Olympus VN-7200 Digital Voice Recorder

Comments about Olympus VN-7200 Digital Voice Recorder:

I bought this recorder to record my astronomy observations which I can't manage to get written down any more. This morning I was out in the cold watching for the last crescent Moon and counting sunspots. As a test of the recorder I put it into in internal chest pocket of my zipped up down parka right next to the speaker mic of my amateur radio. As anticipated the squeels of APRS packets from the radio were loud and clear. Also loud and clear was me mumbling to myself at the telescope. I want to try this again when I am observing with others and see how well it records the other half of my conversation when the other person is not standing right next to me. I forgot to turn the recorder off so I could hear every footfall along the way home as the shock was transmitted through my body and the backpack with the telescope and tripod pulled on my shoulders. The electronics in this recorder appear to be able to pull in distant sounds while not being overpowered by nearby loud sounds.

You can split a recording in two but I don't see any way to append additional audio to an already existing file.

You can set an alarm and key it to a recording so I can set an alarm to remind me when and where to look for a satellite. It looks like you can only set one alarm though. I will have to add a comment to the end of each alarm text telling me what recording to set for the next alarm and what time to set it for. When you set up an alarm you have to have the file you want to play at that time selected. If you delete a file the numbers of any subsequent files are defermented by 1. I have not checked to see if this impacts what alarm file gets played or if the software makes any necessary adjustments.

Unfortunately all you get with the recording is a datestamp even though you do have to set the time when you install batteries. I had hoped for a timestamp to help me figure out what time I saw something. I will have to dictate timestamps.

There is no way to get recordings from the recorder into a computer.

This is a good basic recorder but for my purposes I would have been better off spending another $20 to get a more capable recorder. At the time of this impulse purchase the only other recorders on display were of the $150 flavor which is more impulse than I was willing to stomach.

Comments about Olympus VN-7200 Digital Voice Recorder:

This has good sound quality both inside and outside. Very easy to use and has voice activation. The voice activation is very useful if you are recording something with a lot of pauses. I actually used it to see if my dog was barking much during my absent...he wasn't!

Nowever, for most of my work, I need to be able to download to a computer so I will probably get an Olympus VN 702 PC that I expect will have the same benefits with that added advantage.

Comments about Olympus VN-7200 Digital Voice Recorder:

Its a great buy especially with the $10 rebate. The only thing i wish it did was pause while you are recording, then be able to start back up again. i use it to read my text books into, then play them back to myself. i wish i could pause it so i could take a breath. but its not a big deal. it is everything i need

Comments about Olympus VN-7200 Digital Voice Recorder:

I use this recorder when listing properties w/many features.I used to write all features down, now I simply record it and review in evening developing my marketing for the property. Love that it is small; fits in a purse. Used it also on my teenager; had it in my pocket recording while she had attitude and later denies that she was having it. I love this recorder!

Comments about Olympus VN-7200 Digital Voice Recorder:

I'm a newspaper reporter who'd been out of the field for awhile, and I wasn't quite as good at taking notes as I used to be. I thought a recorder like this would do the job well, and it has. It has excellent pickup and fine audio quality. It does a better job of taking notes than I ever did.

Comments about Olympus VN-7200 Digital Voice Recorder:

Works great for the money