how do you guys record your mic?

midcap

midcap

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midcap
I want to see if there is somthing that I can record what I am saying when talking to the tower and CFI while in the plane So I can hear how ridiculous I sound. lol

Seriously though, anything out there that is easy to use?
 
The USB adapter for gopros
 
Zulu 2 and some other Lightspeed headsets have an app and will do it via Bluetooth.

I've also used a professional quality handheld audio recorder and a proper mono patch cable with 20dB pad (pictured). (Recording device was a Tascam DR-xx series something or other. They make many. Any good online source for musical instruments and electronics will have them, as do Amazon and others.)

And you can always stuff an earphone, yes a boring old regular earphone like you'd see on any old "transistor" radio, inside a headphone earcup and run that to anything that can record audio. (It'll behave like a microphone.) Some people like that because even under an ANR headset it'll pick up some of the ambient noise of the aircraft.

The mics attached to the video cameras usually pick up too much ambient noise and don't have solid audio from the intercom so that doesn't work too well.

If doing video production, I'd mix the pro audio recorder of just the intercom with a very small amount of the ambient noise from the video camera in post-production editing for the absolute best results.

Sometimes (pre engine start and pre avionics master on) your "ambient noise" mic has to be primary in the mix until you even have intercom audio, unless you like the idea of doing engine start with the avionics master on. I don't.

You sync it all with a visible and audible in all microphones hand clap, just like in the movies. That way you know where to align them all on your editing software.

The ambient noise mics can really help make it seem "better" but only if you keep their level in the mix very low. Hearing engine and wind sounds adds to the quality of the soundtrack, if you're doing video, but too much of it is a turn off for the viewer with loud droning noise.

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SONY digital recorder and splitter into the headset jack for me. Probably similar if not identical with @denverpilot's description (and what I understand MrAviation101 uses). I also mix the ambient noise from the camera pickup with the digital recorder.

BTW, I don't do a lot of radio in my (few) videos, but since the OP asks about radio comm, here's an example
 
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midcap said:
I want to see if there is somthing that I can record what I am saying when talking to the tower and CFI while in the plane So I can hear how ridiculous I sound. lol

Seriously though, anything out there that is easy to use?
Click to expand...
well, this wont record your audio with your CFI but if you want to hear how you sound when talking with the tower then jump over to LiveATC.com. there's a good chance that the audio from your home tower and others you have used is archived and available to listen to. LiveATC is free to use from your PC but there is a small one-time fee for their mobile app.
 
The easiest way is to take the old school earpiece with a mic on it that people use to talk on their phones. Just curled up in a ball and throw it inside one of your headset cups period and record the audio on your phone.
 
thanks guys!

I may just use the old school mic on the head phone way for now.
 
rk911 said:
well, this wont record your audio with your CFI but if you want to hear how you sound when talking with the tower then jump over to LiveATC.com. there's a good chance that the audio from your home tower and others you have used is archived and available to listen to. LiveATC is free to use from your PC but there is a small one-time fee for their mobile app.
Click to expand...

I looked, but there isn't any recording from my airport up there. Small class D
 
I have an older GoPro with a mic jack. I have used a cheap eBay lavalier microphone in an earcup. Works okay, but probably not something for professional level work.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
The easiest way is to take the old school earpiece with a mic on it that people use to talk on their phones. Just curled up in a ball and throw it inside one of your headset cups period and record the audio on your phone.
Click to expand...
I think disagree. The old earphone in the ear up sounds absolutely awful and is much more work than needed. The setup I use is a 1/4" Y splitter and a step-down adapter to the smaller modern audio cable. Total cost is under $10. It really doesn't get much simpler than this and the audio is like what you hear in that video, except for the engine noise, which is from another source.

Got a sample of the results with the balled up earphone?
 
midlifeflyer said:
I think disagree. The old earphone in the ear up sounds absolutely awful and is much more work than needed. The setup I use is a 1/4" Y splitter and a step-down adapter to the smaller modern audio cable. Total cost is under $10. It really doesn't get much simpler than this and the audio is like what you hear in that video, except for the engine noise, which is from another source.

Got a sample of the results with the balled up earphone?
Click to expand...
sure. I recorded the Oshkosh approach that way in Tims RV10.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I think disagree. The old earphone in the ear up sounds absolutely awful and is much more work than needed. The setup I use is a 1/4" Y splitter and a step-down adapter to the smaller modern audio cable. Total cost is under $10. It really doesn't get much simpler than this and the audio is like what you hear in that video, except for the engine noise, which is from another source.

Got a sample of the results with the balled up earphone?
Click to expand...

All of my videos use a lapel mic except the ones I specifically made for testing Flightlink to record audio.
 
I have an iphone so I am going to try that with the cord method and see what happens.

If it sucks or my CFI tells me I'm weird, I'll get the Y cable.
 
ircphoenix said:
I tried an Olympus (unsure of the model), but I couldn't find a "line in" option instead of a mic. I got some weird noise so I slung it back and got the sony instead. Does yours have a line in function?
Click to expand...

No. Why do you need a "line in"? I use the "mic in" and it works fine for me.
 
RotorDude said:
No. Why do you need a "line in"? I use the "mic in" and it works fine for me.
Click to expand...

I dunno. When I used the mic in, I got weird tones in the recording. So it might have been the connection or something else. I assumed that it was the recorder. I absolutely could be wrong.
 
ircphoenix said:
I dunno. When I used the mic in, I got weird tones in the recording. So it might have been the connection or something else. I assumed that it was the recorder. I absolutely could be wrong.
Click to expand...

There is always low level noises and hums/squeals in the background, but very low relative to the radios and intercom. I assume those are due to various noise sources in the plane, such as the alternator and mags. But they are low enough (at normal playing volume) that they are non-issues. I assume those noises would affect any other recorder unless they have custom filters.
BTW, this is my second digital recorder. My previous Philips unit was very similar to the Olympus in quality (and low level background noises/squeals), but I decided to get a new one when the price of a replacement battery rivaled a brand new unit with 2 AAA batteries that last around 45 hrs.
 
FWIW, I am not trying to be the next MrAviation101. I just want to critique myself and see my stress levels. So the quality doesn't have to be great.
 
midcap said:
FWIW, I am not trying to be the next MrAviation101. I just want to critique myself and see my stress levels. So the quality doesn't have to be great.
Click to expand...

No one can achieve Mr. Aviation101's level of perfection... but if we strive for it, we may be able to achieve excellence. (Shamelessly misquoted from Vince Lombardi)
 
RotorDude said:
No. Why do you need a "line in"? I use the "mic in" and it works fine for me.
Click to expand...
It depends what you are using. The Independence for a mic is different than the impedance for a direct radio connection. While I have only one input jack., it has two distinct settings.
 
2 of my stupid videos, one using a plugged in connection to the Flightlink app and the other using a lapel mic. in the lapel mic one, right about 1:20 in you can catch a glimpse of the mic going into the headset. in both of them I was strictly trying to catch audio so people could hear it and judge for themselves what kind of setup to get. please pay no attention to how incredibly handsome I am, the video wasn't meant for me to show off my good looks.

flightlink:

lapel mic:
 
midlifeflyer said:
It depends what you are using. The Independence for a mic is different than the impedance for a direct radio connection. While I have only one input jack., it has two distinct settings.
Click to expand...

I only connect the normal headset audio output to it, via the audio splitter linked above. The "mic" is in the recorder, and I think it's high impedance. I can't think of a case where you'd want the "line in" for that type of connection (i.e. without special wiring).
 
eman1200 said:
2 of my stupid videos, one using a plugged in connection to the Flightlink app and the other using a lapel mic. in the lapel mic one, right about 1:20 in you can catch a glimpse of the mic going into the headset. in both of them I was strictly trying to catch audio so people could hear it and judge for themselves what kind of setup to get. please pay no attention to how incredibly handsome I am, the video wasn't meant for me to show off my good looks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting the vids. I think I like the lapel mic better...good mix of voice and ambient engine sounds. The Flightlink audio was possibly a little sharper, but sounded more sterile as well.
 
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