How do I record a phone call, on landline?

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homeliving
homeliving Posts: 32 Forumite
edited 6 June 2011 at 10:34AM in Techie Stuff
.................................
“Your basic extended family today includes your ex-husband or -wife, your ex's new mate, your new mate, possibly your new mate's ex and any new mate that your new mate's ex has acquired.”
~just about sums it up~
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  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
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    You could do it using software on your PC, so long as you have a modem to plug a phone line into... or by introducing a cassette between your phone and the phone socket.

    A search engine should give you some ideas: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=record+phone+call+OR+conversation
  • Reggie_Rebel
    Reggie_Rebel Posts: 5,036 Forumite
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    I would check the rules and regs on this, you may have to advise the other person that you are recording the call, depending on it's nature
    It's taken me years of experience to get this cynical
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
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    Actually, if you have a recording device with an input (e.g. cassette deck, mp3 player, etc.) the cheapest way would probably be to build your own simple "bug":

    http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/70
  • superscaper
    superscaper Posts: 13,369 Forumite
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    Reggie_Rebel wrote: »
    I would check the rules and regs on this, you may have to advise the other person that you are recording the call, depending on it's nature

    So long as it's for personal use and you are one of the participants of the conversation then you are perfectly free to record it with or without the others' knowledge.
    "She is quite the oddball. Did you notice how she didn't even get excited when she saw this original ZX-81?"
    Moss
  • ajaxgeezer
    ajaxgeezer Posts: 2,476 Forumite
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    Maplins sell a device for about a tenner or so if you dont want to build one yourself. You plug it into the phone socket and there is a cable which goes into a recording device such as a tape recorder (or in my case, the PC).
  • Fran
    Fran Posts: 11,281 Forumite
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    superscaper wrote: »
    So long as it's for personal use and you are one of the participants of the conversation then you are perfectly free to record it with or without the others' knowledge.
    Some more information is on the Ofcom website

    "Can I record telephone conversations on my home phone?

    Yes. The relevant law, RIPA, does not prohibit individuals from recording their own communications provided that the recording is for their own use. Recording or monitoring are only prohibited where some of the contents of the communication - which can be a phone conversation or an e-mail - are made available to a third party, ie someone who was neither the caller or sender nor the intended recipient of the original communication."
    Torgwen.......... :) ...........
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
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    homeliving wrote: »
    "so long as you have a modem to plug a phone line into"

    You know how you can pick up a phone on an extension and listen in to someone's conversation? Well, this is the same, except for the fact that your PC "listens in" and records the conversation for you.

    So... you'll need to have a modem to plug a phone line into (i.e. not a broadband "modem", which isn't really a modem anyway). You may well have one built into your motherboard, in which case you just need to plug a phone line in the back.

    You then need some software to make the recording. I'm not quite sure whether your sound card will monitor the phone line, but if it does you can use a free program called Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/), otherwise you may need proprietary software.
  • bluepeanut
    bluepeanut Posts: 2 Newbie
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    I found this website very useful, pay as you go and no need for any hardware.

    http://www.complaintcopy.com
  • Stephen_Leak
    Stephen_Leak Posts: 8,762 Forumite
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    Reggie_Rebel wrote: »
    I would check the rules and regs on this, you may have to advise the other person that you are recording the call, depending on it's nature

    I worked for PO Telephones/BT for 28 years. As long as one party to the call is aware that the call is being recorded, there is no legal obligation to advise the other party. Legally, it is no different to taking verbatim shorthand notes of the conversation.

    I use an adaptor I got from Maplin and an Olympus digital voice recorder. You just plug the lead from the adaptor into the microphone socket. My DVR also has a USB socket, so I can then transfer the recording (a .wav file) onto my PC for archiving, e-mailing, etc.
    The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in my life. :)
  • hollydays
    hollydays Posts: 19,812 Forumite
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    But if you wanted to use the recording in court,i think you would need their permission.
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