[amsat-bb] Recording your QSOs

[Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)]

Hi Bryan!

Thanks for the contact on Saturday afternoon!

I use a splitter with my Sony recorder, which works like your recorder
that shows up like a USB drive when plugged into a computer.  If you
don't want to use the splitter, you could use the recorder - or recording
app on a phone, tablet, etc. - and just record your own voice. Make sure
to know when the recording starts, and say the other station's call with
each QSO.  Then you can play back the recording later and log the
contacts. This may not capture the audio from the satellite, but it will
certainly capture the information you need to log QSOs.  I sometimes
go this way, if I'm using a different radio or don't have my splitter with
patch cable and earbuds/earpiece handy. The recording app on my
phone or iPod is useful as a second audio recorder, like when I am
trying to work the ISS or some really rare location, in case something
happens to the recorder.

My recorder uses MP3 as its native file format. I don't use the lowest
quality for the recordings, in case I want to put them into videos like
those I just posted from Saturday. I think I have my recorder set to
encode MP3s at 48kbps. The higher quality settings also help when
playing back SSTV recordings, to get good pictures from what I
recorded.  I name the files in a manner like you do - the date and UTC
time the recording started, the satellite name, and the grid locator(s)
where I operated from. Even though I won't go back to 99.9% of the
recordings I have made, I usually keep them all. The more memorable
passes or contacts may end up in a slideshow video, or I will keep a
copy of those recordings somewhere else for future use.

73!





Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/



On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 12:33 PM, Bryan Green <bryan at kl7cn.net> wrote:
> Here's my experience:
>
> I used to juggle a little notebook along with everything else. That was a challenge.
>
> Then I got a little recorder, the Sony ICD-UX70 Voice Recorder. It can be wired inline from the audio output of your radio to your headset as Steve described.
>
> It works well for me. I have it set to UTC and follow a little system to name the files, for example:
>
> 20150213T0029Z KL7CN_W6 CM98fn SO-50.mp3
>
> The unit plugs directly into a USB port, and appears as a Flash Drive.
>
> This model is not in production, but there are a few sources online.
>
> It still takes time to review the recordings and log them, but it is a far superior system to the notebook.