, the Sound Devices 7-series recorders
optionally record in mp3 format again. Several data rate options are
provided, from 32 to 320 kbyte/sec.

As the base hard drive in the hard-drive equipped models is 40 Gigabytes,
you could record for well over a week at the lowest mp3 bitrate. As you
can replace the as-shipped hard drive with a standard 2.5 inch PATA drive
as found in many laptops (no longer limited to something like 132 G in
current firmware), the medium capacity alone will support well over a
month.

If you can plug in the wall, and trust the power company not to have
outages longer than a few hours, that is it. However, the biggest
battery that will fit is only good for something like 8-ish hours, so if
being free of power is a requirement (as appeared likely in the original
post), then one would want to make up a power source. Just stack enough
of your favorite batteries to get 12V DC. The hardest part would be
procuring the connector, and that is readily available. I suspect that a
single charged car battery, plus wire and connector, would do the trick
for a fair number of days. Need more days: parallel more car batteries.

With the refined definition of your application, this solution seems
grossly over-priced (the cheapest 7-series is over $2000) and over-
capable (much better sound quality, and much longer recording time than
you need)

I just enter it as a pretty competitive entrant in the original posed
longest mp3 recording time question in the somewhat portable class,
though in the unlimited class it clearly loses the duration crown to an
ordinary PC with a 750G hard drive.
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Geoff Geoff is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
Since you won't reveal the application, are we to
assume that it must be portable and self-powered?

If you want to continue to play a game of 20-questions,
your responses will be limited to those who also wish
to play.


My apologies. The application is a set of lectures over a three day
period that I will be unable to attend, so I want to leave the
recorder going in my absence.


Get a Zoom H2 and an 8GB SD card. Get someone to push Record and Stop each
day.

geoff


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John Williamson John Williamson is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

geoff wrote:
Matt wrote:
Since you won't reveal the application, are we to
assume that it must be portable and self-powered?

If you want to continue to play a game of 20-questions,
your responses will be limited to those who also wish
to play.

My apologies. The application is a set of lectures over a three day
period that I will be unable to attend, so I want to leave the
recorder going in my absence.


Get a Zoom H2 and an 8GB SD card. Get someone to push Record and Stop each
day.

Nice though it is, 4 hours recording pretty much kills the batteries on
one of those. It uses a standard 9 volt wallwart, though, so an external
pack shouldn't be too hard to make.

Plan B, which is to run it off a USB supply as an independent recorder,
doesn't work. It had to be either the internal pencells or a 9 volt
supply. Drat.

Your best & easiest bet will probably be to either have a word with the
lecturer or the venue beforehand. Most lecturers I've met have been
quite co-operative about either recording or printed notes.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.


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Geoff Geoff is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

John Williamson wrote:

Your best & easiest bet will probably be to either have a word with
the lecturer or the venue beforehand. Most lecturers I've met have
been quite co-operative about either recording or printed notes.


On the other hand, they might get all defensive and coy regarding potential
copyright and boot-legging. Not as much as is you did the recording without
clearing with them first though !

On the other hand, they might be very happy to go out of their way to
oblidge (by way of mains power, optimal mic siting, etc) if you can offer a
set of the resultant recording for THEM to use ....


geoff


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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

"Matt" wrote in message


Hey guys. I'm looking for an MP3 recorder, such as a
digital voice recorder, that has the longest possible
recording time. Finding a device with enough memory to
record a few days of material is not a problem. The
problem is I can't find a device that will run for more
then 22 hours without changing the batteries.


All you need then is a device that will work off of an external battery
pack.

I'm sure they abound. For example, any device that receives power via a USB
cable can be used with relatively inexpenisve battery packs like this one:

http://i4.peapod.com/c/GB/GBFLX.jpg


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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

As to where to buy a battery pack, this depends on the power
requirements of the recorder. Most of us around here in rec.audio.pro
are pretty resourceful and would just make our own. If you can't do
that, there are probably places that will do it for you, perhaps even
a local electronics repair shop. There's not much to it, you just need
the proper connector and the right size batteries. It can be as pretty
or as ugly as you want it.


Sadly I'm not too resourceful

In terms of power requirements, I have a small MP3 player at the
moment (which I've left recording so I can check its battery life)
which runs on a single AAA battery.

Also I'm rather lacking in electronics shops near me. Is this
something I could buy ready made?

Kind Regards,

Matt
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

What are the portability requirements? *Exactly how much run time
do you need? *At what quality level? *


Portability would be very useful. Run time I need as much as I can
get, but about 3 days minimum. The recording is only voice, so I could
put up with a low quality (by low I mean something like telephone
quality) recording in this case.

Connect an externalbatteryto a hard drive mp3 player with record capability
and you should be able to record a full month.


Where would I be able to get an external battery from?

Kind Regards,

Matt
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Geoff Geoff is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
What are the portability requirements? Exactly how much run time
do you need? At what quality level?


Portability would be very useful. Run time I need as much as I can
get, but about 3 days minimum. The recording is only voice, so I could
put up with a low quality (by low I mean something like telephone
quality) recording in this case.

Connect an externalbatteryto a hard drive mp3 player with record
capability and you should be able to record a full month.


Where would I be able to get an external battery from?



Practically any electronics hobby shop. Check the Yellow Pages, or online.

A 'hard drive' mp3 recorder will still use too much power. A Zoom H2 would
need a 9V battery pack or mains PSU, and a suiatble plug. Time to GET
resourceful.

geoff




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Richard Crowley Richard Crowley is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

"geoff" wrote ...
Matt wrote:
What are the portability requirements? Exactly how much run time
do you need? At what quality level?


Portability would be very useful. Run time I need as much as I can
get, but about 3 days minimum. The recording is only voice, so I
could
put up with a low quality (by low I mean something like telephone
quality) recording in this case.

Connect an externalbatteryto a hard drive mp3 player with record
capability and you should be able to record a full month.


Where would I be able to get an external battery from?



Practically any electronics hobby shop. Check the Yellow Pages, or
online.

A 'hard drive' mp3 recorder will still use too much power. A Zoom H2
would need a 9V battery pack or mains PSU, and a suiatble plug. Time
to GET resourceful.


Dunno where the OP thinks he can deploy this long-running
gadget for three days unattended with a bunch of strangers?

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Mike Rivers Mike Rivers is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Jan 6, 9:46 pm, Matt wrote:

Where would I be able to get an external battery from?


This is kind of a chicken-and-egg thing. If you really want to do
this, assume that:

1 - There will be no off-the-shelf battery pack available

and

2 - When you have the recorder in hand, you will be able to find
someone to build a battery pack for you capable of any capacity that
you want

So pick out a recorder that offers the capacity you need at the
quality that you can tolerate. I'd suggest making some test recordings
using the settings that tive the smallest file size before buying.
Then come back here stating your location ("UK" is too general if you
don't know where your local electronics repair shop is) and I'm sure
someone will have a good suggestion.
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

2 - When you have the recorder in hand, you will be able to find
someone to build a battery pack for you capable of any capacity that
you want

So pick out a recorder that offers the capacity you need at the
quality that you can tolerate. I'd suggest making some test recordings
using the settings that tive the smallest file size before buying.
Then come back here stating your location ("UK" is too general if you
don't know where your local electronics repair shop is) and I'm sure
someone will have a good suggestion.


I have one already that I've used in the past. It's a small 1GB Medion
MP3 player (MD80527 is the model number) that can record in 8 bit 32kb/
sec .wav format. It takes a single AAA battery.

I set it recording yesterday to test its battery life, and so far from
a fresh battery I've just gone past the 24 hour mark. The batter
indicator has an almost empty display, so it's not got long left.

I'm in Cheshire in the UK (just south of the Manchester area) if that
is of any help.

Kind Regards,

Matt
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John Williamson John Williamson is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

Matt wrote:
I'm in Cheshire in the UK (just south of the Manchester area) if that
is of any help.


Not a recommendation, as I've not used them, but Peter Martin in
Congleton should be able to help you.

Failing that, I've used Meigh's Television in Hanley before. The
number's in the book, or e-mail me for details. Very helpful &
reasonably priced.

All they need to do is to solder a pair of wires to the battery contacts
& run them out to a single D cell battery holder. Reversible & only
slight damage to the battery cover if they do it right. That should give
you about a week. :-)
--
Tciao for Now!

John.
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AZ Nomad AZ Nomad is offline
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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Mon, 7 Jan 2008 16:47:17 +1300, geoff wrote:
Matt wrote:
What are the portability requirements? Exactly how much run time
do you need? At what quality level?


Portability would be very useful. Run time I need as much as I can
get, but about 3 days minimum. The recording is only voice, so I could
put up with a low quality (by low I mean something like telephone
quality) recording in this case.

Connect an externalbatteryto a hard drive mp3 player with record
capability and you should be able to record a full month.


Where would I be able to get an external battery from?



Practically any electronics hobby shop. Check the Yellow Pages, or online.


A 'hard drive' mp3 recorder will still use too much power. A Zoom H2 would

they only spin up the hard drive every ten minutes or so, less frequently for
lower bitrates.

need a 9V battery pack or mains PSU, and a suiatble plug. Time to GET
resourceful.


geoff





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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:31:51 +0100, Chel van Gennip wrote:
Mike Rivers wrote:
On Jan 6, 9:46 pm, Matt wrote:

Where would I be able to get an external battery from?


This is kind of a chicken-and-egg thing. If you really want to do
this, assume that:

1 - There will be no off-the-shelf battery pack available

and

2 - When you have the recorder in hand, you will be able to find
someone to build a battery pack for you capable of any capacity that
you want


My Microtrack 24/96 is powered through the USB connection. It should not
be to hard to find a battery pack for that. I've tested with a battery
pack with 4AA NiMh cells, and I get over 12 hours recording time, but
that was tested with phantom power on. Without phantom power it will be
much more.


Now that we know that it is a lecture series to be recorded, it is probably
safe to assume that if the speaker isn't on drugs or tag-teaming, they won't
be talking nonstop for the entire period.

When the speaker stops to return home and get some sleep or the tag-team
gives the audience a chance to do the same, replace the batteries with fresh
ones or recharge them.
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"AZ Nomad" wrote ...
Now that we know that it is a lecture series to be recorded, it is
probably
safe to assume that if the speaker isn't on drugs or tag-teaming, they
won't
be talking nonstop for the entire period.

When the speaker stops to return home and get some sleep or the
tag-team
gives the audience a chance to do the same, replace the batteries with
fresh
ones or recharge them.


The OP won't be present to change the batteries
or to turn it on/off. (aaparently for the entire three
days).

However, that begs the question of where he can
put this recorder and extra battery lash-up that will
adequately pick up thte lecturer without being stolen
while sitting there, unattended, for three days.

For that matter, this strange electronic-looking device
with some external batteries lashed to it may look
sufficiently like an IED (improvised explosive device,
i.e. a "bomb") that it may be hauled away by the
bomb squad with lights and sirens.

Even if the OP were there, recording a lecture from
the audience is a dubious exercise, unless one has
very low expecations of quality.

If it were me, I would engage a proxy who will be
in attendance to do it for me. Trying to do this
passively seems very doubtful to me.

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Default Which MP3 Recorder has the longest recording time?

On Jan 7, 10:00 am, Matt wrote:

I have one already that I've used in the past. It's a small 1GB Medion
MP3 player (MD80527 is the model number) that can record in 8 bit 32kb/
sec .wav format. It takes a single AAA battery.


This is where you'll need to find someone creative. Generally devices
that run off a single cell like that don't have provisions built in
for external power. I have a Raven MP3 player that looks like a USB
"thumb" memory drive and runs off a AAA battery. I can load and unload
files under USB power (without the battery) but it needs the battery
to play. If I wanted to run it from external power, I'd build a
"dummy" battery to fit the battery holder, make contact with the
springs at the ends, and attach leads to it to which I'd connect an
external battery with greater capacity.

I set it recording yesterday to test its battery life, and so far from
a fresh battery I've just gone past the 24 hour mark.


A D cell has 12 times the amp-hour capacity of a AAA, so you should be
able to power it for a week with a single D cell.

As someone pointed out, there may be a problem with the recorded file
growing to a greater size than the player (or even a computer's file
system) can handle. Most devices deal with this in one way or
another. Some just stop when the file reaches the maximum size, others
close that file, open a new one, and continue recording.

You should cobble something up with clip leads, a D cell, and maybe
some duct tape and see what happens when you let it record for three
days. Once you know how to make it work, you look for a craftsman to
make it look pretty. Or you can leave it with the clip leads and duct
tape, but be sure the people in the lecture room know it's not a
bomb.



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Mike Rivers wrote:
On Jan 7, 10:00 am, Matt wrote:

I have one already that I've used in the past. It's a small 1GB Medion
MP3 player (MD80527 is the model number) that can record in 8 bit 32kb/
sec .wav format. It takes a single AAA battery.


This is where you'll need to find someone creative. Generally devices
that run off a single cell like that don't have provisions built in
for external power. I have a Raven MP3 player that looks like a USB
"thumb" memory drive and runs off a AAA battery. I can load and unload
files under USB power (without the battery) but it needs the battery
to play. If I wanted to run it from external power, I'd build a
"dummy" battery to fit the battery holder, make contact with the
springs at the ends, and attach leads to it to which I'd connect an
external battery with greater capacity.

I set it recording yesterday to test its battery life, and so far from
a fresh battery I've just gone past the 24 hour mark.


A D cell has 12 times the amp-hour capacity of a AAA, so you should be
able to power it for a week with a single D cell.

As someone pointed out, there may be a problem with the recorded file
growing to a greater size than the player (or even a computer's file
system) can handle. Most devices deal with this in one way or
another. Some just stop when the file reaches the maximum size, others
close that file, open a new one, and continue recording.


My recording I started going yesterday stopped a few minutes ago.
There was still enough battery life left to keep the screen going
(though would it stop if there wasn't enough to keep the recording
going?), and another 26 hours of memory remaining. Sadly it didn't
start a new file either. The file was just over 24 and a half hours
long, and is 336MB in size.

There is a lower quality setting (I think it's 8kb/sec) which I expect
should still be better then nothing, so I'll give that a try. I'm
assuming the restriction is likely to be on the size of the file,
rather then the length of the recording?

You should cobble something up with clip leads, a D cell, and maybe
some duct tape and see what happens when you let it record for three
days. Once you know how to make it work, you look for a craftsman to
make it look pretty. Or you can leave it with the clip leads and duct
tape, but be sure the people in the lecture room know it's not a
bomb.


I take it the current from a D cell is the same as that from a AAA
since they are both 1.5V cells? I want to avoid any possible damage to
the MP3 player.

As an aside I've had a thought. By turning down the contrast on the
small LCD screen to as low as possible and making sure the backlight
doesn't come on for a brief few seconds at the start of the recording,
can I expect much of an improvement in battery life?

Kind Regards,

Matt
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There is a lower quality setting (I think it's 8kb/sec) which I expect
should still be better then nothing, so I'll give that a try. I'm
assuming the restriction is likely to be on the size of the file,
rather then the length of the recording?


This lower quality setting is 8kb/sec, but is in ACT format, which
appears to take up a lot more memory (ACT gives me only 35 hours
whereas I get nearly 73 hours with 32kb/sec WAV).

Kind Regards,

Matt
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