I have searched the boards here, but have not found an answer to this question: Where can I find a transcriber (used/new) that I can buy? I have read in past messages that Dictaphone and Lanier are good brands as well as Sony and Radio Shack, but how much are they and where is the best place to buy them?

I am still in school to be an MT and need to take the summer off (personal reasons) but would like to keep my skills up.

Any help would be appreciated, and I will keep searching the boards here to see if I can find an answer.

Get this, my hubby said he would even pay for the transcriber! Yahoo!

Kris,
I have a Sanyo (microcassette) Memo-Scriber TRC-6030. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for, but if you want a microcassette transcriber I will GIVE you mine!!! The only catch is... you have to call Sanyo and order a footpedal because my dogs went through an "I love to chew cords" stage. E-mail me if you want further info. It is in good working order except for one little glitch which I will explain if you decide you want it.
Jeany

Thanks, Jeany, but I think I was looking for a regular-sized machine (one that takes standard tapes). I also didn't take into consideration the fact that I would need tapes to practice with.

In class we are using the SUM tapes and I have seen the Advanced tapes on sale on the web, but I am not that far into the course yet. I'm still using the Beginning SUM tapes. I have a year left!

Anyway, thanks for the offer, but I think I will find another way. I don't even know where to find the tapes! Used, of course!

Sorry I couldn't help you out Kris.

I have seen the term "SUM tapes" in different places on the board. Obviously they are dictation tapes, but is it real dictation? Like the stuff you will encounter when you start working? I was just wondering because when I went to MT school (a zillion years ago), the tapes we had were of perfect quality with a "perfect" person dictating. What a shock it was to hear the "real thing" when I started working!! I always thought a good teaching and practice tool would be dictation from real doctors. So I was just wondering if they are doing that now. When I worked at a hospital, we would occasionally get calls from MTs in school asking us if they could have tapes we had already transcribed so they could use them for practice, but for discretion reasons we couldn't do that.

Good luck on your transcriber search. I bet there are some agencies and hospitals that have switched to digital systems that have some collecting dust in a closet somewhere but how to go about finding them, I wouldn't have a clue.

I am a MT instructor at a community college. We use the SUM (Systems Unit Method) program. It is real dictation and it gives the students a really good feel for what they will encounter in the "real" world of transcription. All kinds of accents, etc. It is a well recommended program and very thorough...

lkwmo3, you are right about the SUM tapes. They are real dictation and some of them are long, tedious, and boring. But they do indeed give a taste of what it's like in the real world. There are doctors that have heavy accents and are hard to understand, there are people that mumble, etc. I'm glad I'm learning with these tapes!

I just want to be able to find something like them that I can practice with at home, along with a machine. On with the search!

Hi Again,
I just wanted to let you know that you canfind great used equipment, just what you are looking for on the MT Daily page, also there are many other places you can find them, try your surfing skills, type in transcription equipment and I guarantee you wil have some great hits.
I bought mine through Office Direct, they seemed the most reasonable for what I was looking for.

Good Luck!
MI MT

P.S. I can't get this sad face off my subject line

[This message has been edited by MI MT (edited 29 June 1999).]

Why didn't I think of that? Duh, I could have searched the web. Oh well. I will definitely do that this weekend, and hopefully I can find something!