TESTING A MICROPHONE WITH WINDOWS 95/98 SOUND RECORDER ====================================================================== You may wish to print this page so you can follow the instructions easier and perform the checks and tests off-line. ====================================================================== PHASE 1 (Checking which Playback/Record Volume Controls are active) 1 > Be sure your Speakers (or Headphones) and Microphone are plugged in and also that you have properly installed Windows and any needed sound card drivers/software. Be sure to re-boot after installing any drivers/software before going any further. 2 > Double click on the Speaker Icon near the right end of the Windows task bar at the bottom of your screen. This should bring up any Playback Volume Controls that are active. If you have properly installed Windows and your sound card driver/software you should see at least these three: Volume Control, Wave, and Synthesizer. IF YOU DO NOT SEE AT LEAST THE THREE MENTIONED go to Step 6 and then come back to this one. 3 > If you also see a Microphone control, and especially if you are using speakers, be sure the box for Mute IS checked for this one! Otherwise you will get feedback (loud squealing noise). IF YOU ARE USING ONLY HEADPHONES WITHOUT ANY SPEAKERS you may be able to leave the Mute box un-checked (this would allow you to hear your- self in the headphones, but I recommend Muting it anyway since it is not really required... unless, of course, you don't know when you are talking... which means you have a serious problem and may need both medical and psychological help). 4 > Be sure the box marked Mute is NOT checked for the other three controls mentioned in Step 2 above and that the Volume slider for each one is NOT turned all the way down to the bottom. I recommend starting all of them in the middle. 5 > If you are using amplified speakers, be sure they are plugged in correctly and turned on, and that their volume control is NOT turned all the way down. I recommend starting in the middle. 6 > Now click on Options in the upper left corner of the Volume Control window, and then click on Properties. This should bring up the Properties window. In it you should see your Mixer device and below that three options for Playback, Recording, and Other. Below that should also be a box with check marks next to items that are active for Playback controls. The three mentioned in Step 2 should have check marks beside them. (If they do not have check marks, click in the box at the left of the three items mentioned in Step 2 above, then click OK, click the "X" in the upper right corner to close the Volume Control window, and then go back to Step 2). 7 > Click in the circle at the left of Recording. The list of items in the box at the bottom should now have changed to show which ones are active for Recording. Be sure there is a check mark in the box next to Microphone here! 8 > Click in the circle at the left of Other. The list of items in the box at the bottom should now have changed to show which ones are active for Other. Be sure there is a check mark in the box next to Microphone here also! NOTE: If you can not switch to Other, or nothing is listed for devices, click on Recording again and then go on to Step 9 below. (the Other devices may only be needed for specific software and sound cards depending on your computer setup) 9 > Now click OK. The Properties window should go away, and any active Recording Volume Controls should now be displayed on your screen. 10 > Make sure there IS a check mark in the Select box for the Microphone, and that there are NO check marks for selecting any other controls that may be shown here! 11 > Do NOT close out this last set of controls yet! You may need to adjust the Microphone Recording Volume in Phase 2 below. ====================================================================== PHASE 2 (Making test recordings using Windows 95/98 Sound Recorder) 12 > Position your Microphone where you plan to normally use it. 13 > Click Start on the Windows task bar at the lower left hand corner of your screen. For Windows 95, move up to Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, and then click on Sound Recorder. Windows 98 users may find the Sound Recorder under Entertainment instead. If you do not see it in either, look thru the rest of your menues. If you can not find it at all, you may need to install it (ask for help on how to install Windows Sound Recorder if needed). Assuming you did find the Windows Sound Recorder and have clicked on it, you should now see the Sound Recorder window. 14 > Click on the Record button in the Sound Recorder window and start talking into the Microphone. Talk the same as you would if you were carrying on a conversation with someone else, and try using many different words to check for overloading or distortion in the recording when you play it back later. NOTE: The Windows Sound Recorder usually will only allow you to record up to 60 seconds (one minute) of sound. If you run out of time and/or wish to try another test recording see Step 18. 15 > Use your mouse to drag the Microphone Volume Control slider up or down. NOTE: Windows 95 users should see a colored level indicator bar moving up and down in the Microphone Volume window as you speak. Adjust the Microphone Volume Control slider so that the peaks in that color bar do NOT show any red at the top (red means you are overloading and distorting). Yellow is ok, and the green below that is even better. Try to stay in the yellow on peaks and avoid going into red as much as possible. Windows 98 users that do not see a color level indicator bar in the Microphone Volume window will have to adjust the Microphone Volume by trial and error until you get the best sounding recording with no distortion. Windows 98 users: If you can not get loud enough volume when recording (even with the Micropone Volume slider all the way up), click on the Advanced button at the bottom of the Microphone Volume window and put a check mark in the box for Mic Boost (20dB). If you can not turn down the volume far enough, and the recording is distorted, try un-checking the Mic Boost (20dB) box. 16 > When you are done, click on the Stop button. If you go beyond the time limit (usually 60 seconds) the Recorder should stop by itself. 17 > Click the Play button to listen to your recording. Check if it is loud enough, but yet not distorted. 18 > To try another recording, in the Sound Recorder window click on File, then New. When asked if you want to save this file, click on No, and go back to Step 14. 19 > If you are sure that the recording sounds ok, then you can close both the Sound Recorder window, and the Microphone Recording Volume window by clicking the the "X" in the upper right corner of each. The Sound Recorder will ask if you want to save this file. If you really want to save the file click Yes, otherwise click No. 20 > You should now be able to use your Microphone in most Windows 95/98 programs including Pow-Wow. [for use in Pow-Wow Voice Chat you may need to also adjust the Threshold level (which I have not covered here) and I would suggest using Lo Quality to help get thru the already overloaded inter-net. Hi Quality may sound better, but will really not work well on a crowded inter-net link. I suggest using Hi Quality only on a LAN or really high speed system, not for normal use thru the inter-net. Try both and see which works best for you. Also, some sound cards and/or slower computers will only work in half-duplex mode for Pow-Wow Voice Chat.] ====================================================================== This page was last modified on Thursday, March 18, 1999. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions send e-mail to: miltst@hotmail.com