I’ll bet you’re thinking I’m talking about a new cell phone – my friend, I am not!

For, pretty much, the entire existence of my psychic business, call recording has been a challenge.

Generally, the challenge has been the unreliability of skype or zoom technology, with calls dropping, sounding digitized, and with an extra burden on my clients having to know how to use that technology and have access to the equipment to do so.  It just wasn’t a realistic solution for my session calls, though I did try it for my podcast guest episodes…. with varying success.  When it went wrong, it went *very* wrong and the audio was un-salvageable.

Since the beginning, I have stuck with reliable but obsolete technology – a good old landline phone with a patch to capture and record the calls.  My clients have always noticed static in the recordings and asked for a better quality keepsake of their calls with me.  I upgraded from a spyware-quality phone patch to a radio station quality in-line phone patch from JK audio, and while the quality improved marginally, it has never been great.  This has to date, been the best I could do.

While I’m certainly not technology-averse, I have been reluctant to introduce technology into my session calls.  When I’m in “medium mode” I just need the tech to be easy and reliable.  I need a phone, a notebook, and possibly photos from my client.  I really don’t want a laptop in that mix.

Well, since Sweetie and I moved to Victoria, the audio quality has gotten WORSE.  I can’t understand it, but it seems that while the internet is cheaper and better, the old copper phone lines are going to seed, and the phone company is no longer willing to maintain them.  Clients are saying I sound far away!  That’s no good!

So I have engaged in many hours of research, and I am now investing in a VoIP phone setup.  I spent some time with a very kind tech support fellow from 1-VoIP who helped me to solve the problem of how to incorporate the new technology (stop laughing) in the easiest, most user-friendly way possible.

I also need to be able to sit in my chair (an amazing la-z-boy recliner which makes it possible for me to talk on the phone for hours at a time) so I did NOT want to have to use my aging laptop to make phone calls – and lets not forget, I need to be able to record these calls.

Well!  It turns out you can buy actual VoIP phones which – get this – have a USB port in them where you can just stick a flash drive in and record the call RIGHT ON THE PHONE!  And there will not be additional “noise” on the line the way there currently is with the old analog phone lines – all digital baby!  The call recordings should be very high quality!

As a resident of civilization now, rather than rural wilderness, the internet connection is a reliable utility I have begun to take for granted.

I have placed my order for this technology and signed up for the service.  I will of course do all my testing and set up before I get on calls with clients, but if you do have a session with me in the next six weeks, I do ask that you be patient with me just in case I run into new tech challenges.  There’s always an adjustment period.

I’m excited though!  I have always wanted easy, high-quality call recordings, and now I think I’m going to get it!!!

Yay!