Equipment update from Vivian Stockman
I decided to wait to purchase our PTP-grant recording equipment until after I attended a February Media Justice conference sponsored by the Appalachian Community Fund. I wanted to network with folks doing field recordings and ask their advice on recording equipment.
The staff and volunteers from Appalshop and the Appalachian Media Institute highly recommended that OVEC (the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition) not purchase the Sony mini-disc recorders we had intended to buy for our Citizen Journalists project. They said they had basket full of these devices, all broken after a relatively short life.
They recommended I purchase Roland Edirol R-09 recoding devices. These instruments download .wav or .mp3 files directly to computers, whereas the mini-discs must be recorded live into computers. Edirols make the process of transferring files to computers quicker and easier. While the Edirols are more expensive than the mini-discs, the Appalshop folks also convinced me that, for our purposes, free editing software would suffice, so OVEC could save money there. Appalshop and AMI people said I should purchase a 635A microphone, as a “durable workhorse,” that can take the type of wear and tear associated with filed recording, such as dropping onto floors.
I checked with Kwame to be certain changing the equipment I would order for the PTP grant was fine; he said that would be fine.
So, I revised my equipment order:
-Edirol R-09 audio recorders ($400 on internet)
-635A microphone ($100 -$150 on internet)
-Sony MDRV-6 headphones (any headphones that cover ears entirely) ($70)
-Audacity editing software (free off Internet)
So can get about four packages for $2280, leaving money for storage cards, batteries, a little travel money. |
2801 21st Avenue South, Suite 132E 
