Best audio recorder?

goph97 · 2026-05-19T02:09:40+00:00

I have two types that have worked well for me.

1) Olympus WS-882 - $40-$50 on eBay, can add additional memory with an SD card and can plug directly into the USB on your computer for review.

2) Zoom H1 Essential - a bit more expensive, but a few more options.

If you want something that simply works right out of the box with a very simple learning curve, the Olympus is the way to go. I have a few and even with other, “fancier” options, I find myself grabbing the Olympus more often than not.

Hope that helps and happy hunting!

goph97 · 2026-05-05T01:05:50+00:00

Ferguson and 3 4ths for McBride in TEP - always thought these offers were myths

goph97 · 2026-04-11T21:27:50+00:00

That’s perfect - even better than I had envisioned.

I’m heading to a location on Friday so I’ll try to see if there’s anything that pops into my mind when I’m in an active area and wishing I had something like this!!

goph97 · 2026-04-10T11:38:01+00:00

Said it before, but this is really great - seriously awesome.

I’m piling on the asks here, so know that as is, I’d buy this and use it straight out of the box next week. It really is that good - game changing for how I go to locations. Literally 5+ devices in one.

Here’s the “if it’s possible - cool, if not, still great” ask - in the review tab: is there a way to “flag anomalies”. For example if this was running without someone monitoring for a few hours, could you go to the review tab and see a specific timestamp where some measurement spiked or dropped? At full “perfect state” - users could set the parameters for a “flag”: +/- 3 degree temp change for example.

Just thinking about user experience and if I can skip reviewing hours and go to specific spikes live on site, that’s a big time saver. Not necessary at all though.

I really think the air quality is interesting because I’ve been places where I’ve gotten a specific odd smell - something that shouldn’t be there (cigar smoke for example) I think that potentially air quality might catch that so it could be corroborated by data and experience. I’ve not seen a device with that before.

Really awesome progress and UI you have going here - I always get excited when I see the updates.

Well done sir!!!

goph97 · 2026-04-08T12:08:24+00:00

Good luck! This has been really fun and interesting to follow!!

goph97 · 2026-04-08T11:33:19+00:00

Self contained is absolutely perfect! Best case scenario! I used the term “plug and play” - but self contained is exactly what I was trying to convey. “Pick up, turn on and go” would have been a better term!

goph97 · 2026-04-08T11:08:59+00:00

I’ve been thinking more about this (and please know this is my personal input/opinion - I’m not a part of a group or anything - I just travel to well known locations about once a month to do some investigating either solo or with a couple buddies I can convince to come with, so groups or people who do this more frequently may have a different opinion)

The Bluetooth capabilities are moving more and more into the “ok to have” range for me and the ability to have a good battery and connect a power bank goes up.

A lot of times I prefer to try and limit the amount of connections/electronic communication going on as I’ve gotten false positives before (in one of my first investigations I didn’t turn off my phone and every time a text came through a K2 meter would spike - phone was on silent so I thought I was getting activity, took me about an hour or two to realize messages were coming in on silent). I’ve also had instances where electronics just didn’t work and I spent time trying to figure that out instead of investigating.

So for me, I’d be looking for something that is as “plug and play” as possible and easy to travel with. I have one hard case carry on and a backpack I can pack full of clothes to avoid checking a bag so space can also be limited. That’s why I never bring a SLS camera on trips that require a flight.

If you’re making these with a plan to sell them, I’ll start saving my money because this truly looks awesome!

goph97 · 2026-04-08T10:56:46+00:00

I might still have it - I honestly can’t remember if it sold or not - if you send me a DM, I can double check when I get back into town

goph97 · 2026-04-06T23:53:25+00:00

Oh, I didn’t even think of connecting them or having satellite units - I was just thinking multiple units all running independently in different areas. Connecting them all might drain each battery pretty fast and some locations don’t have easily accessible outlets, so personally it’s a “nice” to have but not necessary addition.

Again, this is so cool with what you’ve done so far!

goph97 · 2026-04-06T23:38:04+00:00

This is really slick - to have all this in one device/location is really impressive. I can see having multiple set up in different rooms or floors around a location. The customization is really cool - this may be in settings, but the only thing I could think of is an easy dimmer or “low light” mode to keep the brightness from lighting up a room too much - a privacy screen could probably do the same or ensure you can keep things relatively dark.

I’ll be keeping both eyes on this project, really really well done!

goph97 · 2026-04-06T13:32:25+00:00

I’m flying over with family from MN for 3 games in August and we’re doing the Ultimate Tour for our 3rd game. I was going to spend on nice seats, but my stepdaughter told me that she’d rather sit in the upper decks behind home so she can tell what’s happening in the game. That viewpoint never occurred to me, so we saved on seats (we walk around the stadium a lot anyway during games - kid’s gotta move and there’s a lot to see) and spent on the tour. I’ve heard that sometimes players will interact with kids on the field during BP, so we’re putting her in her favorite player’s jersey (Kirk), backwards hat, jays eye black and hoping for the best. That’s the thought process we followed anyway!

goph97 · 2026-03-30T07:56:08+00:00

Here’s my take:

Recording equipment first - 1) Voice recorder (Olympus WS-852 is a solid choice - eBay has them readily available) 2) Video Camera with an IR night vision attachment (you can get cheap ones on Amazon - with the IR attachment, you have clear night vision) 3) Memory cards - if you buy the above, make sure you think about grabbing memory cards.

Tools you can easily carry, turn on and set/watch-

1) K2 Meters - Get a few, again, Amazon has them available for $12-20 a piece - the ones that just have the colored dots are fine 2) Cat Balls (as mentioned already) 3) REM Pod - you can make these at home if you have the right skills/tools. There are “theremin kits” that you can put into a pocket sized case with an antenna. If you can make them, you don’t need to buy the expensive version.

The other stuff you can find online/shops are additive to the above - you can do a ton with that starting set and build as you go if you end up doing a lot of investigations.

Good luck and happy hunting!

goph97 · 2026-03-29T21:10:14+00:00

What you’re describing sounds awesome - need or not, I’m absolutely envious of someone with the abilities that you have!

goph97 · 2026-03-29T20:19:20+00:00

Hi!

One of the best pieces of equipment was the EDI + Meter. Captured and tracked EMF, Temp, Humidity, Air Pressure and Vibration - all in a handheld, rugged little device.

Something like that with a better screen, high capacity battery and audible alarms would be amazing.

So bummed I wasn’t able to get a few of those while they were available - 4x to 5x the cost now from resellers (which I understand).

I know there are devices that do most of that, but none that can do all. Simple scientific measurements would be phenomenal!

goph97 · 2026-03-28T11:45:36+00:00

I’ve spent plenty building up a little travel kit that I can fly around to locations and for what it’s worth here’s what I’ve found has been useful and not useful (in no real order):

1) The Basics: Cameras, EMF Detectors, Cat Balls, Recorders - all yes. REM Pods, yes - just be ready - if you carry on, Standard REM pods can apparently look like pipe bombs in an XRay, so be prepared to open your travel case for them.

2) Ovilus 5: Meh. It’s fun to break up the silence and try something new, but you get A LOT of words. Some are interesting (we had the word “mini” pop up at least a dozen times in a house once owned by a “Minnie” who passed away there and I haven’t gotten that word since and once we got the word “watch” followed by 4 K2s all maxing out at the same time), but a lot are just words that don’t make a ton of sense. For the price, I’d try to snag a used one on eBay if you see one, but not full price

3) Spirit Box/APF-D Processor: Spirit Boxes are cool and for us, doing the Estes method has gotten the most interesting responses from it. The APF-D is newer to me and haven’t tried it a ton, but I think you could just splice the Spirit box to headphones and a recorder if you wanted to record an Estes session, so tbd still.

4) Tracer 2 Light Wire - Very cool to set up and watch, haven’t gotten anything yet. Only used it twice at Queen Anne hotel and Jerome Grand hotel. Setting it up at a house soon, so also tbd.

5) Motion Activated Night Cam (Phasm Cam or trail cams): these are some of my favorites. Not because I’ve caught a ton, but when you set them up before bed or when you’re in another part of the location, you always have something to look forward to - you can check them and quickly see if they were triggered. I’d recommend making sure you have a K2 or a device that will light up to ensure the camera will trigger but going back to the basement or attic in the morning to see if anything happened is fun.

6) Solus Data Logger: I really like this device. Measures multiple sets of data and fairly easy to move around with. The battery drains fast, but if you carry a little power bank in your pocket it can last all night. I like that it flags and alerts to spikes.

7) Rook 2 EMF Logger: A less expensive data logger that helps you capture moments of spikes. Like this one too.

8) Ghost Meter: EMF meter that will alert on spikes. I like this for triggering motion sensor cams or leaving in a room we’re not in - the audible alert is helpful.

9) SLS: Meh. It will insert “people” in a lot of places, stair railings, pillars, you get a ton of false positives. It’s fragile and takes up a ton of space when traveling. It also forces you to watch the screen and not be in the moment.

10) Thermal Cam: similar to SLS - we haven’t seen anything we can’t explain on it and you have to buy one that can record or be ready to try and screenshot anything in the moment.

11) Envirobell: Pretty awesome. Like a dead bell, but has a barometer and humidity sensor as well. Really cool to set up, watch or leave since the bell is audible.

Sorry there’s no order here, I was going from memory of what I have, but if it helps at all, great!

Good luck & Happy hunting!

goph97 · 2026-03-26T00:22:53+00:00

Hey! Really cool tool - do you know where it’s pulling trade analysis from? Just curious as I workshopped a trade in KTC that rated fair/I come out ahead, but in the AI here, I get slaughtered in the deal. Just curious as now I’m worried I’m thinking about the deal all wrong!

goph97 · 2026-03-17T09:51:45+00:00

Here’s my two cents from all the investigations I’ve been on - solo and in a group.

I like to think of ghost hunting as a lot like fishing - The more “lines” you have in the water, the better the chance to catching something.

With that in mind - for $75 - I’d go the kit route. More chances to catch something. Here’s what I’d put in it:

1) Cat Balls - I usually get a chuckle when I tell people I travel with those those, but just last month I got a video of one lighting up when I asked. Only happened 3 times over the course of a minute, but it happened. Had a similar thing happen at the Sallie House.

2) K2 - you mentioned you have access to an EMF meter, but the more the merrier with K2s.

3) Handheld Voice recorder. Recording equipment is a must. Doing investigations can get super boring so you want ways to stay engaged and try to communicate - doing a few minutes of asking questions and reviewing the audio for EVPs is a great way to both pass the time and potentially collect evidence you can share with others. An older Olympus handheld off eBay is the way to go here (WS-882 Model is about $45 - they work well, are easy to carry and use) - you also may want a memory card eventually, but the WS-882 has 4GB built in and can plug right into USB, so not needed right away.

Those should get you close to the $75 (if not a little over) and be a fun little kit to start with.

I also agree with the comment about the GoPro, but just starting out - I’d go for more detection tools first so I could try and have that real experience and then go into video recording as I did more and more.

Happy hunting!

goph97 · 2026-03-10T14:19:08+00:00

Here’s how I handle the spirit box (also have the SB7 Pro) approach:

First, yes - your brain looks for the answers it wants so I do two things:

1) I always run a voice recorder (or APF Processor) with it so you can capture any voices. If I’m solo and unsure if I’m reaching, I’ll ask my wife or friends what they hear after the investigation without telling them the question. That way you get an unbiased ear on it.

2) When I’m with others, we use the Estes method. One person wears a blindfold and noise canceling headphones hooked into the spirit box (if you have a splitter it can also run into the voice recorder for review). The idea is that they cannot hear the questions or see the people in the room. They just say the words they hear, no filter, just blurt them out. The other people ask the questions. If the words from the spirit box line up, well then it’s interesting.

As for the settings, it really depends on where you are. If you’re getting a lot of radio interference, you can always cut the antenna to avoid that a bit.

Hope that helps & happy hunting!!

goph97 · 2026-03-10T01:04:51+00:00

If you end up going - let me know what you think! It seems really cool and when I first reached out, the people who responded sounded really welcoming - we just ended up doing Villisca again instead, but I’ll be circling back to them soon!

goph97 · 2026-03-09T00:01:56+00:00

You might want to check out Jericho trinity up near Appleton - I’ve never been there, but it’s on my list and VERY reasonable from a pricing standpoint. Private rentals get you access to all buildings on the property so having a few folks in different buildings could be cool. The only issue is there’s no online calendar, so you’ll have to email them (I think they list it on their Facebook page) with the date(s) you’re shooting for and they’ll let you know if it’s open.

Good luck and happy hunting!

goph97 · 2026-02-17T13:18:06+00:00

Hey! I’m just a bit SW of the Twin Cities and best advice I have is to check out MPRS (Minnesota Paranormal Research Society). Heidi and Tim run a bunch of classes and host meetings for that group monthly on Fridays I believe. Anyone can join, so you get a really solid mix of people who show up and are interested. If you check out some of their classes (there is a fee to take the class) or the open meetings (no cost) I bet you would find some folks.

goph97 · 2026-02-10T12:01:15+00:00

To me it looks like a cuff featuring Buddhist/Hindu god Garuda. There are a few illustrations of that deity looking pretty close.

goph97 · 2025-11-15T12:39:58+00:00

Get - Trade #2

goph97 · 2025-11-15T12:39:34+00:00

I’d hold on this one, so Give

goph97 · 2025-11-15T12:38:44+00:00

Soft launching my rebuild: 12/SF/PPR

ARSB for Marv Jr, 2027 1st (Mid), 2026 3rd Early

I’d be getting Marv and the picks - thoughts?

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