Recording Audio Using The H1 Handy Recorder€¦ · Importing Recording Into Myriad In Your School Radio Studio Once you have finished with your recording and returned to your School

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Recording Audio Using The H1 Handy Recorder

1. Check that you have a fresh battery (and take a spare along with you just in case. The H1

uses a standard AA battery which is inserted into the compartment on the back of the unit.

The Zoom H1 Handy Recorder is a professional

portable recording device designed to record speech

and music. The H1 is very good at recording bands or

choirs but we are primarily interested in using to

record speech content, interviews and atmospheric

noise away from the studio.

The following steps show you how to setup and use an

H1 to record a short interview, for example talking to

the curator of a museum while on a field trip.


2. While you are looking at the back of the unit, make sure the ‘Auto Level’ switch is in the ‘On’

position. This will amplify quiet sound when recording. The ‘Low Cut’ switch should be set to

‘Off’ for speech (on for music) and the ‘Rec Format’ should be set to ‘WAV’ for highest

possible quality.

3. Turn the H1 onto its side and locate the Power switch. To turn it on, slide the Power switch

to the left and hold it in that position for a couple of seconds. When you release it, it will

return to the right hand position.


N.B. To turn it off, repeat the above step.

4. The H1 will now run through a couple of start-up tests but oonce it has finished starting up,

you should see a screen like the one to the right.

This means it is ready to start recording.


5. Important: Next ten the H1 onto its other side and plug a standard pair of headphones into

the ‘Headphone’ socket (marked with a picture of some headphones).

You can use the standard headphones from your School Radio Studio or any pair of headphones

with a small jack socket. It is important to wear headphones when using the H1 so that you can

be sure the recording will include everything you need.


6. Have a little practice! Stand facing the person you are interviewing with the Zoom H1

positioned between you both such that the one of the metal microphones is facing you and

the other is facing the person you are interviewing.


Ask them to speak normally and run through your pre-prepared questions and answers. You

should be able to clearly hear both your voice and your guests though the headphones.

Remember that what you hear is what you will record so take make sure there is not too

much wind or background noise. If necessary consider moving to a different location.

If the voices sound too quiet, the first thing to do is check the recording level meter on the

H1 screen

If this level is too quiet or too loud then you could either move the microphone closer to or

further away from the audio sources. Alternatively you can use the Input Level buttons on

the side of the H1 to adjust the input level (this should not be needed if the Auto Level

function is switched on).

7. If you are happy, press the Record button on the H1 to begin recording.


You can now record as long as you need (SD card space and battery allowing). The duration

of the recording is shown on the screen.

8. When you want to finish recording, just press the Record button again.

Listening To A Recording Once you have recorded an audio file, it is a good idea to listen to it (or at least part of it) to check it

is ok. This is especially important if you are interviewing someone you cannot easily return to later.

To review a recording, follow these steps.

1. Turn the H1 onto its side and locate the ‘Play / Pause’ button (it is roughly in the middle).

Pressing the button will immediately play the most recent recording (handy for reviewing

what you have just done!). If you have headphones plugged in then you will hear the audio

through the headphones (recommended). If you don’t have headphones plugged in then it

will play through a small speaker on the H1. This is ok for checking your recorded something

but is no good for checking quality or levels.


2. To listen to other recordings, use the << and >> buttons to cycle through all the recorded

audio files in numeric audio.

Deleting A Recording Caution: Deleting audio directly on the H1 is permanent and cannot be undone. Unless you are short

on recording space, we would recommend leaving all recordings on the H1 until you plug it into a

computer as it is easier to manage your recordings using a PC or MAC.

But if you want to delete a file then follow these steps:

1. Make sure the audio you want to delete is playing, then press the Delete button located on

the side of the H1.

2. The screen will show you the file name of the audio being deleted (it is just the recording

number). If you are sure you want to delete the file then press the Record button.


Importing Recording Into Myriad In Your School Radio Studio Once you have finished with your recording and returned to your School Radio studio, it is time to

import them into your Myriad system so that they can be edited and incorporated into your

programmes.

N.B. You will need a USB cable to do this. The Zoom H1 does not include a USB cable in the box

(unless you have the optional accessories pack) but any mini USB cable will work.

1. Make sure your H1 is switched off (if it is one, slide and hold the power switch to the left for

two seconds until the unit switches off).

2. Plug a mini-USB cable into the USB socket on the side of the H1.

3. Plug the other end into a standard USB socket on your PC.


4. After a few seconds the H1 will display ‘USB’ on the screen. This can take anywhere up to 30

seconds depending on the speed of your PC.

5. Make sure Myriad is running and you are logged in. If not then start the Myriad Software

and login.

6. Next you need to run Windows File Explorer. Depending on your operating system this might

be described as ‘My Computer’ but it is the window that allows you to few the folder, files

and drives on your PC.

7. The H1 will appear in the list of available drives as a ‘Removable Drive’ just like when you

plug any other USB memory stick in.

The drive letter will vary depending on what over drives or devices you have plugged in.

8. Double click on the drive to open it. By default you will see a <STEREO> folder. Double click

on this and your will see a folder called <FOLDER01>. This is the folder that will have your

recording in.


Please note that these settings are based on the default H1 setup. It is possible to customise

these folder names so you may have to explore the folders to find your recordings.

9. To import an audio file from the Windows Explorer window into the Myriad AudioWall,

simply click and hold on the audio file (using the left mouse button) and drag the file onto an

empty Cart on the Myriad Audio Wall.

10. Myriad will then import the audio from the Zoom H1 to the Myriad AudioWall. Once the

import is complete (there will be progress bars showing you the import process), the Cart

can be played or edited in the normal way.


11. If you have multiple files that need importing then you can use the Import Wizard in Myriad

to import a selection of files all at once.

12. Once you have what you need in Myriad, you can delete the files from the H1 by highlighting

them in the Windows Explorer window and pressing the <Delete> key on your keyboard.

Take care to only delete files you either don’t need or that have already been imported (and

checked) in Myriad.

13. Once you are happy, you can locate the ‘Eject USB Device’ icon the bottom right hand

corning of the Windows Start Bar

Click on it and select ‘Eject H1’ from the popup menu.

You can now unplug your H1 from your computer and pack it away for next time.

For more information and documentation visit:

www.schoolradio.com

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Recording Audio Using The H1 Handy Recorder€¦ · Importing Recording Into Myriad In Your School Radio Studio Once you have finished with your recording and returned to your School