Recording from a cell phone

Is it compatible with a BlackBerry?

 

That Radio Shack thing is a piece of junk. I tried it and all it recorded was my voice. I am returning it.

 

I ordered it the other day and it works marginally well, but only if I hold the ear piece to one of the ear pieces of my headphones, which obviously limits my ability to type during invterviews. I may go McGyver this weekend and try to figure out a way to lock them together permanently so I don't have to hold them.

Oh, and about the McGyver things not working on Mythbusters: I remember the McGyver folks saying early in the show's run that they always left a step or two out of each trick so people wouldn't try them at home.

 

Wait, so you put the cord's ear plug into your ear, with the jack into your recorder and the thing set to "record," and then you hold your cell phone up to that ear (and thus the microphone) and you don't get a usable recording?

Mine works fine. I wouldn't use it for interviews to be played on the radio, but for my own purposes -- transcribing and writing -- it's fine.

 

Yet another plug for this. It's a lifesaver. Works great. Never had any problems with it. I tried recording from speakerphone once and it was almost incomprehensible. This is about as good as it gets.

 

Yeah, mine works great too. I wish I could hear my own voice when I record, but it's not a big deal.

I might try the McGyver (sp? my bad) thing sometime soon, too, just for the heck of it. It would be nice to be able to put the phone down, too.

Thanks again, mellinger.

 

Um ... the cops or their representatives have a court order. That's why they can do it.

Just make sure you plug it into the "mic" jack and not the "earphone" jack. Otherwise, you'll only get your voice.

But yeah, it works great. I highly recommend it, though I'd search for it on Amazon.com or elsewhere to get it a little cheaper than you can from Radio Shack.

 

My simple solution is to turn the volume all the way up on the cell phone, hold a tape recorder to the backside of the cell phone and then hold the gadget up to my ear. I used to use a rubber band to keep the two together, but I found on a couple occasions the rubber band would flip the on/off switch on the recorder - and that was a big issue. That way, you don't get any awkward speakerphone feedback, and for the purpose of transcribing, it's just fine.

When it comes to teleconferences, my trick is to pull out the sliding tray on my desk, set up the recorder next to the phone, turn the volume all the way up and push the tray back into the table. That way, I can hear the voices enough to be able to type and/or take notes as the conference goes on, and the recording is crisp and clear. And when it's my turn to ask a question, it's as simple as picking up the phone, asking and putting it back down.

 

I have to admit, all my McGyver knowledge comes from McGruber. I've never seen an episode of the actual show. (I'd never be able to woo Patty and/or Selma.)

 

I stand corrected. Just bought an Olympus J-300 recorder with a mic output and it works like a charm.

 

It's legal in some state to record your own phone calls without asking for the other party's permission. It's also legal to do so if the call is to a party in another state.