Hello from Germany comes with a little story and questions..

[Audio-Tool]

Hi there,

I came across this site looking for an alternative to scanning youtube and realizing they're shutting down channels all the time...
Great to be here! Very very interesting and all. It lives of the content and I would like to contribute.
I live in Munich by the way.

So yesterday I finally ordered a USB-stick recorder - it should arrive tomorrow. Can't wait to collect the results on Thursday.
Will post as soon as there is material and truly hope there are results as time is running out...

I live in a house with a young, good-looking and sexually pretty active and vocal German couple. She in particular can get quite loud. I live two floors underneath them and can still hear her moaning "Jaa, jaa, oh mein Gott, fick mich etc..." ("Yes, yes, oh my god, fuck me etc."), when standing at the door of my apartment in the hallway. Unfortunately it is extremely difficult and risky to record really close to their apartment door - and a larger semi-professional TASCAM recording device (positioned behind a flower pot in the stairway approx. 3,5m away and 12 stairs below their door) produces only very distant recordings, which you have to pump up the volume ridiculously loud in order to hear details, such as slapping, pumping etc... Whispers are completely inaudible.
I've given it some thought and by reading the forum here and asking for help I made a decision:
I've stepped up gear wise and ordered a USB recorder, even though I'm currently moving out of the apartment complex and moving into my girlfriend's house. So I've only got a couple of days left before I have to return the keys etc...

Here's my plan. I'm planning to hide the device somewhere close to their apartment and have it record for 12 hours or so (as I have already moved out of the apartment) and fetch it some time the next day, possibly early in the morning.

There are two possibilities of placing the device -
1.) under the doormat - which probably would deliver the best recording quality as it would lie only a couple of inches away from the door, but there is a good chance of being discovered, you would probably see that there's something underneath the doormat.
Or 2.) hide it in the fusebox which is in the hallway and can easily be opened (but no one ever opens it). From this fuse box hanging on the wall the distance to the door would be around 1,5 m.
2.) is the more conservative and non-risky option and I'll probably stick to that one for a first experiment.

Now I'm just hoping for some action. Normally Sunday, Thursday/Friday are the nights to watch.
Anyhow. Keep your fingers crossed. May the force be with me...

[sc0tt-uk]

Welcome aboard!

Just a quick note of caution - a lot of those fuse boxes tend to A) seal when closed and B) omit a constant electrical hum that'd likely blight out subtler sounds from the surrounding environment. Points being, try and leave the fuse box a tiny bit open to allow sound waves in if you can, and don't be too disappointed if the electronics spoil the game this time.

Then again, I've lived in some pretty shitty buildings... perhaps the fuse boxes are silent in places that have had electric safety checks this side of 1980 lol.

Good luck!

Sc0tt-UK

[findu]

Go for the doormat but on the opposite side from where they will come from when coming home!

Good luck, it s now or never as it may be (a) year(s) before you get another clear cut chance like this

[jinhui]

Welcome to the community Audio-Tool.

I'd go for the doormat too, if there is no other spot to safely place a recorder which can pick up distant noises. (e.g. Olympus Recorder with Zoom function).

If you leave your recording device somewhere, make sure to empty it first! Don't keep (old) recordings on it.

Good luck & best regards,
jinhui

[sc0tt-uk]

Hmmm, I dunno how responsible it is to encourage a newbie to go for the riskier option. Personally I wouldn't go with the doormat without running a test first, because 1 meter closer to the action isn't usually worth the extra chance of being busted. It's tricky because time is of the essence, but sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Do your best Audio-Tool, but stay safe. If something feels like a risky decision, it probably is.

Sc0tt-UK

[Audio-Tool]

Thanks for the advice.
Unfortunately I had to postpone the recording due to the fact that the couple went on vacation (quick Facebook-check solved that... ), but this Sunday I'll give it a go, depending on of they're there - even though I'll probably go for the "safer" recording this time as I was able to check out the door-mat and the USB-Stick would easily show. I have to leave the device over night so the less suspicious it is...
I was able to test the recorder in "normal" situations and it seems to work very well sound wise. I just hope the battery lasts long enough, according to the specs it can record up to 14/15 hours.

Oh and about the fuse box -it's pretty silent as far as what I've been able to hear (at least mine is) - but you're right, there might be a humming sound to it that can ruin the recording. I'll give it a try anyway.

I also have another possible "target", when I think about it. I was once walking home from the subway station (some warm summer evening) when I heard a great session coming from a window on ground floor. Unfortunately I couldn't stay to record, as a taxi arrived and another couple got lout of the car, giving me a strange look. I'm thinking about hiding my USB recorder somewhere in the bushes underneath their window and retrieving it in the morning - but I think I'll have to wait til the summer.

I'll keep you posted.

[thomas]

Thanks for the advice.
Unfortunately I had to postpone the recording due to the fact that the couple went on vacation (quick Facebook-check solved that... ), but this Sunday I'll give it a go, depending on of they're there - even though I'll probably go for the "safer" recording this time as I was able to check out the door-mat and the USB-Stick would easily show. I have to leave the device over night so the less suspicious it is...
I was able to test the recorder in "normal" situations and it seems to work very well sound wise. I just hope the battery lasts long enough, according to the specs it can record up to 14/15 hours.

Oh and about the fuse box -it's pretty silent as far as what I've been able to hear (at least mine is) - but you're right, there might be a humming sound to it that can ruin the recording. I'll give it a try anyway.

I also have another possible "target", when I think about it. I was once walking home from the subway station (some warm summer evening) when I heard a great session coming from a window on ground floor. Unfortunately I couldn't stay to record, as a taxi arrived and another couple got lout of the car, giving me a strange look. I'm thinking about hiding my USB recorder somewhere in the bushes underneath their window and retrieving it in the morning - but I think I'll have to wait til the summer.

I'll keep you posted.

Then good luck for the Sunday evening... I would expect they will have Sex as soon as they are back, if they are coming back from a longer trip/journey...so it might be earlier as well than you might think of under "usual" conditions

[Audio-Tool]

Just checked - they're still on vacation. Students... oh well.
So no opportunity this week-end.
Will keep you up to date.

UPDATE:
So after a couple of months I've finally planted it.
Will fetch it up tomorrow morning.
I just hope it's still there.
If the quality is satisfactory then I'll be glad to post it.
Wish me luck!

[Audio-Tool]

UPDATE on my first real "mission":
So after waiting a couple of months... I finally planted it.
It's Sunday night and there's a 75% chance there will be some action.
Will fetch the device up tomorrow morning.
I just hope it's still there.
If the quality is satisfactory then I'll be glad to post it.
Wish me luck!

[sc0tt-uk]

I would've thought you'd have had to have handed your keys back by now, no? Either way, fingers crossed for you here!

[Audio-Tool]

Major disappointment.
It's the noise in the hallway (open window, occasional traffic outside), probably a bad recording angle too and the fact that this USB recorder I bought
does not have a very sensitive microphone. I'm also not sure if there actually was any action going on - it certainly wasn't as loud as back in the days - but all in all I could barely pick up any interesting sounds. I'll might give it another try with an Olympus recorder.

By the way, keys aren't rally the problem in this particular building: It's planting a device close enough to the sources of sound which can be left over night, because I really don't feel like lurking around in the neighbourhood, waiting to pick up the recorder after one or two hours or so. Tricky in any case.

[sc0tt-uk]

Can't win 'em all man, but good on you for trying.

You've probably already thought of this, but if you do make a second attempt with a better recorder, make certain to clear any other content from its memory first. If that gets picked up by anyone, the last thing you want them to think is "hmmm, the owner seems to have a habit of dropping this".

Good luck, keep us posted, and shout if you need someone to help scan through the long hours of content. I've gotten pretty good at it over the years, and I'm not the only person here who likes that part of the chase.

[jinhui]

Can't win 'em all man, but good on you for trying.

You've probably already thought of this, but if you do make a second attempt with a better recorder, make certain to clear any other content from its memory first. If that gets picked up by anyone, the last thing you want them to think is "hmmm, the owner seems to have a habit of dropping this".

Good luck, keep us posted, and shout if you need someone to help scan through the long hours of content. I've gotten pretty good at it over the years, and I'm not the only person here who likes that part of the chase.

I agree with this and would like to add another thought: Please be aware, if you leave your recorder unattended someone could find it, leave it where it is and wait for you to pick it up...

In my opinion it's safer to be there to pick up the recorder if someone comes by...
Only exception is, if you can hide it in a really save place. But usually you don't have such places in hallways.

Good luck and stay save.
- jinhui