Podcasters require electronic equipment to get started in the podcasting business. Sure, they need some great ideas and a clear-sounding narrator, too, but the equipment is what captures them. I wanted to upgrade mine slightly but accidentally jumped across a vast chasm when I did it.
I didn’t plan on making such a leap. My tiny ZOOM H1n was doing just fine as a podcast recorder, but its battery life fell short of my expectations (there were other issues, too). It was dead flat each time I used it. That’s when I went online searching for my next digital recorder.
The Zoom H6 I found on eBay (used but ‘as new’) wasn’t my first choice of digital recorder because it was overkill, but it was so darn cheap. I couldn’t ignore popping a low bid on it and seeing what happened. If I were the successful bidder, the H6 would be mine for barely a few dollars more than the cost of a brand-new Zoom H1. The bid amount didn’t change all week. When it finally moved, it was still reasonably priced. (A H3 couldn’t be purchased for that price!)
Online auctions become active in the last few minutes. I watched the changes, keyed in an increased bid and then waited for the final five seconds to submit it. That last part of an eBay auction is a mystery. A hundred people could be waiting to send off their bid, or no one at all. EBay takes a few seconds to resolve the outcome. The bid numbers are crunched and then everyone in the running finds out who got it. I got it. It was me. This time, I won the bargain! (And it only moved two dollars! Bazinga!)
A knowledgeable reader of ZOOM equipment would suggest I needed more audio channels in my device because a Zoom H1n only has one.
No. That wasn’t my reason.
My podcast contains just one person: me. An in-built microphone is all I require. The real reason I let go of my Zoom H1n is its many glitches. A batch of H1n’s suffered from noise and battery consumption issues. Mine had both problems, and it took me a while to figure out that I wasn’t doing anything wrong with the recorder. When I got going with my podcast (and became familiar with the recording process), the product’s warranty was long over. I did some online research and discovered that ZOOM recalled some models soon after they knew about its problems, but I missed the boat and got stuck with a lemon. I needed a new H1n, switch to a different brand (in protest), or an upgrade to fix my problem. That’s why I went eBay window shopping and ended up with an H6.
Entry-level products tend to draw the most attention. A manufacturer builds a product down to a price to get buyers in the door. The idea is for salespeople to upsell customers into a better-designed product, making the first product look superfluous. In a sense, an affordable model sells mid-range and upper-range units.
ZOOM boasted ten recording hours. My Zoom H1n was fine for long recording sessions, but it wouldn’t stay charged when stored (ZOOM specified the model’s recording time but never how long it’d last when it was passive, sitting in a drawer). I’d insert two fresh alkalines into it in one day, and they’d be flat (whether I used the H1 to record audio or not) within a week. I’d have to reprogram the recorder’s date every week. That really pissed me off. With the new H6, its batteries last and last. I’ve never had to reprogram the recorder’s time since I activated it.
And then there’s that periodic hum I haven’t yet mentioned. Initially, I put it down to the solar array on my roof, which caused it. I tolerated it but never liked it. I recently found out Zoom admitted to a manufacturing fault in the H1n, which means my solar panels had nothing to do with the strange hum. My new H6 doesn’t do this, not at all, at any time.
What About The Podcast?
It sits in a niche area of interest. Adult content. Sexless couples (married mostly) who have lost their intimacy. I talk about sex, loneliness, affairs, porn addiction, forced celibacy, taking each other for granted, therapy, health issues and much more.
Wish me luck recording the next round of content with my latest Zoom toy!
Discover more from Michael Forman – Author of Dark Fiction & Drama
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