Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3. My old Gateway micro
tower has been just fine til now. I tried the Gateway 'Tech' site and
guess what, no help . I need to know if I can put some type of
card in the empty add-in slot in the back of this thing. All I need is
a card with RCA input jacks that I can plug my stereo into and turn
the analog signal into digital for wma or mp3 storage on a hard drive.
I do not know what type of connectors ( if any ! ) are in the empty
slot, I don't know what type of card I may need. I dont need any bells
or whistles, just interface from analog to digital via RCA inputs. Yes
I've seen the millions of ads for hardware/software programs that
restore the sound, arrange the tunes, bring disco back to life,
and...bla-bla-bla, I just need inputs and a processor to turn the
analog signal to digital...is there such a simple plug-in 'sound' card
device, and will it work in an old Gateway ???....thanks, Doug...
PS I promise not to listen to any of my lp's on an Ipod :smirk:

On May 13, 9:13 pm, (dougreed) wrote:
Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3. My old Gateway micro
tower has been just fine til now. I tried the Gateway 'Tech' site and
guess what, no help . I need to know if I can put some type of
card in the empty add-in slot in the back of this thing. All I need is
a card with RCA input jacks that I can plug my stereo into and turn
the analog signal into digital for wma or mp3 storage on a hard drive.
I do not know what type of connectors ( if any ! ) are in the empty
slot, I don't know what type of card I may need. I dont need any bells
or whistles, just interface from analog to digital via RCA inputs. Yes
I've seen the millions of ads for hardware/software programs that
restore the sound, arrange the tunes, bring disco back to life,
and...bla-bla-bla, I just need inputs and a processor to turn the
analog signal to digital...is there such a simple plug-in 'sound' card
device, and will it work in an old Gateway ???....thanks, Doug...
PS I promise not to listen to any of my lp's on an Ipod :smirk:

Doesn't your computer have a sound card? That's nearly all the
hardware you'll need. Magnetic phono cartridges (and that is the vast
majority) require an RIAA preamp to boost the very low level and
correct the frequency response. Most older (pre 1990) receiver/
amplifiers had the phono preamp as standard equipment. To connect them
you'd need an RCA to 1/8" stereo mini plug cable available at Radio
Shack (and many other) stores. Software is another issue. I use Adobe
Audition but that is expensive. It does a very good job with tick/pop
reduction but I'm sure you'll get many suggestions for less expensive
solutions.

If the machine is so old it doesn't have the sound capabilities it
might be lacking on other issues. Audio can easily go through
gigabytes of storage even in MP3 or WMA formats. 128 kbit MP3 uses a
gig for roughly every 16 hours of program. Uncompressed needs 11 times
more. I've done audio work with a Pentium 166 but it was SLOW.

GG

"dougreed" wrote in message
...

Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3. My old Gateway micro
tower has been just fine til now. I tried the Gateway 'Tech' site and
guess what, no help . I need to know if I can put some type of
card in the empty add-in slot in the back of this thing. All I need is
a card with RCA input jacks that I can plug my stereo into and turn
the analog signal into digital for wma or mp3 storage on a hard drive.
I do not know what type of connectors ( if any ! ) are in the empty
slot, I don't know what type of card I may need. I dont need any bells
or whistles, just interface from analog to digital via RCA inputs. Yes
I've seen the millions of ads for hardware/software programs that
restore the sound, arrange the tunes, bring disco back to life,
and...bla-bla-bla, I just need inputs and a processor to turn the
analog signal to digital...is there such a simple plug-in 'sound' card
device, and will it work in an old Gateway ???....thanks, Doug...
PS I promise not to listen to any of my lp's on an Ipod :smirk:

Look on the back. Are there three 3.5 mm (1/8 inch) phone jacks in a line
(often colored pink, green and blue)? If so all you need is a cable from the
dollar store, 3.5 mm to two RCA jacks.

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/...ing/index.html will tell
you all you need. The Nero version you pay for has a program called Nero
Sound Trax which will input the sound, split it into tracks and let you
tweak it. There are other programs which will do the same.

dougreed ) writes:
Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3.

This is a newsgroup about the repair of electronic equipment. It's
not an audio newsgroup, and it's not a computer newsgroup.

Find the proper place, and post there.

Michael

"dougreed" wrote in message
...
Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3. My old Gateway micro
tower has been just fine til now. I tried the Gateway 'Tech' site and
guess what, no help . I need to know if I can put some type of
card in the empty add-in slot in the back of this thing. All I need is
a card with RCA input jacks that I can plug my stereo into and turn
the analog signal into digital for wma or mp3 storage on a hard drive.
I do not know what type of connectors ( if any ! ) are in the empty
slot, I don't know what type of card I may need. I dont need any bells
or whistles, just interface from analog to digital via RCA inputs. Yes
I've seen the millions of ads for hardware/software programs that
restore the sound, arrange the tunes, bring disco back to life,
and...bla-bla-bla, I just need inputs and a processor to turn the
analog signal to digital...is there such a simple plug-in 'sound' card
device, and will it work in an old Gateway ???....thanks, Doug...
PS I promise not to listen to any of my lp's on an Ipod :smirk:

You won't get a card with RCA jacks, sound cards usually have
3.5MM stereo jacks. Leads to convert are easily available.
You can use freeware Audacity to record, and you can probably
use it to split the tracks. Audacity needs a separate MP3
encoder.....see here
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows
Your old PC may struggle, however, and you will
need plenty of disk space.
http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/med.htm
Some audio progs which may be useful.

On Mon, 14 May 2007 04:13:50 -0000, lid (dougreed) put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3.

This should get you started.

Transferring LPs to CDR: Some Advice
http://www.delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

One thing you'll need to know is whether your PC takes ISA cards or
PCI cards, (in brief, the connectors on the motherboard are different).
Which you have depends on how ancient your PC is. Your PC owner's
manual will say, perhaps Gateway's web site will say. It's possible
you've got some of each.

ISA was used years ago; if you need an ISA sound card, look on Ebay.
It would help if you'd post your operating system. Do you have USB
ports? Look at http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/
or an 'all in one' for usb at http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73363.asp


And you'll need to use the Tape Out or earphone jack of your stereo
amplifier or receiver as the input source to the computer; you can't
plug in the turntable directly.


dougreed wrote:
Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3. My old Gateway micro
tower has been just fine til now. I tried the Gateway 'Tech' site and
guess what, no help . I need to know if I can put some type of
card in the empty add-in slot in the back of this thing. All I need is
a card with RCA input jacks that I can plug my stereo into and turn
the analog signal into digital for wma or mp3 storage on a hard drive.
I do not know what type of connectors ( if any ! ) are in the empty
slot, I don't know what type of card I may need. I dont need any bells
or whistles, just interface from analog to digital via RCA inputs. Yes
I've seen the millions of ads for hardware/software programs that
restore the sound, arrange the tunes, bring disco back to life,
and...bla-bla-bla, I just need inputs and a processor to turn the
analog signal to digital...is there such a simple plug-in 'sound' card
device, and will it work in an old Gateway ???....thanks, Doug...
PS I promise not to listen to any of my lp's on an Ipod :smirk:

And have you thought about the time involved? Assume each LP is 48
minutes x 1000 LPS = 48,000 minutes or 800 hours, flipping sides every
24 minutes. My suggestion is to borrow as many CDs from your local
public library that overlap your LP collection; creating an MP3 from a
CD only takes a few minutes per CD. Then buy used CDs from Ebay or
Amazon and only then convert your LPs. For your LPs you'll have to
enter album info, artists, track info, etc. manually. For most CD's,
it's an automatic process.


Bennett Price wrote:
One thing you'll need to know is whether your PC takes ISA cards or
PCI cards, (in brief, the connectors on the motherboard are different).
Which you have depends on how ancient your PC is. Your PC owner's
manual will say, perhaps Gateway's web site will say. It's possible
you've got some of each.

ISA was used years ago; if you need an ISA sound card, look on Ebay.
It would help if you'd post your operating system. Do you have USB
ports? Look at http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/
or an 'all in one' for usb at http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73363.asp


And you'll need to use the Tape Out or earphone jack of your stereo
amplifier or receiver as the input source to the computer; you can't
plug in the turntable directly.


dougreed wrote:
Hi, I am not a computer or tech geek. I have over 1000 lp's and I need
some help so I can listen to them on wma or mp3. My old Gateway micro
tower has been just fine til now. I tried the Gateway 'Tech' site and
guess what, no help . I need to know if I can put some type of
card in the empty add-in slot in the back of this thing. All I need is
a card with RCA input jacks that I can plug my stereo into and turn
the analog signal into digital for wma or mp3 storage on a hard drive.
I do not know what type of connectors ( if any ! ) are in the empty
slot, I don't know what type of card I may need. I dont need any bells
or whistles, just interface from analog to digital via RCA inputs. Yes
I've seen the millions of ads for hardware/software programs that
restore the sound, arrange the tunes, bring disco back to life,
and...bla-bla-bla, I just need inputs and a processor to turn the
analog signal to digital...is there such a simple plug-in 'sound' card
device, and will it work in an old Gateway ???....thanks, Doug... PS
I promise not to listen to any of my lp's on an Ipod :smirk:

On Mon, 14 May 2007 15:30:07 -0700, Bennett Price wrote:


One thing you'll need to know is whether your PC takes ISA cards or
PCI cards, (in brief, the connectors on the motherboard are different).

ISA? Are you joking? ISA has been obsolete for thirteen years and vanished
for good seven years ago.

On 15 May, 05:21, AZ Nomad wrote:
On Mon, 14 May 2007 15:30:07 -0700, Bennett Price wrote:
One thing you'll need to know is whether your PC takes ISA cards or
PCI cards, (in brief, the connectors on the motherboard are different).

ISA? Are you joking? ISA has been obsolete for thirteen years and vanished
for good seven years ago.

Many people still have ISA machines. The oldest machine here is a 486,
and still doing its (limited) job quite happily.


NT

On Tue, 15 May 2007 04:21:38 GMT, AZ Nomad
wrote:

ISA? Are you joking? ISA has been obsolete for thirteen years and vanished
for good seven years ago.

Not quite seven years. I have Gigabyte P3 mobo here with ISA slots that is
2001.

Bennett Price wrote in news:da82i.2669$y_
:

And have you thought about the time involved? Assume each LP is 48
minutes x 1000 LPS = 48,000 minutes or 800 hours, flipping sides every
24 minutes.

But at least it is your records.

My suggestion is to borrow as many CDs from your local
public library that overlap your LP collection; creating an MP3 from a
CD only takes a few minutes per CD.

A copyright violation in some places, since you don't own that CD. The
fact you may have a copy on another format is irrelavent.

Then buy used CDs from Ebay or
Amazon and only then convert your LPs.

You can do that, as long as you retain posession of the CDs.

For your LPs you'll have to
enter album info, artists, track info, etc. manually. For most CD's,
it's an automatic process.

If you are ingenious, you may find some semi-automatic way to name the
tracks.

"Gary Tait" wrote in message
...

If you are ingenious, you may find some semi-automatic way to name the
tracks.

Cut & paste?