I would like to record the train sounds of the trains that pass close to my house.

Can anyone recommend something under $100. to do this ?

The last time I did any recording was with a real to real on an old Knight Kit.

Thanks,

Doug

If you have a laptop, record on to that. Then you can spend your money on a decent microphone. There is a lot of free recording software and editing software out there that you can use. You are also going to need some nice headphones. When you are out in the field you need to be able to hear what you are recording very well, and without headphones when you playback on regular speakers you may be disappointed.

As for me, when I do field recordings I have a few different microphones on hand. Unfortunately these all range from the $500-$1500 price range. But you can't just use any hand held mic for this. You want to look into a decent shotgun microphone. Shotgun mics will reject unwanted noise from the side and focus directly in front of them. Think of it like a zoom lens but for sound. You point the mic directly at the sound source and you get clean sound. Take a look on ebay and maybe you can find a good deal. Audio Technica in my opinion makes the best mid range microphones around.

You also need to consider how you will connect it to your laptop. Most laptops have a 1/8" mic stereo mic jack. You will need to get an female XLR to male 1/8" to make this work. Some newer mics have USB converters, but these can be expensive and I havn't seen any high quality mics setup like this. Mostly because it makes the mic useless in every other situation without a computer. There are some consumer shotguns out there that have 1/8" plugs already, I think audio technica has one. This may be a possible route for you.

Last thing to consider is phantom power. Most professional mics and shotguns require 48V phantom power. Computers don't supply this, so you either need to use a mic that doesn't require phantom power, or one that can provide it on it's own. There are stand alone phantom power supplies, but this adds to cost and complications. Most of the mics I have, contain a battery compartment for on board phantom power. So just be aware of this.

Hope this helps

Patrick, Thanks for all that good information. It sounds like that's a little more involved than I want to get. I was hoping for something simple like, streatch a wire out the window to a mic that's straped to the overhand of the house. When you hear a train coming, push a button and record that whistle blowing and the clickey clack of the cars.

Thanks,

Doug

Doug, Sony still makes some excellent Cassette Player/Recorder decks for under $200.00. You might want to consider one of them.

Most mp3 players record. Just get one of those and see how it works.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SanDisk-Sa...?hash=item4ce9695820

Walmart and a good, cheap digital (about the size of a cell phone) recorder with remote microphone jack. Buy the digital recorder and a descent mic. The digital recorder can also download directly to your computer.

I use one for my college football interviews and download when I get back to radio studio.

Tex

Olympus WS-400 S

http://www.olympusamerica.com/...uct.asp?product=1456

some reviews:

http://www.retrevo.com/search?q=Olympus+WS-400S&rt=oa

There is a mic port so you can plug in an external unit. Data transfer is insanely easy, just slide open the usb connector.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Chuck, that olympus might do just what I need. I'll look for it at one of our local stores.

Doug

When you use a digital recorder for sounds other than just voices, be sure to use its "best quality", "full range" or whatever the manufacturer's name is for full-frequency range recording. It will generate larger files (and therefore shorter recording times on the device) but you will get a better recording of train sounds.

The default on these devices is usually a voice-quality mode that drops frequencies above and below the range of the human voice to make recorded files smaller without sacrificing clarity in a conversation. For train sounds, though, you'll need it to pick up the wider range of low and high frequencies to get a nice recording.

-Eric

quote:

Originally posted by EricF:
For train sounds, though, you'll need it to pick up the wider range of low and high frequencies to get a nice recording.

-Eric

That's exactly why I stay away from digital for making recordings. Analog recordings capture frequencies from 100 cycles to above 20KC at a lower cost. To get into that frequency range with digital you really have to get into high end stuff. JMHO.

The Olympus unit can record up to 17 hours in stereo XQ mode which translates to 44khz sampling rate and frequency response that runs from 50-19khz. I'm not saying the built in mic is going to get you fantastic audio but you can jack in external mic's (we do this for recording conferences at work) and the quality of the recording then becomes more dependent on the mic and it's placement than it does on the recorder itself. 1 AAA battery, only moving parts are the control buttons.

I stopped by Staples on the way home tonight. They do carry the Olympus @ $79.
and a few cassett recorders in the $50. range.

Nick, If I get a cassett recorder how do I get the recording into my computer so I can put it on a CD. Their directions didn't address this.

Chuck, If I go with the Olympus can you tell me what mic you're using and aprox cost and where to get one.

Thanks,

Doug

We don't record trains sounds and our microphones reflect that. I have to capture audio from meetings/presentations. The main mic's we use are pressure zone devices. These are small condenser mic's "mounted" to a small hard surface. It picks up almost everything in front of the reflector plate with a fairly flat frequency response. We also use mini shotgun and sometimes wireless lavaliers. None of these are really appropriate for what you are trying to do.

If you go with an analog device you will need to digitize it to get it into a computer. You can play back the recording through the microphone port on the audio interface for the computer.

Here are some links for some field recording sites:

http://www.vermontfolklifecent...e/res_audioequip.htm

http://imagingbuffet.com/2007/...for-as-little-as-75/

quote:

Originally posted by boomer0622:
I stopped by Staples on the way home tonight. They do carry the Olympus @ $79.
and a few cassett recorders in the $50. range.

Nick, If I get a cassett recorder how do I get the recording into my computer so I can put it on a CD. Their directions didn't address this.
Thanks,

Doug

Doug, I have a separate digitizer - analog in and I can burn 2 CD's at a time. As Chuck said a lot of the frequency response has to do with the audio range of the mic. To really capture the brakes squealing and the wheel flanges rubbing the rail you really have to get above 15khz otherwise it will sound muddy for lack Please keep us posted.