hi - need some advice on a range of possibilities

port2 · Post by **port2** » 19 Sep 2006 19:22

i have done a few recordings in the past using a mixture of my minidisc, spy ear and ipod with microphone attachement which I have used in the past on neighbours and people on my street. This is ok as long asi am in place to start the recording and stop it etc. However i have a window of a few weeks in which a house belonging to some relatives will be empty since they are away on holiday. Given that this house is detached there is no scope for listening to neighbours but.....the house is being lived in or "house sat" by a woman I dont know - she's a colleague of the house owner. It is readily accepted by all that I can use any facilities in the house should I need to so i was thinking of doing some recording to see what she gets up to - if anything! I have just bought a digital voice recorder that has upto 32 hours recording time, a timer facility and a voice level recorder that kicks in when the sound reaches a certain level. I initialy thought that the latter facility would be the best bet but having tried it at home during a nights sleep it only picked up about 50 seconds of recording. I darent risk planting the dvr and leaving it on this setting in case it doesn't pick anything up so i was thinking of leaving it running for the full 32 hours which should give me two nights to listen to. what does everyone think??

sc0tt-uk · Post by **sc0tt-uk** » 20 Sep 2006 01:34

hey - sounds like a good oppertunity!
Yeah i'd say your best bet is to leave it running for the full 32 hours. If you plant it late-ish at night and make a note of what time you started recording it'll be easier to search through when you get the DVR back home... lets you keep track of things like when she's likely to be out at work so there'll be nothing worth hearing for hours etc.
I'd go for a weekend if it were me planting it, and you might need more than one shot at it to catch anything good, if so make sure you don't turn up every 2 days regular and you'll be fine.
its all pretty obvious stuff, no doubt you've thought of it, but i thought it was worth posting with some encouragement.
good luck with this man, i'll be keeping an eye open for the results. would also love to hear some of your past neighbour recordings if you fancy sharing them, and i'd be interested in knowing which DVR you've got too - 32 hours is pretty sweet.
Cheers
sc0tt-uk

port2 · Post by **port2** » 20 Sep 2006 07:30

cheers scott...I'm gonna try to leave it tonight and then pick it up on friday, check it out and then pop back next week since she's away for the weekend. Its an olympus something 2000 which is fine except it doesnt have a usb out so i'll have to link it to my ipod and transfer it that way. i haven't managed to transfer my previous recordings into a digital format as yet but given the chance i have a few!
With regard tonight should I plant it in the bedroom if possible or i thought on the landing where i will be able to hear what goes on in the lounge, bdroom and bathroom..what do you reckon??!

sc0tt-uk · Post by **sc0tt-uk** » 20 Sep 2006 13:17

hmmm... it depends how sensitive your recorder is, how big the house is, how thick doors are if she closes them, and no doubt some other stuff.
The landing is a good idea, but personally I'd have to know the distance my equipment will cover pretty well before i did that, i'd be doing a bedroom drop for the first one I think. Your chances are highest of catching something in there because often sounds from a distance like from the lounge would be masked out by the TV anyway.
fingers crossed here for ya...
sc0tt-uk

learnhownow · Post by **learnhownow** » 25 Sep 2006 23:26

Any luck yet? Kind of like fishing, no?
lhn