What is the best kind of recording device for EVP?
 

Why are IC recorders so effective for EVP?
 

If I buy an IC recorder for EVP, do I need a model that has a voice activation feature?
 

How do I record audio files into my computer?
 

How can I attach an EVP example to an email message?
 

How can I make my favorite sound editing software the primary player for sound files?
 

Should I buy a white-noise audio CD (not the movie!) as a source of background sound?
 

Should I try using a diode as a detector for EVP?
 

Why does my Panasonic RR-DR60 IC recorder display FULL after I have erased everything?
 

Should I use EVPMaker?  Updated
 

Should I use Radio Sweep? New
 

The answer to this question has changed as technology has evolved. Today, the IC recorder or digital note taker is fast becoming the recorder of choice for experimenting in both field and controlled conditions.

Other audio recorders, such as the cassette and reel-to-reel tape recorders, are excellent; however the mini-cassette recorders have not been well received by the EVP community.

We have found that it is generally necessary to provide background sound during EVP experiments when using a very quiet cassette or reel-to-reel recorder. This is usually accomplished with an external microphone and such sound sources as a fan, static from a radio, running water or a pre-recorded sound file of the sound of garbed foreign language voices.

The IC recorders produce relatively more internal noise and works quiet well in field conditions without the addition of background noise. However, they are not convenient for reviewing the resulting sound files, thus the need for a computer for review and possible filtering and amplification. In truth, it is fast becoming the norm for experimenters to us a computer for all sound file review.

We believe that any IC recorder should work well, but those based on the Panasonic RR-DR60 form factor have become very popular. They are no longer manufactured, so it is necessary to purchase them from the used market on the Internet. The QR80 through 200 are thought to produce excellent EVP with less noise than the DR60.

Comment on the Panasonic RR-DR60 IC Recorder: We have discussed the Panasonic RR-DR60 IC Recorder on this website and in our book, There is No Death and There are No Dead. At one time, the DR60 was about the most useful IC recorder around; however, things are rapidly changing. For instance, the Sony ICD-B7, which sold new for under $50, has been reported to be an excellent recorder for EVP. There are new models from various manufacturers coming out nearly every day and most will work very well. As a rule of thumb, always use the longest recording time setting. If the recorder has a very quiet sound circuit, then you may need to add background noise or enhance available noise with something like an acoustical box to give you that "ocean in a sea shell" effect. We recommend not paying more than about $150 for a Panasonic RR-DR60; they simply are not worth it.

It is common practice for the experimenter to provide background noise during an EVP experiment because it has been found that the noise helps the formation of the phenomenal voices. In effect, the communicating entity transfigures the noise into words. This added noise is usually from a fan, static from a radio that is tuned off-station, running water or something like the babble of a crowd of people.

Adding noise is especially true of people recording in the controlled conditions of their home; however, it is common for people to collect excellent examples of the phenomenal voices in field situations, such as in haunted houses where they are not able to add noise. The difference, it turns out, is that the recorder of choice amongst ghost hunters is the IC recorder, also known as the digital or personal note taker.

The first use of IC recorders was probably due to the fact that they are small, light weight and very convenient. They are also very poor quality recorders. The early models, at least, had a sample rate for the analog to digital conversion in the neighborhood of four to six KHz. According to the Nyquist criteria, you must sample sound at least two times per cycle to reliably reproduce that cycle. This means that the early recorders would only reproduce frequencies up to three thousand cycles. This is even less than the bandpass of a telephone line.

We do not have the data on this, but besides the poor audio reproduction found in the early IC recorders, they apparently use a relatively small data word to represent a bit of digitized sound. The result, as pointed out by AA-EVP member, James Jones, is that the least significant bit error is a source of noise within the recorder sound track. We believe that other circuitry within the IC recorders, such as the voice activated switch and automatic gain circuits that appear to “hunt” for stability, also cause noise within the recorder sound track.

The net effect is that the early IC recorders produced the noise used for the formation of the phenomenal voices within their electrical circuit, making the addition of noise unnecessary. Thus, there was a fortuitous convergence of availability and characteristics that enabled people who were often very poorly informed about how to record EVP to collect excellent examples using an IC recorder.

We recommend early model IC recorders, especially Panasonic models, which are now only on the used equipment market. The Sony B7 sold at Wal-Mart for under $50 is also recommended. IC recorders should be used in the longest play mode, which should be the lowest sample rate. It is also recommended that a computer be used to analyze the resulting sound file.

As a rule of thumb, the higher quality audio sound recorded by an IC or tape recorder, the more likely it is that you will need to add background sound.

An article discussing a theory about least significant bit error noise can be read here.

The voice activation feature is a mixed blessing. Some experimenters use it and some refuse to.

In some models of the IC Recorder, the Voice Activation (VOX) is slow and clips words. It will trigger on background noise and then as quickly turn off because the noise is not sufficient to keep it on. The result is a staccato sound between comments from the experimenter. You can often see the RECORD light flashing on and off with just the sound of a distant fan.

We do use the RECORD light as an indicator that the recorder is on and may be recording an EVP. Watching the counter can provide the same information.

One thing to watch for with VOX is that a phenomenal utterance may more or less fill the space between your comments, even though it is only a tenth of a second long and your pause was over thirty seconds. Thus, you can see that the communicating entity has used the noise caused by the VOX to form a voice.

So the answer to your question is that the VOX feature is not necessary, but it can be helpful. On a three hour ghost hunt, I recorded over thirty minutes of sound track with a recorder with the VOX turned off. Lisa recorded with me all the way but only recorded about six minutes using a VOX recorder. Remember, you need to look for EVP in every bit of noise on the sound track and it can take hours unless you are holding out for just Class A EVP. Which would you like to do, listen to thirty minutes of sound track or six?

You will need a recording device with a headphone jack, or even better, a Line Out jack. The Line Out jack will connect to a computer Line In jack with an ordinary audio patch cord with a 1/8th inch stereo jack for the computer and whatever size that is required for your recorder. The IC recorders usually use a 1/32 inch mono jack.

If you have only a headphone jack, then you will also require an audio patch cord that provides attenuation to match the 8 ohm headphone resistance with the usual 10K ohm Line in jack of your computer. We recommend that you take your recorder and speak to the clerk at Radio Shack or a similar electronics store.

You will need to make sure that your computer is “looking” at the right jack. In a Personal Computer (PC), you will usually have a Line In and a Microphone jack. The Line In jack is stereo, but we believe the Microphone jack is mono. We recommend the Line In jack. (We also always record into both track A and track B of the computer so that we will hear the file in both ears for better listening.) In the Control Panel of your computer, open the Sound and Multimedia application. In the Audio tab, click on Volume and make sure the Line In volume control is selected.

Some recording devices provide a USB interface for a computer. If yours has a USB jack, then you need only attach your recorder to a USB port of your computer. These are usually “Plug and play” devices, so the computer should recognize your recorder without further action from you. If not, then you may require a driver, which should have come with your recorder. Once properly interfaced to your computer, you should follow the directions that came with your recorder to make the sound files available to your sound editor.

Most AA-EVP members use Adobe Audition for recording/editing audio files, but there are other applications that do a good job as well. The important features you will use is, reverse, amplify, copy, cut, paste, filter and noise reduction. Using these capabilities, it is common for an experimenter to find a Class C (or less) EVP in a sound file that no one else can understand, and “clean it up” so that it is a Class A EVP that just about anyone can understand. While this may pose problems for scientific evaluation of these phenomena, it is a most important capability for personal use.

An EVP sound file is like any computer file and can be attached to an email in the same way that a text file is attached. The real task is in the preparation of the sound file.

First, the sound file should be made as small as possible because many email services will not support large attachments. It is best to use a sound editor in your computer to select the EVP and perhaps an associated question spoken by the experimenter, but not unnecessary quiet space or long leaders.

We recommend that the file be saved in Wave format (*.wav) because that is most commonly used amongst experimenters. For instance, we can play many other formats, but if we cannot bring the file into a sound editor as a wave file, we will be unable to examine the EVP sample. To make a sound file a Wave file, you should be able to either capture the sound file as a Wave file or perform a “Save as” function to make the file a Wave file.

We usually use a Sample rate of 22050, Stereo, 16 Bits. We use stereo because we believe that we can hear the EVP better when using two ears. A Sample Rate of 22050 is sufficient to maintain the quality of your EVP; however, if you are trying to make your sound file smaller, save it as something like 8000, Mono, 8 Bit.

Once your sample is saved as a Wave file of a reasonable size, and it has been named in a descriptive way, you can handle it just as a text file. It can be included as an attachment in an email message, or posted to the Idea Exchange.

If your sample has been modified in any way, it is a good idea to give a brief summary of those modifications in the posting or email message. It is also a good idea to tell how the recording was made, and why you believe the EVP is worth listening to in the first place. Since there are so many EVP samples offered in the Idea Exchange, it is a kindness to all if you post only the very best or most interesting. Of course, it is always reasonable to post an EVP that you need assistance with from the others, but tell the others of this need.

Finally, always describe your attachment in the body of an email message. We routinely warn people not to open any attachment that has not been described in a reasonable way in the text of the email. This is an effort to avoid viruses, and so is a courtesy to others.

In Windows 2000 & XP you can do this by: Find a .WAV file on your computer. Right click it once, select "Properties" from the menu list that appears. There should be a button that says "Change..." click it, there will be a list of applications. If your sound editing program is listed, select it and click "OK" then "Apply" and "OK" on the previous menu.

If no sound editing program is listed, you will need to locate it on your computer. This is done by clicking "Browse" after you've clicked "Change..." For most people it will be under: C:\Program Files\(your sound editing program).

White noise is a generic term used around the world by EVP experimenters. In actual practice, experimenters try to select sound sources that have more human voice frequencies. Experimenters commonly use a fan or radio static for background sound--anything that creates noise that is relatively steady-state, and that can then be filtered out. We have also had many reports that "canned" sound as you find in a CD is less desirable for EVP than is "live" noise as you get with a fan or radio static. We have no idea why this may be true, but our recommendation is to use the fan or radio, even running water. Save the money.

As a PS, we should say that some recorders, especially the cheap digital note takers or IC recorders, have so much internal noise that you can use them without adding noise. Also, high frequency sounds tend to produce high frequency voices. Water from a small waterfall created fairy-like voices for us that were just plain irritating. Go for the lower frequencies.

Early efforts to improve the quantity and quality of EVP messages included a large range of electronic devices and novel ways of using the equipment. In the end, the only obvious improvement in EVP recording in the past few years, that we are aware of, is the introduction of IC recorders and audio editing software in computers.

One of the early attempts to improve over the microphone/recorder combination as a psi or EVP detector was the use of a diode/recorder combination, specifically a germanium diode. We believe there are two reasons for this. First, an unterminated transistor is a fine white noise generator and a transistor is a lot like three diodes. We find that the introduction of noise helps in voice formation, so using any noisy device might help. The second reason may be because of the Scole Experiments.

It is common for a new idea to work better than the usual recorders, but then to stop working better over time. This is probably due to the early enthusiasm of the experimenter. Some researchers have come to believe that improved equipment is not the way to improve reception. They believe that the best way is to improve the person doing the recording.

One of the main reasons the AA-EVP has the NewsJournal, Archive, Idea Exchange and this public website is to teach people what has been tried before so that they may learn from the past and lead us all into new directions. We recommend that you consider trying something more current, such as seeking ways to modify the sound from which the voices are formed. For instance, you might try an acoustical approach to increase the harmonics and phase variations of sound. Such an approach has been shown to be promising in the past. See http://franksumption.tripod.com/ and http://www.skyelab.co.uk/. Alternatively, try replicating an IC recorder on a test bed so that you can see why they work so well.

We do not have all of the answers, and we do not wish to discourage original research. However, we would like to see new frontiers opened, and diode experiments are low on our list of what we think might make that happen.

To erase files on the DR60, first make sure the recorder is not set to HOLD. After that, turn the rotary knob to the file you want to erase then hold down the button on the top of the recorder labeled erase. You need to hold it down until the file number flashes and the word erase is displayed, then release the erase button and press it a second time. This will erase the selected file.

You can erase all files by pressing the erase button then turning the rotary dial to the right until you see the word, "All", then press erase again.

Note, if you've placed a lock on a file you'll have to remove it first by pressing "Mode" (the word lock will flash), then pressing the rotary dial which will remove the lock.

If the problem persists you need to reset the recorder by taking out one battery, then pressing the "mode" button and "Play" wheel down while inserting the battery. This should reset the unit and get it working again.

EVPMaker was developed by Stefan Bion who is an active member of the German VTF, the German equivalent to the AA-EVP.

As with all things related to EVP, you should consider EVPMaker an experimental program. The principles active in it are quite different from what we find in a sound recorder. In the usual mode, a prerecorded sound track, usually containing "live voice" (human speech), is chopped into small pieces and the pieces are scrambled and reassembled according to a random number generator. The process is not unlike cutting a page of text from a book into small fragments, shaking them up in a container and then blindly picking pieces out one at a time to assemble a new page. We think it is in that random process that the EVP occur as the entity opportunistically selects bits of sounds to make a message. We are referring to this form of EVP as "opportunistic EVP formation."

There is precedence for psi influence over random number processes in the work of the Boundary Institute and others, so it is reasonable to think that the communicating entity can cause a similar psi influence to EVPMaker. The problem is that the process produces a steady stream of staccato sound which the operator must speak over. In the example by Margaret Downey, the EVPMaker output was amplified in the recording made of the session, and after the session was over. You can hear the relative level of the EVPMaker output "behind" her voice.

The length of each fragment is controllable by the operator and it is possible to make the segments so long that recognizable parts of the live voice can be understood. This leads to more frequent EVP, but our study has shown that this may be because it is actually leading to more false positives--ordinary sounds given meaning that they do not actually have.

As is illustrated in Margaret's example, Stefan has introduced an allophone file made from a speech synthesis tool. This file of small speech fragments is used as the input in place of a live voice recording, and consequently any words in the output must necessarily be either fortuitously or paranormally formed from the allophone. It is true that some words may occur naturally but any meaningful response to a question should be considered deliberate.

Much more is known about transform EVP using a standard recorder and background sound than is EVP formed in EVPMaker, so we recommend that a person new to EVP begins with the usual audio recorder and background sound as described in Basic Recording Techniques. Then after learning what EVP is and how it typically sounds, we encourage people to try new techniques, including EVPMaker.