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Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device
See it at Amazon.com for $19.99Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Too many DOA
(2 out of 5) by Urban Treehugger on Dec 15, 2008 (TN)This may be a good product, but I wouldn't know. All the ones I have received were dead-on-arrival. Ever the optimist, I will try one more time.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Was not what I expected
(3 out of 5) by W. Morris on Oct 20, 2008I was expecting this to connect directly to my phone.
It wasn't worth the trouble to return.
It wasn't worth the trouble to return.
11 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
Another Idea - Use Your Cheap Earbuds
(2 out of 5) by A guy from Philly on Apr 25, 2008 (Philadelphia, PA United States)Okay, full disclsure, I didn't plunk down the Andrew Jackson and buy this thing. After reading the reviews, I realized I didn't have to.
You see, I remembered (probably from a Mr. Wizard episode or something) that small speakers including earphones, can work in reverse as microphones. To listen to my recorder, I already had some cheap stereo earbuds plugged into a $3 radio shack adaptor that converts a mono 1/8" jack output into stereo. I unplugged them from the earphone jack and plugged them into the microphone jack instead. Then I attatched the business end of one earbud to the earpiece of my telephone with a rubber band, let the other one hang near the talk-hole, and presto, I can record telephone conversations with reasonable quality.
Now I'm willing to accept that perhaps this $20 contraption sounds better and it is no doubt more elegant. But my solution was free, and the sound quality seems to be in line with what the reviews here state.
A few cautions - I'm no expert on audio equipment, but when I tried this method with higher-quality earphones (even my ipod ones), it worked worse. For whatever reason, the cheaper the better. Also, you MUST use earphones with those puffy little wind-canceling mittens, otherwise you will record the earphone scratching against the receiver and your own wind.
Next up, I'm going to see if I can get even better sound by using the hands-free thing that came with my mobile phone (another adaptor from radio smack), and finally, see if I can use the jack on the mobile phone to connect the phone directly to my recorder. Man, I am such a dork.
You see, I remembered (probably from a Mr. Wizard episode or something) that small speakers including earphones, can work in reverse as microphones. To listen to my recorder, I already had some cheap stereo earbuds plugged into a $3 radio shack adaptor that converts a mono 1/8" jack output into stereo. I unplugged them from the earphone jack and plugged them into the microphone jack instead. Then I attatched the business end of one earbud to the earpiece of my telephone with a rubber band, let the other one hang near the talk-hole, and presto, I can record telephone conversations with reasonable quality.
Now I'm willing to accept that perhaps this $20 contraption sounds better and it is no doubt more elegant. But my solution was free, and the sound quality seems to be in line with what the reviews here state.
A few cautions - I'm no expert on audio equipment, but when I tried this method with higher-quality earphones (even my ipod ones), it worked worse. For whatever reason, the cheaper the better. Also, you MUST use earphones with those puffy little wind-canceling mittens, otherwise you will record the earphone scratching against the receiver and your own wind.
Next up, I'm going to see if I can get even better sound by using the hands-free thing that came with my mobile phone (another adaptor from radio smack), and finally, see if I can use the jack on the mobile phone to connect the phone directly to my recorder. Man, I am such a dork.
1 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Seems complicated
(2 out of 5) by David Alan Thurn on Jun 13, 2008 (Chicago, IL)I haven't used it because it seems too complicated. To use this device you have to put it in your ear. Usually I already have a blue tooth ear piece in my ear. I was hoping for a recording device that would hook to the phone base somehow.
0 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
This sucks
(2 out of 5) by Vike on Nov 11, 2008 (MN)If you're as dumb as me, you'll buy this. if you're smart.... you wouldn't buy this piece of *&$%!