Using the Olympus Voice Recorder and Gear Player Tools

Recording and Transcribing Instructions

STEP 1 - Use the Voice Recorder to Record your Interview

Operation Instructions
olympus ws100 olympus-ws110
Olympus WS-100
 Olympus WS-110

 

STEP 2 - Download the interview file from the Voice Recorder

  1. Turn the Voice Recorder on. Plug it into a USB port at the front of the PC. To plug it in, you will need to separate the recorder into 2 parts. Pull the top right hand corner of the recorder away from the battery pack part of the recorder.
  2. To see the contents of your recorder, you will need to “open” it. It will appear as “Removable Disk (E:)” in My Computer. (Start>My Computer>Removable Disk (E:)). Double-click on it to open it.
  3. When you open it, you will see 5 folders that start w/”DSS”. Your file is probably in the folder titled “DSS_FLDA”. When you open it, you should see a bunch of files. Your recorded files have the “.wma” extension.
  4. Drag-and-drop these .wma files to the desktop of your computer. You can now re-name them as you would any other file. Make sure to keep the .wma file extension.

STEP 3 - Disconnect the Voice Recorder

  1. In the task bar at the bottom of the screen, you will see a "remove hardware" icon. Right-click on it.
  2. Select "Safely remove USB Mass Storage Device-Drive(E:)"
  3. When you see the message that it's safe to remove the hardware, you can disconnect the voice recorder from the pc.

remove hw picture

STEP 4 - Transcribe your audio file

Method 1: Use ExpressScribe to transcribe.
ExpressScribe can be downloaded to your own computer and does not require the foot pedal.

Method 2: Use GearPlayer and footpedals to transcribe.
To transcribe with GearPlayer, you will need to borrow a "transcribing kit" from IT Loaner.

In order to work with your audio file in GearPlayer, you will need to convert it to a wav file.


  1. Open the “Smart Audio Converter” (Start>All Programs>SmartAudioConverter>SmartAudioConverter)
  2. Drag-and-drop your .wma files from the desktop to the SmartAudioConverter window
  3. You must select a destination for your converted files before you convert them. At the bottom of the window, at the end of the “Output Folder” field, click the “Browse” button. At the window that appears, select “Desktop” at the top of the list. Click on “OK”
  4. Click the “Select Output Format” pull down menu and select “WAV (PCM)”
  5. Click “Convert” at the top of the window. You will see a window notifying you that your converted files are in “the output folder” (the desktop).
  6. Close the “Smart Audio Converter.” At this time, you may delete your old .wma files from the desktop if you would like. Be careful not to confuse these files with the new .wav files you just created.
  7. Copy your converted (.wav) file(s) to your network drive NOTE: Files are automatically cleaned off each lab pc’s desktop every night so you must save a copy of your .wav files to your personal network drive on the microwave for later use. 
    1. Open your personal network drive: Start>My Computer>username on ‘Bowdoincollege.edu’.
    2. Create a new folder in your personal drive, open it and drag and drop your .wav file(s) to the new folder.

Use GearPlayer

The "Transcribing Kit" from IT includes a black HASP (usb key) and a foot pedal.

Plug in the black HASP key into a USB port on the computer

  1. Plug in the foot pedal to the other USB port on the computer
  2. Plug in the headphones to the headphone jack on the computer
  3. If you don’t have sound, go to Start>Control Panel>Sounds and Audio Devices. Next to “Volume”, uncheck mute
  4. Open “Gear Player” (Start>All Programs>Gear Player>Gear Player)
  5. Drag an interview (.wav) file from your personal network drive into the gray rectangular area above the control buttons in the Gear Player interface. All the information about the file will appear in the window.
  7. You may now play back your audio files using the Gear Player interface and/or the footpedal.
  8. Create a new Word Document to start transcribing your interview.

    Using the Foot Pedal:

    To adjust the Play Back Rate, click on the "Speed" button and drag the slider left and right to play back your audio slower or faster.

    Options (click on the "Options" button):

    • Right button = rewind
    • Middle button = PLAY
    • Left button = forward
    • General Options
    • Stay in Foreground: keeps the GearPlayer window on top of all open windows. This is especially useful when you are typing in Word.
    • Player Control Options
    • Continuous Rewind/FF: Each press of the foot pedal will rewind the number of seconds defined in the rewind increment slider as long as the foot pedal is depressed.
    • Make the Rewind/FF Increment 1 second
    • Make the Auto BackSpace Increment 1 second.

    STEP 5 - Return your "transcribing kit"

    • Remove black USB Hasp.
    • Remove headphones
    • Remove pedal
    • RETURN all to the bag. Return the bag to IT Loaner!