I would try to find a used Edirol R1, maybe on Ebay. I would get the Giant Squid Audio Labs powered mics that sell for $80 or $90 depending on whether you get them on sale or not, and I would also purchase a copy of GoldWave for your audio editing software. I like Sound Forge and Studio Recorder better but those are not within your budget. GoldWave is a good package and I believe it sells for about $50 or so. That would be a very nice setup in my opinion. --Warmest regards, --Rick Alfaro --rick.alfaro@xxxxxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: blindcasting-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:blindcasting-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dr. Ronald E. Milliman Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 12:54 PM To: blindcasting@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Can you help me spend $400.00? <Big smile> Colleagues, Can you help me spend $400.00? <Big smile> I have $400.00 left in my research grant account, and I must spend it before the end of the year or I will lose it. So, here is my question to you: If you have an Olympus WS320-M digital recorder that does a nice job of recording on the fly, so to speak, but you want to invest more money into software and hardware that will facilitate producing hi-quality recordings and podcasts, and you have $400.00 to work with, how would you invest the $400 to maximize the quality of your recordings and podcasts? What other pieces of software and/or hardware would you purchase? I am totally blind, and therefore, high functionality and accessibility are critically important to me. Thanks for your suggestions... Ron M. Dr. Ronald E. Milliman, Professor of Marketing, Western Kentucky University **President, South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB) **Chair, Monthly Monetary Support Program (MMS)