INSTRUCTION MANUAL Mi9 Executive Digital Voice Recorder, 60hrs SB-VR9100 Revised: May 21, 2014 Thank you for purchasing from SafetyBasement.com! We appreciate your business. We made this simple manual to help you enjoy your new product as quickly and easily as possible. Be sure to check the TECH SUPPORT tab on your product page at SafetyBasement.com for the latest available manual.
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 PRODUCT REFERENCE Page 2
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 PRODUCT REFERENCE PLAY/PAUSE PREV NEXT VOL - VOL + Menu Right Side DROP(LOCK)/ DRY(UNLOCK) REC ON/ OFF USB Port LeftSide Ear Buds Port SYSTEM ON/OFF A/B Page 3
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 CHARGING Before you use your Mi9 recorder, you should charge it for several hours. You can do this by connecting your Mi9 to your computer s USB port, or use a wall adapter (optional purchase) CONNECTING TO A PC You do not need to download any drivers to connect your device to a PC or Mac. Simply connect the USB cable to your Mi9. Connect the other end directly to a USB port on your PC. Do not use a hub. In a few moments, your PC will automatically connect to the Mi9. The first time, it may install standard drivers. This is normal. Your Mi9 will charge while connected, and you can also access the files on it. You can now use the Mi9 as you would any external drive or USB flash drive. Remember to EJECT your device before pulling the USB cable out. Page 4
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 QUICK START - RECORD Need to start recording immediately? Turn the Power Switch ON. In fact, leave the Power Switch ON all the time. You should only turn it OFF when you are not going to use your Mi9 for an extended period of time. Turning it off will reset all your custom settings and will need to reset them again. Push the REC (REC) button to REC position. Unit will start recording no matter what it was doing. This is a quick start record button! Move REC button back to original position to stop and save recordings. Repeat as needed REC POWER ON & OFF With the power switch on all the time, you will use the PLAY button to turn your Mi9 on and off. Press the PLAY button to wake up your Mi9. HOLD the PLAY button to shut it off. Page 5
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 QUICK PLAYBACK This section only adresses playing back recordings Start from RECORDINGS MODE 1. PLAY 2. Highlight RECORDINGS LIBRARY using NEXT/PREVI buttons 3. PLAY 4. Use NEXT/PREV buttons to select file you wish to play back 5. PLAY NOTE: You can also playback by connecting to your computer USB port. See following pages on how to do that. BUTTON LOCK: To avoid accidentally turning unit off (or pressing any other button by accident and interrupting your important recording session) you can LOCK the recorder so that all buttons are diasabled. UNLOCK to enables buttons again. See image next page for LOCK button. VOLUME: While unit is in playback mode, use the VOL+ or VOL- to increase or decrease volume. Remember, the volume feature will only work while you are playing back a file at the time of adjusting volume! Page 6
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 SETTINGS Right Side DROP(LOCK)/ DRY(UNLOCK) REC ON/ OFF USB Port PREV LeftSide NEXT Ear Buds Port SYSTEM SWITCH ON/OFF A/B The Mi9 has a number of settings you can customize to your particular needs. You will use the buttons noted above to enter these settings, make changes and save your settings. Please follow these instructions carefully. Please turn the Main System/Power Switch to ON. You will want to leave it in the ON position at all times. You will set the Time and Date once, but if you turn off the main power, you will lose your settings, and will need to set it again. Your Mi9 will automatically power down when not in use. To WAKE UP your Mi9, press and hold the PLAY button for a few seconds. Page 7
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 MODES There are several MODES available to you with the Mi9. You can see the Modes by pressing the NEXT or PREVIOUS buttons. You will see one of the following; RECORDINGS- This is the default mode screen you will see when you turn device on. This mode allows you to view and choose recordings on device or manage your record settings such as RECORD FORMAT (WAV or MP3) RECORD BIT RATE, RECORDING MONITOR, AVR(Voice activation) settings, INPUT GAIN SETTINGS,INDICATOR,AGC LEVEL, AUTO RECORD - This option allows you to set ALARM or AUTO RECORD (timed recording) SET- This mode allows you to do a myriad of things; SOUND SETTINGS such as equaliser and volume limit, SLEEP TIMER (when you want unit to shut off after idle time), DISPLAY SETTINGS (such as brighness ad backlight), DATE & TIME (set current date and time), LANGUAGE, INFORMATION, FORMAT DEVICE(use with high caution, you will ose all your recordings!), FACTORY SETTINGS(to restore device to factory settings(also use with high caution) MUSIC- This mode allows you to play and manage your songs That is a list of the available MODES. We will skip around into various modes as we review the Mi9. Use the MENU key to return to the list of Modes at any time. Page 8
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 SET THE DATE AND TIME You ll first want to set the Date and Time for your Mi9. Remember, your Date and Time will RESET when you turn OFF the Main Power Switch. So after you turn the main switch to ON, dont turn it off unless you are done using the device for a while, otherwise just charge it when it runs out of juice. Remember it turns itself off after being idle for a while and you turn it back on by pressing and holding the PLAY button. Dont turn the main switch OFF. Button presses are shown in RED. Default screen is at RECORDINGS. But if you are not there just use the NEXT or PREVIOUS buttons to move between modes. For this page move to the SET mode: 1. PLAY to get to SET mode options. 2. NEXT/PREV to choose DATE AND TIME. 3. PLAY to enter the DAte and Time settings. 4. PLAY to enter SET TIME option. 5. PREV/NEXT to change hour. 6. MENU to move to Minutes. 7. PREV/NEXT to change minutes. 8. PLAY to return to SET TIME option 9. NEXT to move to DATE SETTING. 10. PLAY to Confirm and go to sub options for date settings 11. PLAY to select date format 12. NEXT to choose MM DD YYYY (or whatever format you want) 13. PLAY 14. NEXT to go to SET DATE 15. 15. PLAY to select SET DATE 16. PREV/NEXT to change numbers then MENU to move to next set of numbers 17. after changing date corectly press PLAY to return to SET TIME 18. Press MENU to go back out of menu options 19. You are done changing time and date Your Date and Time is now set. REMEMBER: 1. At any point while you are setting up your recorder, use the MENU button to go back one level. 2. If your recorder turns off HOLD the PLAY button to turn it back on. 3. After you have done your settings, dont turn it off using switch on side. Either let it turn off by itself or press and hold the PLAY button to turn it off. This way you wont lose your settings. Turning unit off via ON/OFF switch will also make you lose all your custom settings and you will have to reset! Page 9
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 FORMAT & QUALITY The settings most users may want to adjust next is related to the Format and Quality of your recordings. This will directly impact how many hours you will get. The higher the quality level the less memory recording time you will get but the better and crisper the recording quality. FORMATS available are: MP3 and PCM. MP3 is a compressed format, good quality using less space. PCM is uncompressed, excellent quality, using more space. Of course, your recording quality will vary depending on the Quality Settings you choose as well. QUALITY SETTINGS available: FORMAT QUALITY / RATE EST. TIME AVAILABLE (8GB Internal) PCM 1536 Kbps PCM 1024 Kbps PCM 768 Kbps PCM 512 Kbps MP3 MP3 MP3 SESSION / 128 Kbps INTERVIEW / 64 Kbps STANDARD / 32 Kbps Choose a FORMAT. (from SET menu screen) 1. NEXT/PREV to RECORDINGS menu 2. PLAY to enter RECORDINGS menu 3. NEXT/PREV to select.record SETTINGS 4. PLAY to select. 5. NEXT/PREVto select RECORD FORMAT 6. NEXT/PREV to highlight MP3 or PCM. 7. PLAY to select and Save option. Choose a QUALITY. (from opposite table at step 7) 1. NEXT/PREV to SET BIT RATE 2. PLAY t 3. NEXT/PREV to select your desired bit rate( refer to table above for which option to select) 4. PLAY to select. Page 10
Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9100 TIMED RECORDING You can set the Mi9 to record a single event, or recurring event at a given time. You can set it to record just ONCE at a given time or daily or weekly on a regular schedule. First, set the length of the recording for the event. Then, set the timer. This is done in the AUTO RECORD mode. Use the NEXT/PREVIOUS buttons to reach AUTO RECORD mode. Please note that you should not be in REC mode for this feature to work. infact you must be in RNC mode. The unit will wake up then turn off after the specified recording VERY IMPORTANT: This unit will work differently if you have VOICE AC- TIVATION mode in ON or OFF postion. read below carefully: Voice activation OFF (recommended setting): Unit will turn on at pre-determined time and record with or without detecting voice and turn off at specified time. This is the ideal setting. Voice activation mode ON: This unit will start recording at specified time. However it will turn off after effective recorded sounds or comversations have met the recording duration. Example: You set unit to record for 2 minutes a day every day starting at noon and unit set in VOR mode. The unit will not turn off if effective recordings have not reached 2 minutes. For instance someone walks in and talks for 30 seconds and leaves vicinity. Unit will register just 2 minutes worth of recording and will stay on until it captures another 1 minute of recording. And it will wait whether that is another minute or another 5 hours to get that extra minute of recording. So this is not the most ideal setting for timed recording. But we wanted to explain the distinction on what happens when you use this feature with voice activation turned ON or OFF. to turn VOR feaure off: After turning unit on, use NEXT/PREVIOUS button to get to RECORDIGNS mode. 1. press PLAY to select 2. press NEXT to highlight RECORD SETTINGS. press PLAY 3. Press NEXT button and highlight TARCK AVR MODE. Press PLAY 4. Press NEXT/PREVIOUS and select NORMAL. Press PLAY. 5. You are now in NORMAL mode (VOICE ACTIVATION OFF) Page 11
Mi6 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 NOTE: We recommend you turn VOR feature OFF if you are going to use timed recordings! Set the Length of the Recording 1. NEXT/PREV to Auto Record 2. PLAY 3. NEXT/PREV to AUTO RECORD SETTINGS. 4. PLAY. to select AUTO RECORD ON/OFF 5. NEXT/PREV to select ON 6. PLAY to select ON 7. NEXT/PREV to highlight START TIME 8. PLAY to go to start time 9. NEXT/PREVIOUS to change hour. 10. MENU to go to MINUTES 11. NEXT/PREV to change minutes 12. PLAY to confirm and return to menu listing 13. NEXT/PREV to highlight END TIME 14. Repeat steps 9 to 12 15. NEXT/PREV to highlight AUTO RECORD CYCLE 16. PLAY 17. NEXT/PREV to select ONCE, DAILY or WORKDAY (mon-fri) (If you select ONCE, it will take you to another screen. You will see the YEAR, MONTH and DAY at the very top of a calendar. Make sure it is reflective of the date you want it to record that ONE TIME. If not, use the MENU button to move between them, and NEXT/PREVIOUS to change the numbers) 18. PLAY 19. Your timed recording is now set. Put recorder where you want it to be and allow it to work. Page 12
Mi6 Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 SB-VR9100 OTHER DEVICE SETTINGS We assume at this time you have a sense of the controls and how to toggle through and select options. So we will jsut explain below what the remaining options do so that you know what you are working with. OTHER FEATURES UNDER: SET SOUND SETTINGS: There are 2 option under this mode: EQUALIZER: This allows you to select the EQ mode. VOLUME LIMIT: This allows you to set the maximum volume limit. Not necessary as you can manually manage it yourself as needed SLEEP TIMER: During playback only, how long do you want files to play before the Mi9 auto powers OFF? FACTORY SETTINGS: This option allows you to retstore this device to its original factory settings. You will select this options if you feel like you have made a lot of changes and just want to start everything from scratch. Again use this option with CAUTIION!!!! Not recommended!! DISPLAY SETTINGS: Options under this setting are: 1. BRIGHTNESS: This allows you to set the screen brightness while you make changes or playback your recordings. You can dim it or make it brighter. 2. BACKLIGHT TIMER: This allows you to set how long the screen stays bright before it goes off. This helps save battery. You can choose ALWAYS ON or select the other options. LANGUAGE: This options allows you to select the language you want to operate in. IMPORTANT if you speak English only, dont go to a different language as you wil not understand that language on how to return to English. INFORMATION: This option provides you with information about this player, such as disk space left, file types supprted ETC. FORMAT DEVICE: use this options with the utmost care. This will format your memory and erase anything you have on it. Proceed with caution Page 13
Mi6 Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 SB-VR9100 OTHER DEVICE SETTINGS OTHER FEATURES UNDER: RECORDINGS RECORDINGS LIBRARY: This option allws you to see and manage all your voice recordings. To play back or delete them. Note that if you would like to save your files to computer, you will need to connect the recorder to your computer USB port via included USB cable, and copy and save to your computer. RECORD SETTINGS: Record Format This setting allows you to record in WAV or MP3 format. WAV format allows for better recording quality but uses up more memory while MP3 allows for less memory use but quality level not as good as WAV. Try the different formats to determine what works for you. RECORDINGS LIBRARY: Set Bit Rate: You must select RECORD FORMAT then select bit rate. You will notice that the options in BIT RATE will change based on whether you selected WAV or MP3 under RECORD FORMAT. Refer to chart on product page for more explanation of the different bit rate options. RECORDINGS MONITOR: This option allws you to see and manage all your voice recordings. To play back or delete them. Note that if you would like to save your files to computer, you will need to connect the recorder to your computer USB port via included USB cable, and copy and save to your computer. This is Voice activated mode. Select ON position to set it to voice activated mode Page 14
Mi6 Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 SB-VR9100 OTHER DEVICE SETTINGS TARCK AVR: INPUT GAIN SET: This is Voice activated mode. Select ON position to set it to voice activated mode or set to OFF to turn mode off. INDICATOR: DENOISE LEVEL: AGC LEVEL: REMEMBER: 1. At any point while you are setting up your recorder, use the MENU button to go back one level. 2. If your recorder turns off HOLD the PLAY button to turn it back on. 3. After you have done your settings, dont turn it off using switch on side. Either let it turn off by itself or press and hold the PLAY button to turn it off. This way you wont lose your settings. Turning unit off via ON/OFF switch will also make you lose all your custom settings and you will have to reset! Page 15
Mi6 Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 SB-VR9100 WHERE ARE YOUR FILES? Use the included USB cable to connect your Mi9 to your PC. Be sure you are NOT recording before plugging in your cable. You do NOT need to turn off your Mi9 to connect to your PC. Just make sure it is not recording or playing back when you plug in. Once connected, you will be able to browse the folders on your Mi9. (Shown in Windows 7. Other sytems are similar.) Recorded files will be inside the RECORD folder. Page 16
Mi6 Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 SB-VR9100 WHERE ARE YOUR FILES? Double click this folder to view and manage your audio files These are you music files Use standard Windows and Mac techniques to COPY, MOVE and DELETE your files. We recommend you COPY your files to your PC for archiving and best playback. NOTE TO MAC USERS: To delete files properly, you MUST empty your trash before disconnecting your Mi6. Page 17
Mi6 Mi9 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 SB-VR9100 SUGGESTED SOFTWARE Your Windows PC or Mac has built-in software that will play most of the files created by devices like yours. However, if you are having problems playing your files, or need more options, please download and try these programs. This software is free and can be downloaded directly from the links below. You can find support and tutorials for these programs on their respective websites. SafetyBasement can not provide software support for these programs As with ANY files you download from the internet, be sure to scan them for viruses using your particular virus scanner. While most users report no issues using this software, we can not be responsible for any damage caused by this software. Please proceed carefully. Back up your PC before installing any new software. VIDEO PLAYBACK - VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html) The VLC Media Player can play almost any video or audio file type. There is a version for Windows and for Mac OS X. VIDEO EDITING for WINDOWS - MOVIE MAKER 2012 (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/get-movie-makerdownload) Movie Maker is a simple video editing program from Microsoft. Please go to this link, and choose the download for your version of Windows. Please note: Movie Maker is part of the Windows Essentials package. VIDEO EDITING for MAC OS X - imovie (Visit the Apple Mac App Store for latest version) imovie is a simple video editing program from Apple. It comes installed with your new Mac. The latest version is also available at the Mac App Store at additional cost. AUDIO PLAYBACK and EDITING - AUDACITY (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) Audacity is a popular audio editing program used by amateurs and professionals to edit simple and complex audio projects. You can use Audacity to convert your audio files to another format, such as MP3. There is a version for Windows and Mac OS X. PHOTOS Your Windows and Mac computers have the ability to do basic editing of photos built in. Page 18
Mi6 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS Audio Formats Audio Encoding PCM, MP3 WAV: 1536,1024,768,512 Kbps MP3: 192,128,64,32 Kbps Audio See chart for recording times. Video n/a n/a Photo Page 19
Mi6 Mini Voice Recorder : SB-VR9000 DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS Device Info Memory Built In Memory Expansion Battery Type Charger Type 4 GB up to 32 GB Micro SD card Internal Rechargeable via USB port Please check our site for the latest available manual for this product. Notes See chart for bit rates and available time. File Sizes Page 20