Digital Voice Recorder - A New Way to Log

Since I have been doing a lot of mobile CW operating recently I thought it would be a wise decision to get a digital voice recorder so I can get my contact information recorded. The method I have employed for many years is the old chicken scratch on the back of my log or just chicken scratch right on the entry line. This is not the best method while driving.

I remember someone using a digital voice recorder for logging so I figured this would be an ideal solution. As I make my contacts I can record the data by talking in to the recorder instead of writing it down. The other benefit is I can record contacts! Since my CW speed isn't the greatest right now, RX anyway, I can record call signs and exchanges so I can double check the recording later.

When I was coming back home last night I was on 40m CW and was trying to work EA9/KH0EM. As if the call sign wasn't long enough, I was trying to copy who to QSL to (who I later found out was a JA!). To make things worse, he was sending at a good 30+wpm. That is WAY over my speed limit. There was a healthy pile-up so I figured he was worth fighting for.

I never busted the pile-up, however it really emphasized the need for a device that I could record with. That way I would have a way to check things. If I did get through and I messed up one letter of his call that could throw the whole contact out the window. Having a back-up would have been ideal.

I went to Micro Center today after looking at some digital voice recorders online for a few minutes. I got a Sony ICD-BX700 for $40. I asked the guy at Micro Center if any of them had a microphone jack as well as a headphone jack and he said this one and another Sony did.

For all of these devices being audio recording devices I guess I made a big assumption - they all can interface with a computer to transfer the recorded files. Wrong! I didn't even bother asking about this, I just took for granted that these voice recorders all hooked up to a computer somehow.

The Sony I got has no USB port and the memory is all internal. The only way I can get the information off of the device on to a computer is to record the audio playback on the computer. This is one thing for short notes like "ab0cd sent 559 got 439 0356z Joe New Hampshire"... However, if I set the recorder to record a QSO that lasts 5 minutes, well.. I need to let the recorder play and the computer record for 5 minutes.

So I am going to take this one back and do a little more research. I don't want to spend $100, I just want something I can pull files off of on to the computer as well as have the microphone and headphone jacks.