Cannot record my side of conversation - RECAP S2

Posted about 5 years ago by suheyl khaki

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suheyl khaki

I am using a Sony 560 and both cables are ttrs. I have tried both in stereo and mono mode. Have used an iPhone 10,11 pro and Samsung galaxy 8,10. Also seems that I need to “wiggle” the cable a bit in order to get any sound. Please advise. Also how does return/refund work just in case ? If I cannot get this going I will be returning. I had to wait quite a while to get this and cannot afford to stay without a functioning device. If I can’t get this going by Monday I will have no choice but to return for refund. Thanks.

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Igor Ramos posted about 5 years ago Admin

Another note: every RECAP is tested prior to shipping. However the cable that ships with it is NOT tested. It's a standard 3-pin (TRS) 3.5mm male-to-male, so you can easily find a replacement for testing.

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Igor Ramos posted about 5 years ago Admin

I understand "headphone out into mic in for recorder it works", however that experiment does not test the right feature in your Digital Voice Recorder. In that experiment you're feeding a LINE LEVEL SIGNAL into your Digital Voice Recorder.

As I pointed out in a previous post, you must configure your recorder in the MIC IN mode, so that your recorder can inject a the requires bias voltage into RECAP. About this other device you lost, maybe it had a different operating principle than RECAP. Maybe that device had a built-in signal amplifier, so its signal was at LINE IN level, and therefore did not require a bias voltage.

Did you try the things I suggested in previous post, especially #3, testing the MIC IN?

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suheyl khaki posted about 5 years ago

Hi, meant if I plug my laptop headphone out into mic in for recorder it works and records in stereo I have checked both Left and Right. Also my old device from Jk audio which was lost a month ago worked fine as well as does my current landline recording device from record gear. So as far as I can tell, it’s just this Recap device that has issues.

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Igor Ramos posted about 5 years ago Admin

" capturing both sides to a laptop" device are you saying that RECAP is able to capture both sides to a laptop? If so the issue is definitely in your digital voice recorder.

Things to check in your recorder:

try fresh batteries to the recorder
Ensure it is set to MIC IN, high sensitivity. See "Ext Input Settings"
test your recorder with an external stereo microphone, and make sure you get unique sounds in the left and right channels. Tap left mic, then tap right mic. I find helpful to take the recorded file (WAV or MP3) and load it into software like Audacity. This helps you confirm that the recorder is picking both channels from the stereo microphone. If you only see one channel or signals from both channels are IDENTICAL, you have an issue. There's either a short-circuit in your recorder, or it may have some sort of sound effects turned on, which is mixing left and right signals in a weird way. This is a common problem in recording to PCs sound cards, where people have to disable those effects to get RECAP working properly.
Try another stereo recording device.

Hope this helps!

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suheyl khaki posted about 5 years ago

Hi Igor, I tried a TRS cable as well. I used to have this same setup on a previous similar device. I also retested my cables and they work fine capturing both sides to a laptop. Also, I am using mic in on the recorder. As mentioned, I used this same setup for a few years now. Just seems regardless what I do, I am not getting my side of audio being captured. Also am nervous about the poor contact. Not sure why I need to twist the connector around a bit. Almost like it’s not making sufficient contact. Any other advice ?

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Igor Ramos posted about 5 years ago Admin

Hi Suheyl - thanks for posting your question.

First, it sounds like you're using the wrong cable. RECAP S2 outputs in stereo, you need a TRS (and not a TRRS cable), here's the pinout of RECAP S2 output port (side port)

Typically, if you cannot record your side of the conversation means that RECAP is not receiving power from your Digital Voice Recorder - called the bias voltage. In case you're curious here's a reference: link.

Digital Voice Recorders typically accepts two kinds of inputs "LINE IN" and "MIC IN". Since RECAP S2 behaves like an external stereo microphone, your device needs to be in "MIC IN" mode. I checked out the user manual for your Sony ICD-UX560, there's a section called "Recording with an external microphone" https://helpguide.sony.net/icd/u56/v1/en2/contents/TP0000830895.html that explains how to put your recorder in that mode.

Another step you need is to adjust the sensitivity: "Selecting the audio input type and the sensitivity level of the external microphone", that is explained over here: https://helpguide.sony.net/icd/u56/v1/en2/contents/TP0000831065.html

I hope this helps!

Return/refunds/exchanges are not handled via the forum. You may open a ticket for that.

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