Using the Sanyo Digi-Recorder
Model: Sanyo ICR-A190M (Silver)
Ralph Cullimore, e-Learning Co-ordinator
Devon ACL
May 2007
Introduction
The Sanyo ICR-A190M is a digital voice recorder that can be used to record speech and
then play it back again. The speech is recorded ‘digitally’ to the built-in electronic memory
in the form of ‘MP3’ files. A large number of MP3 files can be stored on the recorder and
then found again easily for playback. The ICR-A190M has 4 ‘folders’ within its memory,
labelled A, B, C and D to allow recorded files to be grouped together to make finding them a
little easier. Files can be readily transferred from the recorder to a computer from where
they can be burned onto a CD, emailed to someone or simply kept for future reference. As
well as A, B, C and D, there is also a fifth folder reserved just for ‘music’ files copied across
from a computer for playback via the ICR-A190M.
The recorder itself is small– about 11cm x 3cm x 2cm – and powered by two AAA batteries.
It has 128 MB of memory and each of the 5 folders can hold up to 99 separate recording
files. The maximum total length of the recordings on the recorder is around 4¼ hours at
‘High Quality’ or around 7 hours at ‘Standard’ recording quality. There is a small built-in
speaker which is useful for giving immediate reassurance that the recording was successful.
There is also an ‘earphone’ socket which can be used for individual listening or used to
connect the device to larger, powered, speakers for playback to a group.
Part A - Setting it Up
A1. Inserting the Batteries
Turn the recorder over and slide the battery cover off in the direction shown under the word
‘OPEN’. Insert two AAA alkaline batteries as indicated by the markings in the battery
compartment (ie flat ends of batteries against springs) then slide the battery cover back on.
A2. Turning On and Off
There is via a slider switch on the back of the recorder labelled POWER/HOLD.
Sliding this switch one way turns the unit ON.
What happens when you slide the switch the other way depends on what you are doing at
the time. If the recorder is doing nothing, then sliding the switch simply turns it OFF.
However, if you are recording something, or playing something back, the switch puts the
recorder into ‘Hold’ mode – see next section. To get out of Hold mode, slide the switch
back again.
Auto-off. If you leave the recorder on but don’t do anything for around 15 minutes it will
automatically turn itself off, although the slider switch remains in the same position. Slide
the switch back then forwards and the unit should return to normal.
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A3. HOLD mode
Sliding the POWER/HOLD switch whilst recording, or playing back, puts the recorder into
‘Hold’ mode which disables all buttons (so you can handle the recorder without accidentally
stopping the recording/playback). To get back to normal, slide the POWER/ HOLD switch
back again.
A4. Setting the time & date:
The recorder puts a very useful ‘time-date stamp’ on all recordings so it is important to have
the time & date set correctly. If you have just received the recorder then you need to work
through the following procedure to check that the time and date are correct – or change
them if not. Once set up, the time & date should remain correct from then on (unless you
leave the batteries out for a long period).
1. Switch on, if you haven’t already
2. Press the STOP/MENU button for 3-4 seconds until the display changes
(it will probably come up with the word ‘VOICE’, and will be back-lit for a short while)
3. Press the SKIP/SEARCH button once or twice at one end until the word ‘COMMON’
appears in the display
4. Press PLAY (to see options that are common to both ‘voice’ and ‘music’ functions)
5. Press the SKIP/SEARCH button at one end until the words ‘DATE & TIME’ appear
6. Press PLAY to move into the year and use the SKIP/SEARCH button to change this
7. Press PLAY to move into the month and use the SKIP/SEARCH button if necessary
8. Press PLAY to move into the day-of-month and use SKIP/SEARCH if necessary
9. Press PLAY to move into the 24hr-12hr option
10. Use the SKIP/SEARCH button to change from 24hr to 12hr if required
11. Press PLAY to move into the hour and use SKIP/SEARCH if necessary
12. Press PLAY to move into the minutes and use SKIP/SEARCH if necessary
13. Press PLAY to finish, then press STOP twice to get out altogether
A5. Setting the Recording Mode
The ICR-A190M has 4 recording modes (see table below) of which HQ or SP are the most
useful for ordinary speech. For normal use, HQ is recommended but if you need smaller file
sizes (eg to send by email) then SP is more appropriate.
To see what the Mode is currently set to, look on the main display when the recorder is on
but not doing anything. It should show SP, HQ, XHQ or LP in small letters. To change:
1. Press the STOP/MENU button for 3-4 seconds until the display changes
2. If necessary, press the SKIP/SEARCH button at one end until ‘VOICE’ appears
3. Press PLAY (this gives you access to the ‘voice’ options)
4. Press SKIP/SEARCH at one end until the words ‘REC MODE’ appear
5. Press PLAY – the current mode should be shown at the end of the display
6. Press SKIP/SEARCH to change between modes – select the one you want
7. Press PLAY to finish, then press STOP twice to get out altogether
What the modes mean:
Mode Meaining Max recording hours Comments
XHQ Extra High Quality 2.1 V large files but excellent sound
HQ High Quality 4.25 Large files, good sound
SP Standard 6.8 Medium files, OK sound
LP Long play 17.1 Small files but very poor sound
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A6. Setting the Microphone Sensitivity
The built-in microphone has 3 sensitivity levels. Which you use will depend on where you
are using the recorder.
• In particularly noisy places use ‘Low’ or ‘Middle’ sensitivity, with the recorder very
close to the speaker.
• In normal situations use ‘High’ sensitivity and hold the recorder not quite so close.
You can change the sensitivity at any time:
1. Press the STOP/MENU button for 3-4 seconds until the display changes
2. If necessary, press the SKIP/SEARCH button at one end until ‘VOICE’ appears
3. Press PLAY (this gives you access to the ‘voice’ options)
4. Press SKIP/SEARCH at one end until the words ‘MIC SENSE’ appear
5. Press PLAY – the current sensitivity should be shown at the end of the display
6. Press SKIP/SEARCH to change as required
7. Press PLAY to finish, then press STOP twice to get out altogether
Note that recorder has three microphones – Left, Right and Centre. The Centre mic can be
turned On or Off by repeating the steps above but selecting CENTER MIC at step 4.
However it makes almost no difference to sound quality so can be safely ignored.
Part B – Recording & Playback
This section assumes that you are a tutor making recordings of learners in one way or
another. Most of the information applies to other situations as well.
B1. Recording
1. Select the folder you want to use by pressing the FOLDER/REPEAT button until
the letter for that folder is shown at the top of the display (with a square round it)
The ICR-A190M has 4 folders labelled A-D for recording. You might choose each
folder for a different purpose (eg all initial assessments go into folder A, all oncourse reflections into folder B). Or if you have more than one group of learners you
might want to use each folder for a different group (eg Tuesday’s class in A,
Wednesday’s in B). There is also a fifth folder labelled with a ‘musical notes’ sign.
This is not available for recording purposes – see B2 and C4 below
2. Check that the recorder is in HQ or SP mode (shown in the display) – see A5 above
3. Press REC/PAUSE (the red light should go on) – you are now recording
4. Press STOP when finished
5. You may then want to press PLAY to check that what you just recorded sounds OK
If it is too quiet or muffled you may need to change the sensitivity – see A6 above
Notes
The recording is automatically given the next available ‘track’ number in that folder. So if
you already have 16 recordings in the folder then the new recording becomes track 17.
If you want to pause whilst making a recording, press the REC/PAUSE button. Then press
it again when ready to resume.
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