In my last post at CyberKen Blog I wrote about how to talk to your Dragon dictation software untethered, that is,  using a portable recording device–either a digital recorder like my Olympus LS-10,  or an older tape cassette one–and later playing your dictation files into Dragon.  Employing dictation this way worked just fine for me indoors. But whether it would work outside on a windy day was still to be determined.  This post tells how to use dictation software outdoors.
Today I ran a field test. There was a moderate wind blowing, and  even more importantly, there was considerable noise from nearby traffic.  Nevertheless, my home made “dead cat” (a furry sleeve covering both the stereo microphones of my LS-10) was sufficient to suppress whatever extraneous noises which might have confused Dragon. The paragraph below was composed by my Dragon from the  file I recorded this morning at Wilmington’s Urban Farm.
……………………………..
I’m at Wilmington’s urban farm and I’m using my LS-10 as a recorder with a dead cat over the microphones. We’ll see whether that’s adequate to take dictation with this device and then later use the dictation software, Dragon Naturally Speaking, to quickly write a blog post. I’ve taken some pictures as a crowd of community people are gathering to listen to gardening expert, Gail Hermanau,  as she explains how best to plant a small garden space,  such as the raised beds which we see here at the urban farm.  Today’s event is sponsored by Wilmington’s urban farm,  a project of the Delaware Center for Horticulture;  and this is Tom Davis, amateur photojournalist,  reporting.
…………………………….
(end of dictation)
Wow, success! Friends, if you want to blog about news really fast, this is a great way!
The Home Edition of Dragon Naturally Speaking costs just $99. You can make yourself a wind filter from quarter-inch foam, such as  items are packed in when shipped to you in the mail, and a bit of false fur cloth. Cut the foam in two roundish shapes to cover the mics of your recorder. Allow a little overlap all around, because you’ll want to make a pocket into which you’ll slide the recorder. Cut the false fur material a little wider than your foam shapes. The false fur will go on the outside of the pocket, the foam on the inside. Stitch together the edges of the pocket with the needle and thread.  Note:  You can buy “dead cats” for about $40, but this home made one will cost you next to nothing.
Using field recordings to dictate to your Dragon will make you a lightening fast news reporter. Grab some quick photos, dictate your text, it’s done!