Audacity Forum

I have an RCA RP5012B digital voice recorder that does not have features to transfer audio recordings to a PC. However, I found out that you can use a 3.5mm male-to-male cable to get the audio files onto your pc... so i've tried both plugging it into the "ear" and microphone jacks (into the line-in port on my PC), but Audacity records static, in both Line-In and Microphone modes. I can't figure out how to get these darn audio files onto my PC. Please help with detailed instructions!

You find the detailed intructions and tutorials on the web.

1. Connect headphones to the headphones socket on the left side of RP5012. Make it play.
You should hear your recording. If you do not, do not go any further.
Get head phones out.
2. Put your male-to-male cable instead of headphones.
Connected the other hadn to line-in socket of you PC.

I doubt 'ear' would denote line-in, I assume it would be line-out (or 'phone-out').
Use line-in. (Mic could work in theory too, but would have problems with level being to hight, probably.)

3.
Tell Audacity what input device it should use. Edit>Preferences>AudioIO.
Start recording.

4. After you are able to get a signal, adjust the level to avoid any clipping.

Before you got to here, you went around
"Click here before posting" and
"Check these links - they may save you having to post"
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... uter_or_CD
part 2. http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... _equipment
and 3. http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... p_Audacity
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... rding_Tips
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tips

I am affraid thouse are to long and complex. Might be there is need for some very easy text "My first recording". Or there is one?
(Or, skillplan, would write one after you are through?)

I did read through the tutorial before posting. I can't figure out why Audacity is not recognizing the recordings on the device...

I can hear the recordings through a head set. I have tried to transfer the recordings to Audacity again via connecting the male cable to the headphone jack, and the other end to Line-in jack in my PC. I have selected my sound card in the Audio preferences. Select Line-In on the Audacity Mixer Toolbar. I tell Audacity to record, press play on my recorder and Audacity plays back static instead of the recording on the device. What am i doing wrong?

i tried plugging the male cable into the headphone jack of the device and the MICROPHONE jack on my PC and it's working now.

skillplan wrote:i tried plugging the male cable into the headphone jack of the device and the MICROPHONE jack on my PC and it's working now.

OK. Happy to hear that. Be careful with the levels, avoid clipping.
The level is influenced by the headphone volume control on the device.

So, might be it did record using line in, but it was not enough laud to be visible. (Meters would show it).
You mith look at your line-in recording, and use Effect>Amplify or Effect>Normalize to look whether there is a very quiet sound recorded. If it shows something you could try get level up, both on PC and on the device.
If you get a reasonable level, you would have an alternative to mic-jack recording in case you do not get satisfactory quality there.