Recording Phone calls

[JeffB]

BTW, I forgot that the Gizmo recorder adds a beep every so often to alert the other party that the conversation is being recorded, so you would likely be better off using Audacity to do the recording rather than Gizmo's recording option.

[roclark]

I checked out Gizmo's briefly. At first glance it looks like the "free" softphone download only connects with others who have some kind of instant messaging tool. The gentleman I interviewed was 85 years old and very unlikely to be into that kind of stuff. In fact, most the people I will be calling to interview probably won't be hooked up with a computer and instant messaging software when I call them. I hope there is a way to call their landlines from my computer...

[kozikowski]

You need The Real Thing, not a proprietary free software solution. A softphone that can connect into the Switched Telephone System--usually anywhere in the world.

Koz

[JeffB]

I checked out Gizmo's briefly. At first glance it looks like the "free" softphone download only connects with others who have some kind of instant messaging tool. The gentleman I interviewed was 85 years old and very unlikely to be into that kind of stuff. In fact, most the people I will be calling to interview probably won't be hooked up with a computer and instant messaging software when I call them. I hope there is a way to call their landlines from my computer...

Calling the 800#s (& 877, 866 etc.) is free as is calling other Gizmo & assorted VoIP users (other than Skype which is proprietary). Calling other landlines is doable, but they charge 1.9 cents/minute in the U.S. - even if they're across the street from you. http://www.gizmoproject.com/call-out.html

They also give you a free call in #, by the way, but it's a 775 # which is somewhere in Iowa, I believe. To be able to select a local # & area code you would need to purchase a "call in" number.

"Call In numbers are billed in 3 or 12 month increments for $12 and $35 respectively." http://www.gizmoproject.com/call-in.php

So if you were going to call landlines the cheapest route to go would depend on how much you would use it. If it was a one time shot for 10 or 20 minutes you could do so for under 40 cents by just paying the per minute rate. If it was an interview or interviews and they had unlimited long distance and were willing to call you, you could set up a 775 area code # for free and just have them call you. You could then record the conversation via Audacity.

If this is a continuous long term project with a lot of recording etc., you could purchase a local # in your area code for under $3/month for those willing to call you for the interviews. You could even use regular phones if you purchase an ATA adapter. A one line model can be had for ~ $40, a two line version can run about $60

Btw, you do also need broadband such as DSL or cable, though I've seen some people who have claimed to get decent audio over a dialup line.

One other nice feature of the VoIP #s is that you can take it with you wherever you go as long as you can get a broadband connection. Theoretically, you could take your ATA adapter with you and plug it in at a hotel while on vacation or travelling and receive your calls as though you were home. I say theoretically, because when I took mine on vacation the hotels had broadband, but it was wireless and my ATA router was a hard wired version. Luckily my wife had a laptop from work that had a wireless card and even a broadband Sprint card so we could make & receive calls even while going down the highway.

Some people might not consider having your phone with you on vacation a good thing, but it's nice to at least have that option. A friend could call you like any other local call and not even realize you are a 1000 miles away. You could also keep your number even if you move to a different area code. That was the main reason I got mine. I moved my business and wanted to keep the same phone number, but even though I only moved 18 miles away, SW Bell wanted to charge me like $29 a month for a "telebranch" which would merely forward them to another line I would have to purchase. They were also going to charge me long distance charges for every incoming call. I just moved it to a VoIP line and took it with me. Not only was it cheaper, but it gave me another line to boot.

The usbrecorder might suit your needs better, however. Mine works well and the newer version is supposed to be even better.

[myhnews]

Just to clarify my question.
I’m using Audacity to record some lessens / lectures from cassette players and convert it to MP3 so I can listen to it while traveling.

I also would like to record some free phone lessens / lectures. You dial the number and select the lectures you want.

The question is, do I need some special hardware / software to record this? I’m only listing not talking.

I’m using a landline; I do not need to be connected to the internet for that. I have no bad phone connection, lousy equipment, etc

I might have the same issue as roclark

Thank you

[kozikowski]

<<<The question is, do I need some special hardware / software to record this? I’m only listing not talking.
I’m using a landline; I do not need to be connected to the internet for that. I have no bad phone connection, lousy equipment, etc>>>

The Radio Shack phone adapter may work for you. One of the problems with the Public Switched Phone System is that they play magic games to put voices in both directions down one pair of wires. The phone knows how to deal with this, but if you need to extract the voice in either direction without the other, that's when it gets very sticky.

The local voice (yours) tends to be really loud compared to the one at the far end. This means the slightest breathing or microphone noise on your part will be heard clearly in the recording. The older phones allowed you to unscrew the microphone and get rid of this problem, but with the newer phones you are kind of stuck.

As you automate the process and increase the sound quality, the price of the package goes up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_hybrid

Koz

[kozikowski]

I changed my tune because of this:

<<<But I'm pretty sure plugged the jack into the right side of the DSL filter (the little box) because it was the same side I unhooked the phone from.>>>

If you have high speed DSL on your phone line (I do) then you have those little filters you need to use to prevent the hiss from getting into the voices. Mine work very well. Unfortunately, for some exotic engineering reasons, you can't plug just anything else in to the filters and have them work right . They need to "see" a telephone out there to get rid of the hiss.

I don't think you're going to do very well with this for all the reasons stated above, plus now the DSL problem.

So, it's softphone, cellphone with adapters and unlimited minutes, or a neighbor's house.

Koz

[myhnews]

Koz,
Before I buy the hardware, would you know if changing my phone to mute will help?
Thanks

[kozikowski]

Help which one? The local microphone noise, yes. The hiss, no.

Koz

[myhnews]

Thanks for your reply. I do not know what hiss stands for. In addition I do not have internet or DSL connection.