[Imc-tech] Re: [Imc-newsroom] Using the phone for interview (fwd)

[Paul Kotheimer]

hi tech-friends

i wrote the e-mail below in answer to nancy's questions about
recording phone-interivews via our phone-interface box.  

i'm hoping to archive this answer of mine with you, my reading audience,
and i'm asking for assistance in turning this text into a "training" for
people who want to conduct phone interviews and then produce them for
broadcast at the IMC.

hope what i wrote helps.  anyone have any additions, questions, deletions,
quips, quotes, queries, etc.??

solidarity,
kotheimer

__________________FORWARDED MESSAGE_______________________
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 01:42:24 -0500 (CDT)
From: Paul Kotheimer <herringb at prairienet.org>
To: nancy dietrich <nancydietrich at juno.com>
Subject: Re: [Imc-newsroom] Using the phone for interview

hi nancy

Q:  were you thinking of taking the phone-recorder interface
(plus, presumably, a minidisc recorder) home with you to do this on
monday?

if "YES," then please sign out items in quintessential AD HOC fashionon
the sheet which is on the black cabinet in the production room.

if "NO," and you only intend to use the phone-minidisc interface in-house,
then grab it when you'll need it, and play by ear.

here's an orientational phone-interface checklist, which will hopefully
be helpful:

1.  unplug phone reciever from base at base (i.e., you should have the
handset plus its coiled connector cable in one hand, and the "base"--the
thing that sits on the countertop, with the keypad and the "cradle" or
"hook"--on the tabletop.

2. plug the coiled cable from the "phone recorder interface" box into the
socket from which you JUST unplugged the telephone reciever.

3. plug the coiled cable attached to the RECIEVER into the jack on the
"PHONE RECORDER INTERFACE" box at the label marked "HANDSET"

4. plug one end of the supplied 1/8"-1/8" cable into the jack on the
"PHONE RECORDER INTERFACE" box marked (i think) "REC" or "RECORD OUT" or
something...

5. plug the other end of the 1/8"-1/8" cable into an input on a portable
minidisc recorder.  the correct input on the minidisc recorder is the one
labelled "LINE IN."  on some minidisc models, it's labelled as "LINE
IN/OPTICAL," or something like that.

6. put a disc in the minidisc recorder.  press "REC" (red "record"
button) and then press the "MODE" button, so the display says "MONO."

7. turn the "record level" all the way up! (on the SHARP brand minidisc
recorder, the display will say "LINE   30".  i don't know what display you
get on the Sony model.  probably, with the levels all the way up, you'll
be able to "CLIP" the minidisc recorder's "RECORD LEVEL" meters by blowing
a puff of air into the telephone receiver or by tapping on the cradle
(i.e. by "hanging up.")

8.  plug a pair of headphones in to the headphone jack and give a listen
to the audio you get when you take the reciever off the hook.  you should,
simultaneously, be able to hear the dial tone from the telephone itself,
and the dial tone on the headphones**-->  NOTE that only one "EAR" of the
headphones may be working, so you may need to switch the headphones from
ear to ear in order to get the "TELEPHONE-in-one-ear,
HEADPHONES-in-the-other-ear" effect.  when you DO get this effect, you'll
know that you are GOOD TO GO to make a phone interview recording.


PLEASE NOTE that, if a minidsic recorder is available, you can just as
easily conduct a phone interview at the IMC front counter (where the cash
register and the "other" telephone are) as you can in the production room.
i give this note just so you can keep all your options open and work
around any "room-use" issues you might encounter.


**as always i'm at your disposal for technical consultations, nancy!  and
please let me know how i can help as you go about editing-for-broadcast
any material you record.

paulk:)otheimer


On Thu, 5 J001, nancy dietrich wrote:

> Hi, all.  I'm not quite sure what the procedure is for "signing up" to
> use the phone w/ the recorder on it;  someone please let me know if I
> need to do something else besides sending out this email (i.e., is there
> a sign-in sheet in the production room?).  I have scheduled a phone
> interview for a "Life in the Bike Lane" piece for Monday, July 9th from
> 7:15-8:15pm during which I will need to use the phone recording device. 
> If someone is already scheduled to use it, please let me know so I can
> reschedule the interview.  FYI-  I will be talking with Dwain Berggren, a
> U-C community member who is one of a number of local folks trying to get
> some County zoning ordinance changes to help protect Champaign County
> parks & nature preserves.
> 
> Thanks, 
> Nancy