Howdy!,

I have seen mention of Audacity some time ago in this echo.

I have been trying to read the Help pages for Audacity 2.0.5 to use it
with the XP computer to connect the Headphone Output Jack of a Cassette
Tape Recorder/Player into the XP computers Line Input and make a file
that I could next use to burn the music to a CD-R disc.

I haven't been able to figure it out.

Anyone have suggestion(s) for me? THANKS!



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Re: Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to All on Fri Feb 08 2019 09:47 pm

Howdy!,

I have seen mention of Audacity some time ago in this echo.

I have been trying to read the Help pages for Audacity 2.0.5 to use it
with the XP computer to connect the Headphone Output Jack of a Cassette
Tape Recorder/Player into the XP computers Line Input and make a file
that I could next use to burn the music to a CD-R disc.

I haven't been able to figure it out.

Anyone have suggestion(s) for me? THANKS!

The line input on most sound cards is *not* well suited for analog music digitization/preservation. Even if/when you get it working, the results probably won't be very good. I recommend using one of these instead (or something similar):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI

I've use one of these to digitize many audio casettes using Audacity. Works great.

digital man

Synchronet/BBS Terminology Definition #54:
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The line input on most sound cards is *not* well suited for analog music digitization/preservation. Even if/when you get it working, the results probably won't be very good. I recommend using one of these instead (or something similar):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI

I've use one of these to digitize many audio casettes using Audacity. Works great.

I did not check the link but, if it is the same unit you recommended to me about a month ago, it does indeed work well. A couple of other things you
have to be careful of is that the volume on the input device is not set too high... both on the actual device and on the "input volume" in your Windows settings.

Mike

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02-08-19 20:21 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about Using Audacity with XP Howdy! Rob,

Thanks for the suggestion.
I will go look at what is on Amazon.

@MSGID: <5C5E7BF0.15611.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
Re: Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to All on Fri Feb 08 2019 09:47 pm

Howdy!,

I have seen mention of Audacity some time ago in this echo.

I have been trying to read the Help pages for Audacity 2.0.5 to use it
with the XP computer to connect the Headphone Output Jack of a Cassette
Tape Recorder/Player into the XP computers Line Input and make a file
that I could next use to burn the music to a CD-R disc.

I haven't been able to figure it out.

Anyone have suggestion(s) for me? THANKS!

The line input on most sound cards is *not* well suited for
analog music digitization/preservation. Even if/when you get it
working, the results probably won't be very good. I recommend
using one of these instead (or something similar): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI

I've use one of these to digitize many audio casettes using
Audacity. Works great.

digital man

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02-09-19 10:20 Mike Powell wrote to ROB SWINDELL about Using Audacity with XP Howdy! Mike,

I haven't checked Rob's Amazon link yet, but thanks for the comments.

@MSGID: <5C5EF227.15612.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
@REPLY: <5C5E7BF0.15611.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>

The line input on most sound cards is *not* well suited for analog music digitization/preservation. Even if/when you get it working, the results probably won't be very good. I recommend using one of these instead (or something similar):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI

I've use one of these to digitize many audio casettes using Audacity. Works great.

I did not check the link but, if it is the same unit you
recommended to me about a month ago, it does indeed work well.
A couple of other things you have to be careful of is that the
volume on the input device is not set too high... both on the
actual device and on the "input volume" in your Windows
settings.

Mike

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02-08-19 20:21 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about Using Audacity with XP

Howdy! Rob (and Mike),

I looked at the Amazon link.

To use it with my device to me it seems like I need to change the Headphone Jack Impedance to Line Input to use the product in Amazon's advertisement.

Off the top of Ed's Head Line Input is 500 (or 600) Ohms.

I have Two of the Radio Shack Transformers that have a 1000 Ohm Center-
Tapped winding on one side, and a 8 Ohm winding on the other side that I've thought I might need to use even it I only used the Line Inputs on the pc to get the Audio in to Audacity by using the Headphone Output while playing
a Cassette Tape.

My pc is an HP Pavilion a1430n, MS XP Media Center Edition 2005.

By that description I would think the Audio circuit portion would be O.K.
for what I am wanting to do with it.

When I've tried using Audacity to accept audio from the Headphone Jack to
the pc Line Input I never have seen Audacity putting the audio into a File
that I could later use to Burn it to a CD.

Very Much Head Scratching going on here.
(But I haven't started talking to the computer....yet).

Would My Two Transformers do the same job for me as the Amazon product?

TIA, 73 de Ed W9ODR . .

@MSGID: <5C5E7BF0.15611.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
Re: Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to All on Fri Feb 08 2019 09:47 pm

Howdy!,

I have seen mention of Audacity some time ago in this echo.

I have been trying to read the Help pages for Audacity 2.0.5 to use it
with the XP computer to connect the Headphone Output Jack of a Cassette
Tape Recorder/Player into the XP computers Line Input and make a file
that I could next use to burn the music to a CD-R disc.

I haven't been able to figure it out.

Anyone have suggestion(s) for me? THANKS!

The line input on most sound cards is *not* well suited for analog
music digitization/preservation. Even if/when you get it working, the results probably won't be very good. I recommend using one of these instead (or something similar):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI

I've use one of these to digitize many audio casettes using Audacity. Works great.

digital man

Synchronet/BBS Terminology Definition #54:
SBBS = Synchronet Bulletin Board System
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Re: RE:Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to Rob Swindell on Fri Feb 15 2019 02:33 pm

02-08-19 20:21 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about Using Audacity with XP

Howdy! Rob (and Mike),

I looked at the Amazon link.

To use it with my device to me it seems like I need to change the Headphone Jack Impedance to Line Input to use the product in Amazon's advertisement.

Huh? No, the device I recommended uses a USB connection to your computer (not a "Headphone Jack" or any other analog audio input).

My pc is an HP Pavilion a1430n, MS XP Media Center Edition 2005.

All you need is a USB 2.0 port.

digital man

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To use it with my device to me it seems like I need to change the Headphone Jack Impedance to Line Input to use the product in Amazon's advertisement.

Rob has already answered, but I would add that the headphone jack is for
use if you want to monitor the recording while recording it. Like Rob
said, the device connects to the PC via a USB connector, and to your input device by a red-and-white RCA connection.

In my case, I ran the RCAs out of the stereo speaker jacks to the device,
and then hooked the speakers to the output RCA jacks on the device.
Connected the USB cable to the laptop.

You do have to do some playing around to get the sound levels right... at
least I did.

Mike

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02-15-19 22:26 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about RE:Using Audacity with XP Howdy! Rob,

@MSGID: <5C67EEBD.15616.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
Re: RE:Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to Rob Swindell on Fri Feb 15 2019 02:33 pm

02-08-19 20:21 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about Using Audacity with XP

Howdy! Rob (and Mike),

I looked at the Amazon link.

To use it with my device to me it seems like I need to change the Headphone Jack Impedance to Line Input to use the product in Amazon's advertisement.

Huh? No, the device I recommended uses a USB connection to your
computer (not a "Headphone Jack" or any other analog audio input).

I am/was tring to use a portable AM/FM/CD/Cassette Radio, Jensen Model:CD-545
I bought from a Target Store.
There is only one Output Jack, the Headphone Jack.

I have a Dual Cassette Tape Deck here if I had to have line level audio,
but couldn't I just connect the output of it to a Line In jack on my pc if
I used it with Audacity?

My pc is an HP Pavilion a1430n, MS XP Media Center Edition 2005.

All you need is a USB 2.0 port.

I saw the USB connector in the illustration, but for me to get the audio
into the product You and Mike have, I still would have to 'Transform' the Impedance from Speaker to Line level when using my Jensen Radio.

Above I wrote that my HP XP pc has MS's Media Center OS in it.

I thought that the Audio Components on HP's motherboard would be better than "Plain Jane" audio on a regular Sound Card plugged in a motherboard,
or built-in on the motherboard of a XP pc produced before MS designed the
Media Center version for XP.

Thanks Again.

73 de Ed W9ODR . .


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Rob Swindell : Ed Vance wrote:

I recommend using one of these instead (or
something similar):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI

I've use one of these to digitize many audio casettes using Audacity. Works great.

I use the SoundBlaster SB0490 with from many years ago.
It too has an SPDIF optical out option.
See item "N82E16829102174" at newegg.com, albiet it is discontinued.

It does not have RCA for input or out, but I just used an RCA-to-miniplug cable
converter.

Lots of fun to digitize some LP's. But I got tired of that pretty fast. Need replacement cartridge+needle for best results.

Getting lazy with Spotify now in the picture.

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02-15-19 22:26 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about RE:Using Audacity with XP Howdy! Rob,
If this is a Dupe, please forgive Me.
A few hours ago I started writing this Reply but couldn't remember if I sent
it out or not, so I edited it some more and am sending it now.

@MSGID: <5C67EEBD.15616.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
Re: RE:Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to Rob Swindell on Fri Feb 15 2019 02:33 pm

02-08-19 20:21 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about Using Audacity with XP

Howdy! Rob (and Mike),

I looked at the Amazon link.

To use it with my device to me it seems like I need to change the Headphone Jack Impedance to Line Input to use the product in Amazon's advertisement.

Huh? No, the device I recommended uses a USB connection to your
computer (not a "Headphone Jack" or any other analog audio input).

I am/was trying to use a portable AM/FM/CD/Cassette Radio,
Jensen Model:CD-545 I bought from a Target Store.
There is only one Output Jack, the Headphone Jack on it.

I do have a Dual Cassette Tape Deck here if I had to get the audio from it.

Could I connect the output of it to the Line In jack on my pc to use it
with Audacity?

My pc is an HP Pavilion a1430n, MS XP Media Center Edition 2005.

All you need is a USB 2.0 port.

I saw the USB connector in the illustration, but for me to get the audio
into the product You and Mike have, I still would have to 'Transform' the Impedance from Speaker to Line level when using my Jensen Radio.

Above I wrote that my HP XP pc has MS's Media Center OS in it.

I thought that the Audio Components on HP's motherboard would be better than "Plain Jane" audio on a regular Sound Card plugged in a motherboard,
or was built-in on the motherboard of a XP pc produced before MS designed
the Media Center version for XP.

So my question is: "Do I 'really' need USB Input to get the sound into Audacity?".

Thanks Again.

73 de Ed W9ODR . .


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Re: RE:Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to Rob Swindell on Mon Feb 18 2019 07:40 pm

So my question is: "Do I 'really' need USB Input to get the sound into Audacity?".

No, but the ADC in the dedicated audio interfaces (like the one I recommended) are lot better than those in your typical sound card/interface. You should be able to use the mic/line input on your PC and record *something* in Audacity. How good the quality will be is highly variable.

digital man

Synchronet/BBS Terminology Definition #12:
CBM = Commodore Business Machines
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02-19-19 03:18 August Abolins wrote to Rob Swindell about Using Audacity with

Howdy! August,

I believe You were the person writing about Audacity in this echo a long
time ago that I remember first hearing about the Program.
Thanks for joining in to try helping me learn why Audacity isn't keeping
(or making) a file when I send audio to it.

@MSGID: <5C6B7FA2.15620.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
@REPLY: <5C5E7BF0.15611.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
Rob Swindell : Ed Vance wrote:

I recommend using one of these instead (or
something similar):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI

I've use one of these to digitize many audio casettes using Audacity. Works great.

I use the SoundBlaster SB0490 with from many years ago.
It too has an SPDIF optical out option.
See item "N82E16829102174" at newegg.com, albiet it is discontinued.

I wouldn't know if I needed the optical out option here.
The pc I use didn't come with a Remote Control like some of the XP MCE2005 Models that HP sold back in 2006, when I bought mine.

It does not have RCA for input or out, but I just used an
RCA-to-miniplug cable converter.

I was trying to get the sound from my Radio/Cassette Player to the
Line-In jack using a cable with 3.5mm Stereo Phone Plugs on each end.

In another room is a Dual Cassette Tape Deck I could try using if the
Output from it could be used by this XP pc.

Would that Tape Deck Audio Out be Line Level?

Lots of fun to digitize some LP's. But I got tired of that pretty
fast. Need replacement cartridge+needle for best results.

With Radio Shack and Circuit City gone I wouldn't know who sells Phonograph Cartridges or Needles for them.

I made a friend with someone when I was in the 7th Grade (Junior High School) and one day he invited me to come in his home (1953).

That day was the first time I saw a High Fidelity System (Monaural).
My jaw dropped when I saw the large 3 Speaker Cabinet, Amplifier, Tuner and
a Thorens Record Changer.

And the Sound that came out of the speaker cabinet was out of this world.

One of the local Camera Stores had a Hi-Fi Showroom in the back part of the building.
All kinds of Speaker Systems, Amps etc. You Name it, it was there.

I hung around asking questions to the salesmen, and when someone wanted to
hear a Demostration of what the different components sounded like,
I WAS THERE, just listening but out of the way of the customers.

Then one weekend I saw a Electro-Voice Patrician Speaker System -
You know, the 4 Speaker System with the 30 Inch Woofer in it?

Later when the store got some Stereo Reel to Reel Tape Recorders, I was in
the Showroom when two Patrician were being used.

My first Stereo Amplifier was made with Two Cal-Rad(sp?) epoxy potted cubes, Two Lafayette 6.5 Inch Co-Ax speaker, a Lesa Vox Turntable and a home built
6 Volt Power Supply to run it.

Later I built a Heath-Kit AA-32 Amp to use with those speakers.

Getting lazy with Spotify now in the picture.

I've heard the word 'Spotify' before but haven't tried to learn about it.

Thanks again for joining in the conversation.

73 de Ed W9ODR . .

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02-19-19 03:23 Rob Swindell wrote to Ed Vance about RE:Using Audacity with XP Howdy! Rob,
Thanks for helping me.

@MSGID: <5C6C2871.15621.windowsa@capitolcityonline.net>
Re: RE:Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to Rob Swindell on Mon Feb 18 2019 07:40 pm

So my question is: "Do I 'really' need USB Input to get the sound into Audacity?".

No, but the ADC in the dedicated audio interfaces (like the one I recommended) are lot better than those in your typical sound card/interface. You should be able to use the mic/line input on your PC and record *something* in Audacity. How good the quality will be is
highly variable.

As I was read Your message I thought about what I heard a long time ago,
that as a man ages we don't hear some of the higher frequency audio.

Your mentioning 'mic/line input' had me remember using a 4 Ohm to 10,000 Ohm transformer with the Amplifier in my Record Player to use it as a Intercom
in my house.

Later I did put a (tubed) phono amplifier in the box the intercom speaker
was mounted in.
The amp came out of a friends Junk Box.

Then I could have the intercom On and listen to my Records too.

Synchronet/BBS Terminology Definition #12:
CBM = Commodore Business Machines

I can identify with that... My C=64 gear is still working when I turn it on. The Majority of Floppy Disks that I put in the 1541 FDD still have what I stored on them.

Does Yours work O.K. too?

73 de Ed W9ODR . .


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Re: RE:Using Audacity with XP
By: Ed Vance to Rob Swindell on Wed Feb 20 2019 12:15 am

Synchronet/BBS Terminology Definition #12:
CBM = Commodore Business Machines

I can identify with that... My C=64 gear is still working when I turn it on. The Majority of Floppy Disks that I put in the 1541 FDD still have what I stored on them.

Does Yours work O.K. too?

I don't have one a CBM. My last was a Vic-20 back in the 80's, though I did a fair amount of BASIC programming on my friend's C64 back then too.

digital man

Synchronet/BBS Terminology Definition #39:
IP = Internet Protocol
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Ed Vance : August Abolins wrote:

I believe You were the person writing about Audacity in this echo a long
time ago that I remember first hearing about the Program.
Thanks for joining in to try helping me learn why Audacity isn't keeping
(or making) a file when I send audio to it.

I have no recollection about making posts about Audacity, but if the content was helpful, I'll take it.

I use the SoundBlaster SB0490 with from many years ago.
It too has an SPDIF optical out option.
See item "N82E16829102174" at newegg.com, albiet it is discontinued.

I wouldn't know if I needed the optical out option here.
The pc I use didn't come with a Remote Control like some of the XP MCE2005 Models that HP sold back in 2006, when I bought mine.

Th optical out is not for remote control. It's an AUDIO Out to go directly into
a receiver/amp that supports it. At the time, I did not even have optical Inputs on my receiver/amps, so I missed out on using that advantageous pure digital connection.

I was trying to get the sound from my Radio/Cassette Player to the
Line-In jack using a cable with 3.5mm Stereo Phone Plugs on each end.

I've never captured audio for recording that way, so I am no help. But I would suggest you use a player that has RCA OUT connectors.

In another room is a Dual Cassette Tape Deck I could try using if the
Output from it could be used by this XP pc.

That sounds like a better way.
And don't forget to configure Audacity to use the correct audio input device on
your XP pc. When I was new to Audicity and playing with it on different pcs (WinME and WinXP), I would forget to select the proper "device" for Audicity to
listen to and wondered why I wasn't getting any sound detected.

The manual at..

https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/how_to_connect_your_equipment.html

...gives a pretty good explanation and a point to avoid the headphones output:

The best option is usually to connect to the source device's "aux out", "tape out", "line-out" or "record" output (if so equipped). These outputs standardize the signal at a fixed (non-adjustable) level of approximately 1 - 1.5 volts, resulting in a high quality recording, whereas the headphones output

will add an extra stage of possibly low-quality amplification in order to provide an adjustable level. <<<

Need replacement cartridge+needle for best results.

With Radio Shack and Circuit City gone I wouldn't know who sells Phonograph Cartridges or Needles for them.

No problem. Plenty of sources listed online these days. I'm just too lazy to get started into the project.

Then one weekend I saw a Electro-Voice Patrician Speaker System -
You know, the 4 Speaker System with the 30 Inch Woofer in it?

I never heard of those, but a lookup online revealed pictures of those massive speakers. Looks like they would be primarily used for large venues. The posters look misleading with the pretty model sitting just inches in front of the unit!

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