MIB Posted February 7, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2021 I'm late to the party (or I forgot that I already responded?) and this may be a bit of a rambling overkill answer, but .. here goes .. When I'm hiking, I clip the external mike to a strap on the outside of my pack and put the recorder in a pack pocket where the controls won't be bumped. I record full time. Minus 2, every sound I've ever wanted to record happened **ONCE** so if you were trying to rely on turning on a recorder to pick up a repeat you'd be out of luck. My "on the go" recorder is an older Olympus DS-71. Much the same in camp ... I do not rely on hearing something, turning on a recorder, and waiting for it to happen again else I would never catch anything at all. Instead, I place 2 recorders out at night, one pretty near my tent to pick up any approaches (and, unfortunately, about 8 hours of me snoring :)) and another recorder out 100 yards or more. For this use, I have 3-4 small Sony ICD-PX820s, now discontinued, that I've added external mics to. I also usually leave one of the SONYs either under my truck hood with a mic dangling down or in the toolbox with a mic under the bed rail. It is surprising what goes on around trailheads when nobody is watching. One of my researcher friends, an old, old timer, told me to have that recorder ready to go as soon as the engine stops because most of the really cool things she's picked up near trailheads were within 2 minutes of arrival. I haven't had the whoops she reported on arrival but I've heard some absolutely incredible power knocks. I have a couple Tascam DR-05s but I don't like them for backpacking use. They are several times as heavy as my other recorders, they use different (AA vs AAA) batteries, and they are absolute battery hogs. They do make a nice recording if you're in a situation where the negatives don't outweigh the positives, so IMHO, best reserved for car camping trips where weight and bulk are not an issue. One thing I'd say is don't use the edge-triggered "VOX" or "VOR" modes on any recorder, these take more battery than just full time recording, you won't know what time the sound you caught, if you caught one, actually occurred, and they miss most of the interesting sounds either because they are distant and faint or the recorders just don't react quickly enough. My ritual is to start each recorder, record who I am, date, time, and location at the start of every recording. If I need to know when a sound actually occurred I can compute from that info. MIB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRockBigfoot Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 I am looking to pick up either a current production Sony or Olympus small digital recorder to use on the move. One of the features that I am looking for is an illuminated screen with adjustable on-times. @wiiawiwb what Sony recorder are you using right now? How's the screen on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiiawiwb Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 (edited) BRB, I'm using a SONY PCM-M10. Good screen. Sadly, no longer in production. Edited February 27, 2021 by wiiawiwb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKH Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 ^Plussed, reporting again that I recently scored that Sony gently used on ebay. I've been on a recording hiatus, but am looking forward to trying it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiiawiwb Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 That's a good score! Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKH Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Thanks, did you ever find one on ebay? Think you were looking awhile ago. Sorry to drift off topic, but I'm gonna leave a 2016 quote from an audiophile forum resource I've been browsing. The time setting on the used M10 is messed up and trying to fix. "As has been said several times before, the ICD SX-2000 is from Sony's voice recorder line and is most definitely not a replacement for the M10, which is from the Pro Audio line. It's not even for sale anywhere in the US, as far as I can find. The only recorder Sony has that's close to the M10 right now is the PCM-D100, which is of course much more expensive. There may never be a direct replacement for the M10, and given what they've done with the PCM-D100 I don't hold out much hope that they're going to come out with anything innovative at a reasonable price point." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwakwe Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 SONY PCM-M10 $208 shipped from the States, a US version: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SONY-PCM-M10-White-Audio-Linear-PCM-Recorder-Tested-Good-Condition/333905438860?hash=item4dbe50a88c:g:yqkAAOSw7oZgPFrl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKH Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Good deal, it looks like there are presently quite a few on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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