Recording Telephone Conversations

Ty Ford · October 30th, 2008, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Nattrass

Down at The Bill we used to do any ADR needed for RT reverses over the phone!.

Gary,

We're just getting around to digital phones here in the US.

I know european phones have been digital for some time now. UK too?

Regards,

Ty Ford

Nick Flowers · October 31st, 2008, 04:18 AM

Here's a newspaper article that sets out the legal position of someone recording a phone call in the UK.

Cyberclinic: Is it legal to record your phone calls? If so, how can I do it? - Features, Gadgets & Tech - The Independent

I've found that a lot of the gadgets available in the US are not authorised in the UK and other European countries. This ban seems to be on boxes that are plugged into the phone network, whereas the boxes that are plugged in series with the handset on a normal phone are ok.

There's an interesting Bluetooth box (from JK) for recording from cell phones; not sure whether activating this will cut off the earpiece and mic in the phone itself.

Ty, BT, who owns and maintains the vast majority of the network in the UK, are patchy in their digital conversion. Very rural areas, such as mine, are just going to be left out of it unless the government twists BT's arm. I'm not sure that apart from that whether it is possible to generalise about how far we are on the road to digital telephony here.

On the Isle of Man, not legally part of the UK, they are re-equipping completely. As it's an island it's a handy location to have an experiment! The exchanges are using internet type switching - I only know this 'cos I did a docco about it there last year.

Nick Flowers · November 1st, 2008, 12:16 PM

The WatsonMike http://www.canford.co.uk/ProductResources/ig/3707.pdf can be adapted to plug straight into a radio mic transmitter. I'm getting one and I'll post a report on how it works out.

Jack Walker · November 1st, 2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Flowers

The WatsonMike http://www.canford.co.uk/ProductResources/ig/3707.pdf can be adapted to plug straight into a radio mic transmitter. I'm getting one and I'll post a report on how it works out.

Here's a video on construction, operation and use of the Watsonmike:
YouTube - Microphone for recording mobile phone calls

Can these be bought in the U.S.? Would be very handy in some situations for some purposes.

As a note, in the U.S., laws vary state to state regarding recording phone conversations. In some states it is legal without notifying people being recorded. In other states any secretive recording of sound (on phone or otherwise) is illegal. This is the law in California.

The Monica Lewinsky saga had issues regaring this.

Nick Flowers · December 18th, 2008, 02:33 PM

The Watsonmike (made by Mike Watson.....do you see what he did there?) consists of a hollow flexible plastic tube with some foam at one end and a miniature microphone at the other: see a link to a demo in the previous post. The idea is that the RF from a mobile phone will be far enough away from the microphone to be sufficiently weak not to break through on audio.

I used mine by taping the foam end to the earpiece of the mobile phone and down the arm, under the sleeve of the presenter to a radiomic transmitter in his jacket. The plastic tube is a little microphonic so arm movement is to be discouraged, as is rubbing the phone against the ear. Having said that, this gadget worked well and for £40 is very cost effective. You may not need it for months and months, but when you do, you'll be very grateful for it.

Marco Leavitt · December 18th, 2008, 09:20 PM

I'm not sure if the idea here is for a voice only recording, but if it's to record both sides of a conversation in a dramatic piece, we've always isolated the second speaker either in another room or in a car, and recorded their lines to the second track. On camera talent gets recorded to the first track. This is for cell phone conversations. I suppose if a landline is involved you'd be better off tapping into the phone with the methods mentioned previously.

Nick Flowers · December 19th, 2008, 01:37 AM

Isolating the remote speaker in another room or a car is an ideal way of achieving a two way conversation, as Marco outlines above. But if, for instance, you want to record a phone call where the presenter is speaking to a distant speaker in another city (maybe on a consumer rip-off show where you are confronting the rogue plumber) you need to tap the line. With a land line, the methods in the previous posts are available, but cell phones are more challenging, with their RF field always ready to pollute the audio. The Watsonmike offers a cheap - but not ideal - way of doing this!

October 31st, 2008, 04:18 AM	#17
Nick Flowers Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chichester UK Posts: 167	Here's a newspaper article that sets out the legal position of someone recording a phone call in the UK. Cyberclinic: Is it legal to record your phone calls? If so, how can I do it? - Features, Gadgets & Tech - The Independent I've found that a lot of the gadgets available in the US are not authorised in the UK and other European countries. This ban seems to be on boxes that are plugged into the phone network, whereas the boxes that are plugged in series with the handset on a normal phone are ok. There's an interesting Bluetooth box (from JK) for recording from cell phones; not sure whether activating this will cut off the earpiece and mic in the phone itself. Ty, BT, who owns and maintains the vast majority of the network in the UK, are patchy in their digital conversion. Very rural areas, such as mine, are just going to be left out of it unless the government twists BT's arm. I'm not sure that apart from that whether it is possible to generalise about how far we are on the road to digital telephony here. On the Isle of Man, not legally part of the UK, they are re-equipping completely. As it's an island it's a handy location to have an experiment! The exchanges are using internet type switching - I only know this 'cos I did a docco about it there last year. Last edited by Nick Flowers; October 31st, 2008 at 04:24 AM. Reason: More boring facts added.

November 1st, 2008, 12:16 PM	#18
Nick Flowers Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chichester UK Posts: 167	A cheap, low tech solution The WatsonMike http://www.canford.co.uk/ProductResources/ig/3707.pdf can be adapted to plug straight into a radio mic transmitter. I'm getting one and I'll post a report on how it works out.

December 18th, 2008, 02:33 PM	#20
Nick Flowers Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chichester UK Posts: 167	Watsonmike report The Watsonmike (made by Mike Watson.....do you see what he did there?) consists of a hollow flexible plastic tube with some foam at one end and a miniature microphone at the other: see a link to a demo in the previous post. The idea is that the RF from a mobile phone will be far enough away from the microphone to be sufficiently weak not to break through on audio. I used mine by taping the foam end to the earpiece of the mobile phone and down the arm, under the sleeve of the presenter to a radiomic transmitter in his jacket. The plastic tube is a little microphonic so arm movement is to be discouraged, as is rubbing the phone against the ear. Having said that, this gadget worked well and for £40 is very cost effective. You may not need it for months and months, but when you do, you'll be very grateful for it.

December 19th, 2008, 01:37 AM	#22
Nick Flowers Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chichester UK Posts: 167	Cell phone recording Isolating the remote speaker in another room or a car is an ideal way of achieving a two way conversation, as Marco outlines above. But if, for instance, you want to record a phone call where the presenter is speaking to a distant speaker in another city (maybe on a consumer rip-off show where you are confronting the rogue plumber) you need to tap the line. With a land line, the methods in the previous posts are available, but cell phones are more challenging, with their RF field always ready to pollute the audio. The Watsonmike offers a cheap - but not ideal - way of doing this!

December 18th, 2008, 09:20 PM	#21
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	I'm not sure if the idea here is for a voice only recording, but if it's to record both sides of a conversation in a dramatic piece, we've always isolated the second speaker either in another room or in a car, and recorded their lines to the second track. On camera talent gets recorded to the first track. This is for cell phone conversations. I suppose if a landline is involved you'd be better off tapping into the phone with the methods mentioned previously.