What Is Dictation Equipment?
Dictation equipment is composed of four components: the recorder, the transcriber, headphone and the foot pedal. Before the personal computer came along, dictation equipment was an essential part of office machinery. Today, dictating equipment is used largely by doctors, attorneys, public transportation accident investigators, journalists, interviewers and other professions that need a recorded speech record.
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History
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In the 1880s when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, his intent was to provide a device to record and play back the human voice for use in businesses as a dictation machine. Edison's Dictaphone was perfected and used until the 1950s. Other recording equipment utilizing new technology became available during the '60s and '70s. The '80s saw most office workers using personal computers to generate office letters and other documents.
Dictation Recorders
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Digital recorders are the latest in dictation equipment. Some hold up to 65 hours on secure digital (SD) cards; have four different position slide switches for single-hand recording, insert, overwrite and delete capabilities. Many have voice-activated recording, email functions, files, job numbering and length of recoding displays, along with voice recognition software.
Cassette dictation is recorded on mini or standard cassettes that fit into the recorder. Cassettes require careful handling otherwise the tape can jam and unravel causing loss of recorded information.
Phone dictation recording equipment is used largely by doctors and hospitals. Doctors call a number to access the dictation equipment then dictate notes, patient information, prescriptions, which is later accessed by a typist and typed into a computer.
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Transcription Machines
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The transcriber is a separate piece of equipment that accepts the recorded media. If the dictation machine records voice on a mini or standard cassette, the transcriber must be able to accept either mini or standard cassettes. On digital recorders that record to an SD card or other removable media, the dictation can be downloaded directly to a computer through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable.
Headphones
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The transcriptionist uses headphones to hear the recording and type it into words. The use of headphones eliminates disrupting others and ensures privacy of the recorded information. The headphones plug into the transcribing machine or into the computer.
Transcription Machine Foot Pedal
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The foot pedal is normally a three-function device for stopping, starting and playing back the recording. Many of the latest foot pedals plug directly into the computer via a USB port.
Foot pedals are available for use with cassette transcription machines, computers and digital stations. A computer software upgrade may be necessary as some Windows 95 and NT operating systems may not have the power capability to accept the transcription software required to operate a foot pedal through the computer.
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References
- Photo Credit earphones image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
