If you still have cassette tapes of your own children's voice, don't let them disappear. Transfer them to a computer, and you will save these sounds forever, not only for yourself, but also for posterity.
Instructions
Step 1
Get any cassette recorder. In some electronics stores, radio tape recorders are still sold today, allowing you to play audio cassettes. If you cannot find such a device on sale, refer to online auctions. When purchasing a radio or tape recorder there, make sure that the device is in good working order. A cassette player will do as well.
Step 2
Please note that most sound cards are equipped with only mono microphone inputs, so a stereo tape recorder will not give you any additional gain. To connect to a sound card, use a monaural 3.5 mm plug or a stereo one, in which the right channel contact is connected to the common one. This plug should never be plugged into any other jacks on the sound card. To connect to a tape recorder, depending on its design, use either a stereo 3.5 mm plug, in which the contacts of the left and right channels are connected, or a DIN-type plug, in which the middle contact is used as a common contact, and for removal signal - either both right or both left pins (depending on the year of manufacture of the tape recorder) connected together. Connect the common wires of the computer and the tape recorder directly, and apply the signal itself through a non-polar capacitor of 0.2 μF. The output of the tape recorder may need to be bridged to avoid distortion with a 1 kΩ resistor. Connect with de-energized equipment.
Step 3
Start a mixing program on your computer (its name depends on the OS). Turn on the microphone input and adjust its sensitivity. Please note that if the tape recorder is equipped not with a DIN-type connector, but with a modern 3.5 mm connector, the loudspeaker will be disabled when the plug is connected, and the volume control of the tape recorder itself will additionally affect the signal level. If the recorder has a DIN connector, the speaker is not muted and the output level is constant.
Step 4
If you don't have Audacity on your computer, download and install it. Start playback on the tape recorder, and start recording on the computer. When the dubbing is complete, export the result to your familiar MP3 format.
