| Line
activated tape recorders work similar to voice activated recorders but the
two terms are commonly misunderstood. While they are definitely similar,
they are also very different.
Line activated recorders operate only on
analog type phone lines. These are the phone lines used in residential
phones. If you have a digital phone system in your home or office then
you must install the line activated recorder "before" the system. They
WILL NOT work if you plug them into a digital outlet.
Line activated recorders sit idle until the
handset of the phone is lifted off it's base or an answering machine,
speakerphone, or cordless phone is in use. They DO NOT sense audio,
they sense a drop in voltage that occurs when you begin using your phone.
When the voltage returns to normal (you hang up), the recorder will return
to the idle state and stop recording.
Line activated recorders that operate on
battery power are extremely energy efficient because no power is being used
when the recorder is idle and the phone is on hook. You can use one
set of batteries much longer with this type of unit than you can with any
other. |
