I've decided to buy a digital recorder for my next investigation. Is there anything I ought to specifically look for when I choose one. Not looking to spend a huge amount or cash, but any pointers would be welcome. Thanks.

To clarify, I mean a voice recorder.

I use Olympus voice recorders. Get anything from the 3000pc upwards. Be sure you get the 'pc' model so you can plug it into your computer to analyse. Best free analysis software in my opinion is Audacity (free download).

Happy hunting!

As many would agree a digital voice recorder is one of the most important tools to have in your arsenal during an investigation. You should be able to buy a good one for anywhere from $30-$40. Stick with the name brands though. Sony, Olympus, etc.
Don't worry about buying one with a USB cable. All you need to do to transfer your recordings is to buy a male-male jack from Radio Shack for $4. Download Audacity or Wave Editor for free on shareware websites.
The recorders are fairly simple to use and only take two AAA batteries to operate. Be sure to read your owners manual to set up your recorder using the optimal settings.

Best of Luck!

Chris

I fully agree with ChannelPirate and Chris, I have several voice recorders in my arsenal and certainly love them. I (like CP) use the Olympus because for me it was the best mix of cost, features, and sound quality. But there are many different ones out there.

I would also recommend a good pair of headsets for listening, after recording is only half the battle. You have to also be able to find it in the mounds of silence or hiss.

Thanks everybody, I bought an Olympus VN-8000PC. I'm interested to see how this works in practise. Never really thought about getting one before, until I had an experience last year. Not a paranormal one, but it got me thinking. We were investigating an old prison and had split into small groups. At various times I could hear a really high pitched whining noise, sometimes in the distance and sometimes really close. Nobody else in my group of 3 could hear anything at all. At one point it was so loud that I couldn't stand it any longer. Eventually I pinned it down - it was someone using a disposible camera, and whenever she pushed the button to activate the flash, the whining started and the intensity just depended on how close she was to me. When I put it up to my ear it nearly blew my head off! What I found really interesting was that even when the other 2 put the camera right up to their ears they heard absolutely nothing at all! When we all re-grouped as a team later we all tried to hear and out of the whole group of about 20 people there were only 3 of us who could hear it.Everyone else heard nothing at all. I found that really fascinating and made me realise that maybe we miss a lot of the sound around us. Maybe, I can hear higher pitched sound but miss lower pitched sound? Don't really know anything about the topic, but would be intersted to hear others' thoughts.

I believe what you are describing is a sensitivity to emfs (electromagnetic fields). Some people are more sensitive to them than others. Electronics put off a lot of frequency which is bothersome to some people. My husband doesn't understand why I tell him it feels like the t.v. is screaming at me because I hate the frequency it puts off. This could be a help or a hindrance to ghost hunting. On the one hand, being more sensitive to emfs can help you detect the presence of spirit. On the other hand, there is the school of thought that bombardment of emfs on sensitive people causes hallucinations. I think since you have a recorder, you will be able to separate the two.
They have crystal pendants you can wear to neutralize the emfs of electronics. I think it might make you feel more at ease.
Happy ghost hunting, love and light to you!!
~*Ashley*~

Hi everyone,
Just wondering if you could help me. I purchased an Olympus digital recorder a while back but only records as a WMA file, I've checked the manual and the format can't be changed. I have downloaded Audacity but can't open the WMA files. It's telling me that I need to convert the files from WMA to either WAV or AIFF. Does anyone know of a reputable website that I can download a file converter. I have been looking on the web and some look a bit doggy and I'm very cautious.

Thanks for your help
Jan

I right click the file and I have a "convert sound file" option that changes it to wma...

Thanks jbbiggs, I've tried that and I don't have that option.

One of my many media players is Realplayer and that has a converter but only converts from wma to mp3 or mp3 to wma. I'll just have to keep looking unless someone else has any ideas.