Voice recording (or creating notes) while driving

Software
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Hello Brains Trusts

I am in the car a bit and would like to capture notes while driving. It may be a lot of random thoughts at different times. I can’t use my phone physically while driving and recording notes via Siri seems to be limited. Does anyone have an effective way of recording notes while hands free (driving, washing dishes, welding etc)? (if there is a thread for this please advise, and I will delete this)

I thought about picking up one of these. My Dad gave me his years ago but, “not needing it”, I think I threw it out! :flushed:

Thank you all

BJW

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I believe @MacSparky mentioned that he uses Whisper Memos on Apple Watch. Would that work for you?
Also for physical recorders, I believe Zoom leads this space.

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I used to use the Drafts app for Apple Watch for this. It’s not ideal, but it worked when I was driving. I could at least get the basics down.

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Yeah, I don’t have an Apple Watch. I did think of that. I’m not opposed to it.

I’ll have to look into the Zoom thing. I wasn’t aware of that. Thank you!

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Many years ago I used a voice activated tape recorder to capture thoughts when in the car. A digital recorder like that Sony should work well for you.

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This is the obvious solution if you don’t mind spending $1500 US on a digital recorder. I love Teenage Engineering’s stuff, but I could never pay those prices.

https://teenage.engineering/store/tp-7/

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:grinning: My budget might have something to say about that. Looks like great tech though.

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I second Zoom devices. There are many models to choose from and for your case a low end one should do. There is still a button to push, so the trick would be how/where to mount it in your vehicle.

I bought an H1n a few years ago to record conversations with my Mum about her past. I have since used it to record nature sounds and as a microphone on my DSLR. In the original use case, I ended up getting MacWhisper to transcribe, which has had great results.

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I do this all the time using Siri, you just have to make sure you start with, “Hey Siri, make a note of”, then continue speaking whatever you want in your note.

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This is also how I handle this.

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+1 for MacWhisper, I have had a lot of success with it?

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I tried that, hence this post, as Siri stopped recording while I paused … is there a way around that?

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I have Just Press Record, so was going to use that but I’ll check out MacWhisper too. Thanks.

The Zoom H1n is surprisingly cheap at around AUD 100 :+1:

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I see, maybe you can try Voice Memo instead? Hey siri, record voice memo. I believe that will keep on recording through pauses.

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…until you end up swearing.

I can’t even get Siri to pay attention through a single short reminder sometimes. The thought of having to keep my thought flowing enough for Siri not to lose interest makes it not something I would try while driving!

I once tried sending my wife a message while I was driving. It ended up with Siri responding with something along the lines of “That’s not very nice I’m doing the best I can.” Yes, Siri, and your best is the worst.

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+1

I don’t ask much of Siri anymore. Most days just “Volume” (up/down), “Pause”, “Play”, and “Lights” (on/off). That’s all.

And it cannot even do that reliably. :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

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My experience is that the background noise in the car always causes trouble. I got the best results with a headset (the ones that stick the mic in front of your mouth, not sure how to say that properly in english :smiley:).

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Here is my approach:

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For bonus points you can use something like Keyboard Maestro to surface that note back at your Mac when the contents change.

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