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Whether you’re on a walk-through making your punch list or in your office constructing a letter, dictation machines have made your pencil and pen obsolete. This office machine saves time – studies have found it four to seven times faster than longhand – and money. The cost of producing a business letter, for instance, via dictation and transcription at about $4.50, compared to $6 with stenography, according to Office Administration and Automation magazine.
Easy to use and difficult to misuse might be the most important factor of any kind of dictation machine. Manufacturers have concentrated on ease of use so that you can concentrate on your dictation without worrying about the recording media itself. There are four basic categories to choose from: hand-held, desktop, small work group systems and central dictation systems. Each of these have changed with the times.
Portable recorders, among the most popular kind of dictation machines, have become more “user-friendly” than ever. These battery-powered gems can now be slipped easily into a pocket and used with just one hand. The dimensions are usually about 5 inches high, 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide and 1-inch deep. The weight is all of 8 to 9 ounces, depending on the workload and features needed. They use standard-sized cassettes, mini-cassettes and micro-cassette tapes. Micro-cassettes offer all the advantages of the standard cassette, including 60-minute duration time, but in a smaller package.
These mini dimensions are definitely not reflectant of the capabilities. The built-in microphone, with high sensitivity, can be set to high or low for highlighting voices while reducing background noise if necessary. And the features are practically endless. Consider this: You hold the recorder in one hand and operate it with a single finger by sliding the one-button control up or down to play, record, stop, rewind or stand by. Then, while, you’re dictating, you want to give some special instructions to your secretary so you hit a button that cues the tape. When you playback, the machine will automatically advance directly to these instructions for quick review. You can erase quickly and be alerted to how much tape is left. If you’d rather, you can have a microphone outlet that allows a telephone adapter to plug in or any compatible external mike. Speaking of the phone, if you need to record a telephone conversation?EUR??,,????'??+both sides ?EUR??,,????'??+ it’s possible. This “wonder machine” can be purchased for under $100 or over $200, price depending on your needs.
Where portable hand-held dictating machines are best for recording light-to-moderate dictation, desktops can handle moderate-to-heavy workloads. Working as a team, they provide numerous options.
Most portables and desktops are compatible in the kind of “media” they use meaning the size of the cassettes. It’s very important that they match for obvious reasons, although some units have adaptors enabling them to play back tapes recorded on other medium.
Utilizing the one-on-one relationship between the traditional manager-secretary relationship, desktop equipment includes dictation units, transcribers and combination machines. The dictation unit is usually around 8 to 9 inches wide and the same in height. It comes with a lightweight, hand-held microphone, often with control buttons on it, as well as all the usual recording control buttons, tone control and an erasing system on the body itself.
Some dictation machines allow you to integrate telephone answering functions. It’s usually an optional module that records information coming in by phone. When you’re not there, the system would give messages to callers and also take their messages. Later, if you’re still not there, you can telephone the system and have it play back any messages as well as change the outgoing message. Dictaphone’s “DCX 111” – which definitely looks like the machine of the future – has this feature.
Again, prices do vary for these machines depending on the sophistication. In general, an average price range would be about $80 and up.
Your secretary’s desktop transcribing machine would be about the same size as the dictating machine with the same functions (without the mike) including a foot switch and headset provided as standard accessories. Additional features might include an automatic search for dictation and an adjustable playback speed for easier transcription?EUR??,,????'??+all for approximately $200.
Research has shown that secretaries who are adept at shorthand often view dictation systems as a menial, low-status chore. However, training is often offered by such major rnanufacturers as Dictaphone, Sony and 5anyo which, when combined with financial rewards for efficient transcription, could help counteract these negative feelings.
Next month stay tuned for an in-depth look at central dictation systems. Few office systems today are as intriguing in terms of their potential boost to productivity ?EUR??,,????'??+regardless of a firm’s size.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
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