Using a PC to Record Phone Conversations

Check your state laws to see if it's legal.

It is legal, if it were not I would not have posed the question.

"Since you didn't bother to provide any information", still applies.

I believe you'll need some stuff, and possibly some things, as well as the knowledge to make em work together.

Thank you so much for your reply. I suppose if I had thought about it in the beginning I would not have asked such a stupid question. I appreciate you searching the entire length and breadth of your intelligence to show me the wisdom of your answer.

The most important thing you would need would be the permission of the party on the other end of the conversation.

Otherwise, you are committing an illegal activity, at least here in the USA.

Since you didn't bother to provide any information don't look for any answers here.

"Otherwise, you are committing an illegal activity, at least here in the USA."

Unless you're with the NSA.

"Unless you're with the NSA."

Or the FBI, Secret Service, CIA, Military Intelligence, phone companies, et al

Don't get me started. Let's hope the Cheney/Rove/_{Bush 43} era is past us.

You are mistaken. Different states have different laws concerning the matter. I live in Georgia. The law in this state provides that one must have the permission of one of the parties to the conversation who is being recorded to be legal. It is not necessary for the second party to have any knowledge that he or she is being recorded. If the telephone conversation is recorded by a third-party without the consent of either of the parties to the conversation, then it is "eavesdropping "and illegal.

Well, if that's true, Georgia is really more backward than I thought.

According to your logic, if one party consents to a robbery, the other party has no recourse?

Get real.

I wasn't giving you my logic, I was telling you what the law of Georgia provides. Your "robbery" analogy goes from the ridiculous to the sublime. If you don't want your conversation recorded, don't say it. And, as far as Georgia being backwards, I never heard of anybody retiring to New York. If you don't like the Georgia law concerning "eavesdropping" why don't you write a letter to the Georgia legislature and tell them to change it? I can imagine how much they would care about what you think,I know how much I care.

Had you provided sufficient information in the original post we might not have thought you were just a jerk looking to record someone without their permission.

What don't you understand about "What is needed to record to your PC from a two line telephone? Anybody have any suggestions?"? You don't understand what a PC is or you don't understand what a telephone is? Or is it that since I'd did not disclose why I wanted the information, you were offended and started off by accusing me of wanting to indulge in criminal activity and now say you thought I was a "jerk". You insult my intelligence and show yours by arguing that under my logic a robber would only be required to have permission from himself and insult the state I am from. Even after your offensive remarks I have tried to be civil and respond without being offensive but you won't leave it alone. Most original Georgians are polite, courteous and mindful of the feelings of others. But if I felt the need to call someone a felon or a jerk I would want to be standing toe to toe and eyeball to eyeball where my castigation could be responded to appropriately. That's the way we do it in this "backward" state.

This entire confrontation could have been avoided had you just simply asked why I wanted the information instead of casting aspersions against me. Although my reasons for wanting the information is entirely none of your business, I would have been glad to tell you. By the way, I have a high regard for Arizona and the people from that state. I have strong suspicions that you are a transplant from New York. Am I Incorrect?

The Federal law is of "a one party consent" That means that you can record your conversations without getting consent from those you are talking to. Nevertheless, there are these states that require both parties consent:

California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Washington

The eavesdropping is illegal.

Talking about eavesdropping, a friend of mine, in telephone business told me about phantom circuits, valid pairs made out by sharing one of the existing wire in a pair. I had the occasion to hear the conversation between two parties (probably an unbalance in lines) for several days. Without hooking anything in no panel.

About recording a phone conversation, the audio card of the computer has a microphone input. Probably an attenuation of the signal (and the use of the appropriate coupling xxuFarad capacitor (the telephone line has a dc (some 50V) voltage. Also, the rings are of a large voltage swing. All these must be considered, but it can be done.

Thank you for this information. It's nice to see someone who puts his brain in gear before he puts his mouth in gear. Good research. I hope no one attacks you for saying something they did not want to hear.

Please provide much more information. Do you mean copying files from one computer to another over the phone lines (like two networked computers being able to transfer files using read/write access permission setup on some or all directories of the computers hard drive(s)), ie - remote access file and directory sharing?

Thanks for your reply. There are sites on the Internet where multiline recording software is sold which allows one to record telephone lines from 1 to 50 or more directly to a personal computer. I have not thoroughly researched the matter but most of the two line models show two telephone lines coming from the telephones connected into a small black "USB" box. Then it shows two lines going from the "USB" box to the computer. I wanted to know if anyone knew the diagram or schematic of the"USB" or perhaps some other hook up.

I thought this was a friendly blog where people try to help one another and I appreciate your serious reply to my question. I know that if I could intelligently answer someone's query, I would gladly do it. However it seems that I have created a firestorm and received legal advice from people who obviously are not lawyers, for if they are lawyers, they need to learn the law concerning "eavesdropping" and "wiretaps" before furnishing unsolicited advice. I am also not happy with tacitly being accused of soliciting help from this blog to violate the "wiretap" laws. If this epistle seems curt, it's because I intended for it to be. And, if I were soliciting comedic answers, I would go to the "Comedy Central" blog.

"It's best to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt"

Again, I thank you and nothing here in is intended to criticize you in anyway.

What is needed to record to your PC from a two line telephone? Anybody have any suggestions?

People work with the information given. You have given so little information and in such a broad context that some people are bound to come to a conclusion you didn't intend (hence my guess at your intended question, and my request for more information to clarify your question).

I still am not entirely sure what you are talking about however. You mention recording multiple telephone lines, are you in fact talking about central computer server phone line call recording software for businesses that connects thru, say a PABX (in-house telephone switching network)? The technology is like a network but with telephone signals (and explains the USB box which is the interface between the telephone network and the computer). Hopefully that makes sense, I have had a bit of French red wine tonight.

Anyway, can you please supply a link to a product for clarity, I think I know what you are talking about (I also understand why some people say it is illegal, because in some applications it is).

What is the application (ie- why do you want to try and implement a system like this as it is almost exclusively used for company telephone message recording)?

Thank you for your further response. In the 1st place I am not offended because someone wanted to know my reasons for seeking the information. I am offended because I was immediately tacitly called a felon for wanting to eavesdrop on people, told that I would not get any help from this blog and given unsolicited erroneous legal advice. Even after this I was still courteous but this old country boy has had enough.

I appreciate your helpful attitude.

In my business is quite legal and appropriate to take recorded statements from witnesses over the telephone. Tape recorders are simply outdated, hard to index, and the Mylar tapes take up a great deal of space. There are numerous configurations on the Internet for recording from the telephone to the PC. Many of the systems employ a "USB" connection. I was simply inquiring if anyone had the information to build a "USB" box or other hookup information to achieve this goal. The following is a link to an Internet site where the items are sold. http://www.altoedge.com/setup/callrec/multipleanalog.html#1050 . If you have any trouble getting into the site let me know.

Have a good weekend and I hope you enjoy your French wine.

There are numerous configurations on the Internet for recording from the telephone to the PC. Many of the systems employ a "USB" connection

It would be best to buy the hardware. The connection box is more than just a hard-wired telephone to USB plug adaptor, and isn't that expensive anyway.

http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&q=telephone+to+USB+adaptor&meta=&aq=f&oq=

Thanks for your help. I went to the link you directed me to and it provided 1,060,000 sites. I guess it's no big secret. I certainly should be able to find the answer to my question on one of them. I only wanted to know if there was more than one way to do it.

I hope you have a good day and enjoy your French wine.

a GA for answering your own question. :D

a few things to learn from this thread:

1. put in as much data / information as you feel is relevant to your question. this is important as it eliminates further questions from those who are interested in helping.
2. OP should not assume that he knows all the implications attending his question. it is simply not possible for a human being to have covered everything related to his question. thus, when forumers ask probing questions, he should not be offended by it. such probing questions signify intent to help, not to ridicule. otherwise, nobody would have responded to the OP.
3. OP should observe civility and tact in providing info to the forumers who are asking. insolence will not get you anything helpful out of the forum, and you will only be marked out as hostile and unfriendly.

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your information and suggestions, however, the questions that are posed concern computer technology. I asked, "What is needed to record to your PC from a two line telephone? Anybody have any suggestions?" Although my question did not seek legal advice, the first response informed me that I should find out whether it was legal or not to record in such a manner. Even though this question was not germane to the issue, I answered very civilly that it was legal and if it were not, I would not have posed the question. The entire conversation seemed to be geared as to whether or not I would violate the law. I still responded very civilly until response number 11 when I was told that my state was "backward", given the stupid scenario that according to my reasoning a robber would only have to have his own consent to rob someone and then told me to "get real". At what point am I supposed to get offended?

I entirely agree that one should give enough information about their query to enable the responder to give a helpful answer. It seems like in this matter most of the discussion concerned giving unqualified legal advice and unsolicited opinions. It seems that only one person was interested in being helpful with the exception of the person who verified my assertion of the law in Georgia.

Is this going to be a blog helpful to its members or is it going to be another "Spanish Inquisition". Is the "blog police" going to inquire into each participant's question why they want the information sought and if they intend to use the information to violate the law?

Concerning Your Informative Statement:

1. My question was pretty simple. If more relevant information was needed I would have been glad to answer.

2. The probing legal questions should never have been asked. It is difficult for one not to be offended when he is asked an offending question and told his state is "backward" and to "get real". There's nothing helpful in making aspersions against someone and any time you give advice on any subject you should be qualified and know what you're talking about, especially if it's unsolicited advise. If probing questions "had been asked germane to my question, I would have been happy to answer the questions and, remember, I answered courteously, respectfully, and civilly until we get to response number 11 and my State and I were vilified and I was told to "get real".

3. I always act civilly and tactfully in my dealings with everyone. I think my responses previous to response number 11 proves that and can be read by everyone. However if one becomes hostile and unfriendly to me, they can expect the same in return.

I would like to see an anonymous poll of the members of this blog as to whether they think the legal questions were proper or not.

I hope you have a good day.

Something you fail to understand is most engineers are legally liable for any advice or consultation they give. It's the nature of a responsible professional to not give any advice if it may pose to be legally or morally questionable. I understand this is an Internet Forum, but peoples morals and professionalism are a part of the fabric of their nature. I for one would never give any advice to aid in any illegal activity for any purpose. If in some way or another something went wrong I would want absolutely no ties to any party involved in any such activity. The fact that this advice is legal in some states, and illegal in others provides a grey area to which most professionals would stay away from. We have no way to tell if Indeed you are in the geographic location you claim to be in, therefore the advice could be aiding in illegal activity.

I appreciate the information you have given me and you are quite right that engineers are legally liable for any professional advice or consultation they give. They are also liable for any erroneous advice they give. That is precisely the reason why they should confine their advice and consultation to the area of their expertise. If the engineering advice was no better than the legal advice that some have given on this blog I would not want to walk across a bridge they built.

In answer to my question the very first thread stated that I should see if it is legal to make the recordings or not. Although not germane to my question, I graciously answered that it was indeed legal for if it were not, I would not have posed my question to begin with. This should have ended the matter of the legality of the recording at that point. At that point the (presumably) engineers began advising me as to what the law provides and unless I'm a member of the CIA etc. it is illegal for me to make these recordings.

I too have held a professional license from the state of Georgia and the United States for a number of years and I am at least as cognizant of the provisions of federal and state law as any engineer on this blog.

The cross-examination of me was completely uncalled for. Radio Shack and others have sold telephone line recorders for a number of years. There is nothing new or clandestine about recording telephone conversations. When calling various businesses how many times have you heard "this conversation may be recorded for training purposes "? I will assure you that most insurance investigators and adjusters record every telephone call with witnesses and attorneys. My question only sought information to perform an old procedure in a new way.

If I were to inquire as to where to buy a reliable van truck, should I be cross examined as to what I intended to use it for or if I intended to bring illegal aliens into the country or use it for some other illegal purpose. I think not. There is a presumption in law that every person is presumed to obey the law. Apparently some of the bloggers on this site presumes that every person is presumed to violate the law.

When it comes to recording telephone conversations there is no "gray area". It is perfectly legal in every state in the union to record telephone conversations when both parties consent. Federal law provides that it is only necessary for one party to consent. Some states require both parties to consent. Some states require only one partie's consent. Georgia requires only one partie's consent. It is simply a matter to determine which states law applies. This is not rocket science.

Any chastisement that you have should be directed at those who vilify one's State, gives erroneous legal advise, tells the inquisitor that according to his mentality the robber only needs to have permission from himself to rob someone and then tells him to "get real". These were all derogatory remarks that were precipitated before I became angry. There's never a fight (either verbally or physically) until someone throws the first punch. I did not throw the first punch.

I appreciate your peacemaking attitude but your advice is misdirected.

With my best wishes I hope you have a good day

TO LANGYAW

Thank you for your response in this matter. If you will read responses to to my original question you will see that I was perfectly co-operative and civil until I was attacked in response #11. I don't mind being questioned about anything germane to the issue but I do mind being attacked when I give an answer that the inquisitor does not want to hear. (Read response # 11). Up until that point I was quite civil although I was given unsolicited erroneous legal advice by (presumably) engineers. I did not berate or insult the advice giver in anyway, I simply corrected his misunderstanding of the law and advised him correctly what the law provided. I will not be offensive first but I will respond.

Please read response #26 for further explanation of my position.

Best wishes.