Jim,

In message , Jim Lesurf
writes
I am considering buying a small portable sound recorder, and would be
interested in suggestions/recommendations people may be able to make that
would suit the following requirements, etc.

I've had decent results with a Sony minidisc recorder and a cheap
'plug-in powered' condenser microphone built into the body of a 3.5mm
jack plug. It could be improved, as the Sony has no way to control
record level while it's actually recording. I believe the Sharp units do
have this control. Mine is over a year old now, so I'm afraid I don't
have any recommendations for models that are current.

The downside is that it is not really robust (especially while writing
the table of contents data after completing a recording - a knock at
this stage will lose your entire recording).

It can be operated with one hand, but the switches are small. In the LP
modes it will record up to around 3(?) hours of mono at passable
quality, over an hour a full quality.

The microphone is a Panasonic-type miniature omni electret element
soldered into a jack plug body - cost was about 10 dollars from either
The Sound Professionals or Core Sound, I forget which. You can find
links to both on the www.minidisc.org accessories page. It's useful for
picking up speech from a couple of feet away, but you will get quite a
bit of room noise. It plugs directly into the mic input on the minidisc,
or you can use a simple extension lead to move it away, which helps
minimise pickup from the mechanical noise of the unit itself.

For a bit more robustness, you could use a 'field recording' type
housing, also detailed at minidisc.org - basically a robust, padded case
with extension leads built in, intended for journalists or concert
tapers.

Hope this helps,
--
Regards,
Glenn Booth