Originally Posted By: pdacey This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I’ve been trying out a new method for taking notes on site and thought I would share it.
I started using a digital voice recorder. I can speak a hell of a lot faster than I can write or type. I carry it in a small holster on my belt and just record my thoughts on what I see as I go through the house. I carry a blank report to refer to just as a backup but all of my notes go on the recorder.
After the inspection I hook the recorder up to my computer, listen to my notes as I create the report and then save them in the client folder on my computer.
I've been using the recorder for three weeks now. It took a little getting used to but I think it works great. It has taken about 20-30 minutes off of the on site time for my inspections and has added no additional time to filling out the reports.
Originally Posted By: rkulla This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Patrick,
I’ve been thinking of doing that too. What’s the name of your recorder? I’m set up to do mine on a pda but tend to end up writing most of the inspection down on paper.
Originally Posted By: gbeaumont This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Hi Patrick,
You could actually take that line of thought one stage further and down load your digital recording into your computer through software like "Dragon naturally speaking" and it would convert your voice recording into text. You could them cut and paste large amounts of your "spoken" statements straight into your report (the text files are much smaller than the voice files)
I use VRS software but have not gone the digial recorder route....YET !!
God I love technology.   
Originally Posted By: pdacey This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Rex,
I have a Sony ICD-P17. Bought it at Circuit City for about $110. It seemed to be the same price everywhere I looked.
Gerry,
You must be a mind reader. That was going to be my next purchase. I wanted to test drive the recorder thing first to make sure I was going to stick with it. Do you use the Dragon software? Are you happy with it?
Originally Posted By: gbeaumont This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Hi Patrick,
yes, I'm using the Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 6.0, and very pleased with it. It works well in just about any Windows application, and also I use it extensively with instant messaging systems and also this bulletin board, in fact this post is being dictated straight into the computer.
I am told that the latest version of NaturallySpeaking is 15 percent better than the version of I'm currently using, so I'm planning on upgrading to version 7.0 in the very near future.
Regards
Gerry
by the way, I have made absolutely no corrections whatsoever to this post
Originally Posted By: jpeck This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I tried that years ago, and unless the quality of the recording (background noise reduction) as improved, and the recognition ability of Dragon Speaking Naturally has improved dramatically (can’t blame them for the background noise in the recording, but there must be someway to filter it out digitally), it was more time consuming than typing from the tape, which (for whatever reasons) I find time consuming and not practical. Just my personal opinion based on my limited abilities to walk and talk and chew gum at the same time.
Originally Posted By: jmyers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Gerry,
You must be a much better speaker than myself. When I used the dragon naturally speaking software, it really sucked big time.
It could not even differentiate between simple words, let alone more complex words, like cat and hat, my name and several others.
I suggest if you want to give this program a try, you should do the try it before you buy it version, it may save you some bucks.
I know that background noise makes a huge difference when setting the program up and lets face it, with 7 of us living here, there was always a lot of background noise. If you live in a nice quiet atmosphere like Gerry, it may work for you.
BTW...I typed this post is less than a minute and I am sure it took you much longer than that to dictate your post.  That would include the spell checking button.
Originally Posted By: gbeaumont This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Hi Joe,
you're quite correct I speak much better English than you do, it may have something to do with the fact that I was brought up speaking the Queens English [god bless her !!]   
It is also fair to say that I can't type for s#!t, so anything that is more effective than my feeble two to three fingers at a time on the keyboard is a vast improvement.
I heard a lot of negative comments about voice recognition software before I get bought it, but I guess the technology has gotten very much better of the last few years as I am very very pleased with this, the only thing I would say for anybody who is looking at buying VRS software, is to also by a high quality microphone.
Originally Posted By: jmyers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Gerry,
It has been my experience that background noise makes those programs worthless, although I have not tried them in a few years. 
Originally Posted By: cradan This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Questions… (been considering the voice recording thing for some time)
1.) Hands free...belt clip, etc.? Could one use a headset mic with the digital VR's, or is that not possible? I'm assuming that if it's on your belt, you'll hear lots of unwanted noise on playback, and maybe miss some of your constant babble-chatter.
2.) Are these typically voice-activated, or is one reaching for the "record" button 349 times during the inspection?
3.) How much and/or how long will these little ditties record?
Originally Posted By: dvalley This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I’ve experienced with Dragon Speak software about 4 years ago. I spent too much time correcting the vocabulary that was typing out as I spoke. The spelling was absolutely atrocious. I tossed that program fast.
Maybe they improved it a bit, with today?s technology. ?????
What I don't understand is how someone is going to use this software on a Home Inspection with all that background noise that a typical Inspector makes on a daily basis. Crawling in the attic and crawlspaces would really be fun trying to keep your microphone in place. Also, as the customer is asking you questions every minute. Are you going to turn the microphone on & off every time you go to speak and start switching hands to control your flashlight and tools at the same time?
It's not worth it, to me. I'll continue reporting as I do today.
If someone finds this reporting technique to be beneficial on Home Inspections, I?d like to hear it.
Originally Posted By: pdacey This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Chris,
I do not use a voice activated recorder. There is a lot of conversation that goes on that is not intended to be recorded.
The Sony model I have can record for over 2 hours. That is plenty of time. The average inspection I may record 80-100 notes. Each one is about 5-15 seconds long. That's only 25 minutes or less of actual recordings. It has 5 folders set up in the memory. I use a different folder for each inspection.
I started out with a microphone clipped to my collar but I didn't like the way that worked. I still had to press the record button on the unit. It was cumbersome because I had to keep looking at the unit to make sure I was recording. So I got rid of the mic and I just take it out of the holster each time I want to record. It's still much faster than picking up a clipboard and writing down your notes each time. It's also much easier to carry on roofs and into attics and crawlspaces.
Originally Posted By: ssmith3 This post was automatically imported from our archived forum. I have an Ipaq Pocket PC that I do my inspections on. It also has a voice recorder feature that allows me to record notes at the touch of a button. It saves each recording separately so when I get back I can run thru them quickly.
– Scott Smith
Marinspection
Vice President NorCal NACHI Chapter
I graduated from collage. Now my life is all mixed up.
Originally Posted By: roconnor This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
gbeaumont wrote:
you're quite correct I speak much better English than you do, it may have something to do with the fact that I was brought up speaking the Queens English [god bless her !!]   
Well at least you can get a machine to understand you, nobody else can ...   
(Duck)
-- Robert O'Connor, PE
Eagle Engineering ?
Eagle Eye Inspections ?
NACHI Education Committee
I am absolutely amazed sometimes by how much thought goes into doing things wrong