Recording audio cassettes onto PC?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Key-Bored
  • Start date Start date
Anyone know how to accomplish this?
Click to expand...

Easy.
Take a line-out from the Cassette deck or the hi-fi amp it's going
through into the line-in on your sound card and use a program
like,"Goldwave" to record,
http://www.goldwave.com/release.php
as a wave file which can be then converted to other formats.Goldwave
is Shareware but also has a free,"Lame" add-on to convert to .mp3.
Check the software that came with your sound card as well as it
may,like mine,have some recording and editing software that came with
it.
This assumes you are using a Cassette Deck as opposed to a walkman
type cassette player.If you try to use one of these you will need to
drop the impedance from the headphone output but it can be done.

It will take a while to get the levels correct so you don't get
background noise or distortion.

HTH :)



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Shep© said:
Easy.
Take a line-out from the Cassette deck or the hi-fi amp it's going
through into the line-in on your sound card and use a program
like,"Goldwave" to record,
http://www.goldwave.com/release.php
as a wave file which can be then converted to other formats.Goldwave
is Shareware but also has a free,"Lame" add-on to convert to .mp3.
Check the software that came with your sound card as well as it
may,like mine,have some recording and editing software that came with
it.
This assumes you are using a Cassette Deck as opposed to a walkman
type cassette player.If you try to use one of these you will need to
drop the impedance from the headphone output but it can be done.

It will take a while to get the levels correct so you don't get
background noise or distortion.

HTH :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. The only outputs on my cassette deck are RCAs
(red/white). Is there an adapter cord where one end is RCA and the other
can be plugged into the microphone jack on my sound card?
 
Easy.
Take a line-out from the Cassette deck or the hi-fi amp it's going
through into the line-in on your sound card and use a program
like,"Goldwave" to record,
http://www.goldwave.com/release.php
as a wave file which can be then converted to other formats.Goldwave
is Shareware but also has a free,"Lame" add-on to convert to .mp3.
Check the software that came with your sound card as well as it
may,like mine,have some recording and editing software that came with
it.
This assumes you are using a Cassette Deck as opposed to a walkman
type cassette player.If you try to use one of these you will need to
drop the impedance from the headphone output but it can be done.

It will take a while to get the levels correct so you don't get
background noise or distortion.

HTH :)
Click to expand...
While I do not dispute anything you say, I just connect straight from
the headphone jack into my audio card line in jack and record using
Coolpro2. Really don't need to do anything other than adjust levels.

Not sure why impedance is any sort of 'problerm'.
 
Key-Bored said:
Thanks for your reply. The only outputs on my cassette deck are RCAs
(red/white). Is there an adapter cord where one end is RCA and the other
can be plugged into the microphone jack on my sound card?
Click to expand...

Radio Shack has cable adapters available with just about any plug
imaginable on either end.
 
Edward W. Thompson said:
While I do not dispute anything you say, I just connect straight from
the headphone jack into my audio card line in jack and record using
Coolpro2. Really don't need to do anything other than adjust levels.

Not sure why impedance is any sort of 'problerm'.
Click to expand...

Especially since the "Walkman" headphone output would be low impedance,
low even compared to the impedance of "line level".

If the line input was indeed very low impedance compared to the "Walkman"
output, this would affect voltage level, and frequency response, since
there'd be a considerable load on the "Walkman" output.

But the line input will not be a load on the "Walkman" output. There'll
be an impedance mismatch, but it won't be significant.

Michael
 
Especially since the "Walkman" headphone output would be low impedance,
low even compared to the impedance of "line level".
Click to expand...

Which is what you,"Don't" want.I think you are confusing,"Low
Impedance" with,"Low-Output".
Most headphone outputs can be ok to use as they are
usually,"High-Impedance" thus not presenting an high load on the
op-amp inputs on the line in of the sound card,however they are also
usually of a higher,"Voltage" which may cause distortion.
The amount of tolerance of the devices used is the main factor.If the
sound card line-in can handle the output from the chosen headphone
output,no probs,if not then a line-out voltage should be used if
possible or an impedance matching circuit or at a push some form of
resistance to drop the voltage.
If the line input was indeed very low impedance compared to the "Walkman"
output, this would affect voltage level, and frequency response, since
there'd be a considerable load on the "Walkman" output. Exactly.

But the line input will not be a load on the "Walkman" output. There'll
be an impedance mismatch, but it won't be significant.
Click to expand...

Depends as per above on the tolerances of the devices used.Cheap sound
cards tend to be very unforgiving and on board sound chips even worse
:(



--
Free Windows/PC help,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/trouble.html
remove obvious to reply
email (e-mail address removed)
Free original songs to download and,"BURN" :O)
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/nomessiahsmusic.htm
 
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