Calling all techies.

[SmileyRose]

I ** MUST ** get a voice off a 10yr old or more digital answering machine. The voice is of someone who has died, and it is the ONLY recording the family has of them. We can find no outputs in the answering machine for headphones - or any sort of ports - other than the phone jack cord.

What is the best way to get it off with good sound quality and what is the best way to store it so it will last the longest number of years.

Is it possible to call the phone number in question with a cell or telephone that will record the "conversation" as an MP3 that I can eventually save as a digital file on multiple computers, memory cards etc? We will buy any new device recommended to accomplish the task. The voice is priceless.

Thanks in advance


And mods - I know this is really lounge material but if you'd humor me - the traffic in this board is a lot higher and I need all the help I can get as I know there are techies hiding in here. Thanks

[flvegan]

1. I'd take the machine to an audio/video duplication and transfer expert.

Seems like it might be worth a few bucks to invest in quality.

[SmileyRose]

4. this was mentioned and met with resistance

I think the owner of the machine is fearful the expert might accidentally destroy the recording and it will lost forever. At least as it stands the bereaved and call the phone number and listen to the answering machine.

[Vincardog]

2. get yourself a head set with a record option. Plug the headset into to phone jack

[tridim]

3. If you take it apart you'll probably be able to find a "line out" on the circuit board

Trace the circuit from the speaker to the amplifier circuit and it'll be around there. Maybe it'll even be labeled.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

5. A problem for someone with skillz

GENTLY remove the speaker from the answering machine (you'll need to figure out how to open the case without damaging the guts), then wire a MOMO (2 wires as opposed to a stereo jack's 3 wires) output jack into the speaker wires. Then plug a mono input jack to it that has been wired into a recorder (cassette or similar).

Start the cassette recorder then play the answering machine message into the recorder.

Simpler than it sounds- all items needed can be had at the local Radio Shack.

(If you're software proficient you can skip the cassette recorder and wire the output signal directly into the microphone input on your computer's sound card. This will give you a digital file that can be burned to an audio cd.)

[Billy Burnett]

6. This might help

http://www.jakeludington.com/ask_jake/20050222_recording_phone_calls_with_your_pc.html

One nice thing about these telephone recorders is their immediately ready to connect to your PC. The recorder connects to either the wall jack or the phone handset, depending on which model you choose. A 1/8-inch mini plug sends the audio signal to your PC (or to a MiniDisk or other standalone recorder). Follow the same basic steps for recording a podcast to record the call using the free Audacity audio editing application.

Audacity (PC or Mac versions- freeware)
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/

Then you can burn a CD and/ or store it on several hard drives. (I don't recommend the MP3 conversion as your only saved version. The highest definition uncompressed recording mix will be the master.)

Cheers
bb

edit: Audacity has an excellent plug in to help remove unwanted noise, if you need that option. It's one of the pro industry benchmark NR plug ins.

[Buzz Clik]

7. Two thumbs up for this one.

I am able to record the message from an answering machine on my Treo, but it sounds a bit tinny -- it's a good reproduction of what you hear on the phone, but not the quality you get from just listening to the machine.

[SmileyRose]

9. Oh DUH

it never even occured to any of us - the aunt's old PC has a "line in" telephone jack that actually connected to a multifunction fax/scan/copy at one time with the old version of "efax". I'll take my OWN digital answering machine and play around with it and that software you mentioned and see if we can get that to work before we mess with the irreplaceable recording.

If that does not work I like the idea below of buying a really high quality recorder MADE to hook up to a PC and going that route.

You all are just wonderful - you always are. Consider all yourselves kissed !!

[Billy Burnett]

10. So you understand... your PC is a high quality recorder.

All you need is the free Audacity software and microphone / wired hook-up (as mentioned in my above post) to get the audio to your computer's audio input on it's sound card. You could record the audio you want via microphone from a speaker on your answering machine, or you could hard wire your telephone audio to your PC as mentioned and play the message through your phone.

An inexpensive USB audio interface would make things easier, but you could find cabling to connect directly to your PS audi card, input.

These interface don't require installing drivers (for modern PC/Mac operating systems) ...

Some suggested hook ups here ...
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA222.aspx

With an option to connect a turntable ...
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UFO202.aspx

[Swamp Rat]

8. The most non-invasive method: record the sound with an external device.

Before "hooking" anything up to the device, consider using a professional, portable digital recorder and a high quality microphone (a PZM mic is ideal). If something goes wrong while trying to hook up the answering machine, at least there will be a decent reproduction of what was originally audible from the machine's speaker.

Recording devices:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/recording/portable-field-recorders

Condenser Microphones:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/microphones/condenser-microphones

PZM mics:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Crown-Sound-Grabber-II-PZM-Condenser-Microphones-Pair?sku=278420
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Crown-PZM30D-Boundary-Microphone?sku=278425