Frequently Asked Questions
(Thanks to Norcom-Electronics, Inc. - manufacturer
of the Norcom Model 2500 and SRC-1 for providing these FAQs and answers.)
What kind of accuracy can I expect when I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking
with the NORCOM 2500 Recorder instead of the microphone?
Dragon Systems tested the NORCOM 2500 in their own, in-house
laboratory and found that accuracy for transcribing speech recorded on the
2500 was equivalent to the accuracy one gets by speaking ‘live’
directly into the computer. This has been our experience, as well. Some
people get the same accuracy, some a percentage point or two higher and
some a percentage point or two lower.
Do you have to speak slowly when you dictate into the NORCOM 2500?
Dictation into the NORCOM 2500 should be at the same speed
as when you dictate directly into the software with the headset microphone.
Users commonly dictate at well over 100 words per minute with excellent
accuracy.
Do I need to create a separate "user" file for myself when I'm using this
recorder with Dragon NaturallySpeaking?
For optimal recognition
accuracy, the user should create a separate "user" for themselves
with the recorder. (i.e.., They will have two users: "John Doe using
standard mic" and "John Doe using Norcom recorder".) Commands/words
can be exported from one vocabulary and shared with the other user's vocabulary.
What do you do if you have many memos/letters on the same tape
Neither the software nor the NORCOM 2500 will know when
one letter or memo ends and the next one begins. You can insert into your
dictation a verbal indication of this such as ‘End of Memo’
or ‘Begin New Letter’. These words or phrases will appear
on the screen, in the text, and can be used as a visual guide for cutting
and pasting the text into individual documents.
You can also create a ‘Voice Command’ (equivalent
to a keyboard macro) so that when you say ‘End of Memo’,
for example, a string of asterisks or dashes appear on the screen, on a
line by itself. This can serve as a handy, visual ‘delimiter’
to separate documents. For instructions on this consult the NaturallySpeaking
documentation.
How easy is it to "download" the tape? (How you get the
dictation into the computer?)
Playing back recorded speech for computer transcription
is simple and easy. You connect the NORCOM 2500 to the SRC-1 Speech
Recognition Coupler and the SRC-1 in turn is connected to the computer’s
sound card. The instructions for these connections are included with the
SRC-1. Following these instructions is easier than connecting a telephone
answering machine in your home or installing a new printer on your computer.
The connections having been made, you simply launch the NaturallySpeaking
program on your PC, rewind the tape and play it back. It’s really no
more complicated than that.
Does the SRC-1 Coupler work with any other recorders?
The NORCOM SRC-1 Speech Recognition Coupler was designed
to work with the NORCOM 2500 recorder and the Dragon Systems NaturallySpeaking
software. It has not been tested for any other uses and is not warranted
for use with any other hardware or software combinations.
Does NaturallySpeaking work with any other tape recorders?
Dragon Systems, in their own laboratories, has tested and
certified the excellent performance of the NORCOM 2500 recorder. We
know of no other tape recorders to receive this certification.
Can I use the NORCOM 2500 to do my dictation in a car (boat, train,
airplane, moped, skateboard)?
Wherever you can safely dictate in a relatively
quiet environment (don’t take your eyes off the road!), you can use
the NORCOM 2500 recorder for dictation and computer transcription. Though
we have not extensively tested the 2500 in all environments, our experience
has show us that even on a noisy convention floor we were able to record
our voice and still get very good recognition from NaturallySpeaking.
Where does the so-and-so plug-in?
The NORCOM 2500 hand held dictation machine works like
any other hand-held recorder in that it doesn’t need to be plugged
into anything when you do your dictation. When you are ready to play back
your taped dictation, you connect the recorder to the SRC-1 Speech Recognition
Coupler and the coupler connects to your computer’s sound card. Instructions
for these connections are included with the SRC-1 and are posted on the
Norcom Web Site.
Does the NORCOM 2500 recorder work with IBM speech recognition software?
The NORCOM 2500 and SRC-1 have been laboratory tested and
are certified to produce excellent results with the Dragon Systems NaturallySpeaking
software. Although it may be possible to get equivalent results with the
IBM continuous speech recognition software, this application of our hardware
has not yet been tested in a laboratory setting nor is it as yet certified
for this use.
What's special about the NORCOM 2500 versus the other recorders on
the market? Why does it work and the others don't?
The NORCOM 2500 is a professional quality dictation machine,
which has been field tested and proven as a rugged, durable, high quality
recorder. Recently, it has been fine-tuned to give the kind of performance
necessary to comply with the requirements of speech recognition software,
specifically Dragon Systems NaturallySpeaking.
The NORCOM 2500 incorporates a microphone, which has the
correct kind of sensitivity. It has automatic level control circuitry, which
keeps the recorded voice at a constant volume if the recorder is moved a
little closer to, or farther away from, the speaker’s mouth. The recording
mechanism is highly insulated from noise generated by the tape transport
motor. The record/playback head maintains a high fidelity signal.
All these features add up to a recording, which is perfectly
suited to computer speech recognition. Typically, there are some ‘faults’
or ‘imperfections’ in recorded speech, which are inaudible to
our human ears, or simply easy for us to ignore. These qualities can make
it unusable for computer speech recognition. These characteristics are eliminated
or minimized by our recorder and not the others. Similarly, the recording
must record and playback to the software all the information it needs to
identify the words being spoken. Again, the NORCOM 2500 excels here, as
well.
What's the SRC-1 Coupler for? (What does the SRC-1 do?)
The NORCOM SRC-1 Speech Recognition Coupler takes the output
from the NORCOM 2500 recorder and modifies it’s electronic characteristics
to match what the computer’s sound card needs to receive at the ‘Microphone
In’ jack. It also functions as a switch-box allowing the user to easily
switch back and forth between live microphone input to the computer and
recorded speech.
The SRC-1 also allows the user to connect a speaker for
the purpose of monitoring the playback of recorded dictation into the computer.
If you have more than one user dictating into NORCOM 2500
recorders for playback into the same computer, you need only one SRC-1 coupler,
which remains connected to the computer.
Questions about tapes? What size tapes does the NORCOM 2500 use? How
long are they? Can I use tapes other than NORCOM brand tapes? Why minicassette?
Why the Norcom mini-cassette? What about longer length mini-cassette. Can
the Philips mini-cassette be used in the Model 2500 for speech recognition?
The NORCOM 2500 uses Mini-Cassettes. A mini-cassette is
a "business" cassette. It was designed for heavy usage with lost
of stopping, starting and changing directions. Other cassettes were designed
for longer straight recordings -- not the kind of abuse a typical business
application will give. The mini-cassette uses a shorter length, thicker
tape. Thicker tape means more oxide, more recorded information, and therefore
better speech recognition accuracy. This is one case where thinner is not
better.
The Norcom mini-cassette uses a very high-quality (studio
quality) tape. it also uses the full sized cassette pressure pad, covering
both tracks (sides) of the tape. The full-sized cassette pressure pad ensures
sufficient pressure of the tape against the record/play head of the Norcom
Model 2500. It ensures proper "tracking" of side #1 and side#2
of the cassette.
These cassettes are available in 30-minute lengths (15
min. on a side). Regarding longer length mini-cassettes... In a 30 minute
per side mini-cassette, you are talking about roughly twice the amount of
tape in the same cassette housing. To accomplish fitting more tape in the
same housing, a vendor makes the tape thinner. Thinner means less oxide.
Less Oxide means less recorded information. Less recorded information means
poor speech recognition accuracy. As in the above micro-cassette tape discussion,
thinner is not better.
Your success at recording and playing back dictation for
automatic transcription is all dependent on the high fidelity recording
the NORCOM 2500 is capable of. Therefore, you must use a high quality cassette
for satisfactory results. The Norcom cassettes work very well and there
are other high-quality brands on the market, as well. They are most commonly
available through retailers who sell professional dictation equipment and
supplies.
Regarding the Philips mini-cassette... Although Philips
is the creator of the mini-cassette, some years ago they changed the design
of their cassette pressure pad to reduce the pressure of the pressure pad,
thereby decreasing the amount of torque necessary for the tape drive to
pull the tape. The thinking was that less pressure means less strain on
the mechanism (tape drive), which should equate to more battery life for
a portable dictation machine. So they made a 1/2 sized pressure pad and
reduced the amount of spring pressure behind the pressure pad. Good for
batteries, bad for speech recognition. There is a noticeable difference
in the volume and clarity of a Norcom MX30 mini-cassette vs. a Philips mini-cassette.
Through the Norcom Modem 2500's speaker, the Norcom MX30 mini-cassette sounds
much louder and clearer than a Philips mini-cassette. "Clearer"
is extremely important for speech recognition. Norcom does not recommend
using a 1/2 sized pressure pad mini-cassette. Look for a full-sized pressure
pad mini-cassette.
What size and how many batteries does the NORCOM 2500 use? Can I use
rechargeable (NiCad) batteries? Do you sell NiCads for the 2500?
The NORCOM 2500 uses two ‘AAA’ size batteries.
You can use either alkaline or rechargeable Nickel-Cadmium (NiCad) batteries.
NORCOM sell a rechargeable battery pack and charger. Contact you dealer
for price and availability.
Can I plug an external microphone into the NORCOM 2500?
Yes. The jack on the top of the NORCOM 2500, labeled ‘MIC’
will accept a 2.5mm microphone plug. In order to ensure a suitable, high-quality
recording, it is strongly recommended that you use only microphones, which
have been tested and certified by Dragon Systems to work with their software.
Will I need to re-train the software for my recorded voice? Will I
need separate voice files for my recorded voice?
Although it is not absolutely necessary, we recommend that
users create a voice file for their recorded voice which is separate from
the voice file for their live voice. This will give optimum results. It
will take a little initial time and effort but, once done, the long-term
benefits in higher recognition accuracy will be more than worth the trouble.
Instructions for training the software to recognize your recorded voice
are available directly from NORCOM or from your NORCOM dealer and are posted
on the Norcom Web Site: www.norcom-electronics.com
How do I make corrections to the transcribed recorded dictation? Can
I use the microphone?
We recommend that corrections be made by keyboard. First,
double-click on the mis-recognized word. If our suggested settings are used
in the software, the NaturallySpeaking will ‘play back’ the speech
associated with this word for you to hear what was said. It will also bring
up the correction dialog box for you to employ in the correction process.
Using the correction dialog box, instead of just replacing the mis-recognized
word, will help the software get it right the next time.
The microphone may be used but, if you use it with your
voice files made for your recorded speech, it will degrade the quality of
these files. If you have a significant amount of correcting and editing
to do you can, if you wish, load your ‘live voice’ voice files
after the initial transcription from tape, and make corrections by voice
this way.
Will the NORCOM 2500 and the NORCOM SRC-1 enable me to use Dragon
NaturallySpeaking to transcribe my library of taped material (speeches,
lectures, sermons, etc.)?
Unfortunately, no. The NORCOM 2500 and SRC-1 will only
enable you to make recordings of live, original speech or dictation and
play them back into speech recognition software. Our equipment is not certified
for playing back tapes made on any other recorder, for computer transcription,
nor can tapes made on our equipment be played back on other players for
the purpose of computer transcription. You may, however, play tapes made
on the NORCOM 2500 back on any other mini-cassette player for traditional,
human transcription, or simply for your listening pleasure.
What does it mean when the 'REC / BAT' light doesn't go on when I'm
recording?
If the slide switch is in the 'REC' position and the red
LED on the front of the unit is not on, it means that the batteries installed
in the unit have reached the end of their useful life. Put in fresh batteries
or, if you're using rechargeable, it's time to recharge. This LED has been
designed to be both an indicator of the recording status and a battery level
indicator.
How do I know when the tape is no longer any good? (How long do the
tapes last?)
It can be difficult to tell exactly when a good quality
recording tape is beyond its useful life. You can give it a visual inspection,
comparing it to a new tape, and look for the signs of wear. If the tape
looks heavily worn, discard it.
Many people who dictate use the same beginning part of
a tape over and over again. They will wear it out after fewer hours of recording
than another person who records the whole length of a tape will. Similarly,
some people have several tapes that they 'rotate' in service: one in the
recorder, a few in the desk drawer and a few at the transcription station.
Of course, these tapes tend to last longer.
What we suggest is that the tapes be replaced every few
months, if they are used daily or, if and when the accuracy of recognition
with the speech-to-text software starts to decline.
Is there any routine maintenance needed by the NORCOM 2500?
The NORCOM 2500 is a relatively low-maintenance device.
Keeping it clean and dry is almost all that is required to assure years
of trouble free service. The only periodic maintenance recommended is cleaning
the recording head when it's dirty. You can tell it's dirty by looking at
it, and this is always a suspected culprit if recording/transcribing quality
declines.
The recording head (the shiny metal part protruding into
the left side of the cavity where the cassette goes) can be wiped with a
cotton swab moistened with rubbing alcohol to remove built-up dirt. Don't
drip alcohol into the recorder and be sure to swab lightly; the recording
head is VERY sensitive to abuse.
How long will a set of batteries last?
A fresh set of AAA alkaline batteries will provide enough
power for about 14 hours of recording or playback.
What should I check if my recognition accuracy starts to 'go bad'?
First, check to see that all your connections are properly
made and secure; that your connectors and cables are clean and in good condition.
Try a new tape and fresh batteries. Take a look at the recording head in
the cassette recorder to see if it's clean. If it's not, see instructions
above for cleaning. Re-boot the computer and reload the NaturallySpeaking
software with nothing else running on your computer which might interfere.
Check the switch settings for the recorder: VAC, TONE, VOLUME, etc. to see
that they are all as recommended in the instructions which came with the
recorder.
