For under 200 dollars really your ONLY option might be MD. Of course finding one that provides Phantom Power capable of running your mic, well good luck. What type of mic is it?(Make/Model) The cheapest Flash recorders that I am aware of with any Phantom is M-Audio's at about $400 and that is only 30 volts of Phantom if I remember right so you would have to make sure your mic could be run off that. MD recorders are not something I touch so someone else could cover that one. I would strongly suggest using that money to get a workable interface and record onto your laptop. Itll be cheaper, and for the time being better, for you. Seablade

On Sat, 21 Jan 2006 21:11:52 -0800 reuben <reubenf(a)sonic.net> wrote: Hi, Reuben. I do a fair amount of field recording, and recently moved from MiniDisk to an M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 and it was a quantum leap forward. The MD sounded OK even though it uses a lossy compression algorithm, but it was invariably frustrating to then have to take hours of recording and transfer it to my studio computer in real time, since Sony purposefully disabled data transfers from the MD units. Bastards. It's a pure joy to come back after a session with the MicroTrack and simply connect it via USB, mount the device and copy files. The inputs are very well done, with a 1/8" stereo mic in, and 2 balanced 1/4" inputs which can be used as either line or mic inputs. If they're set as mic inputs, you have the further option of phantom power available. It is +12-30 volts, so double check the requirements of the mic, some need up to 60v. It sounds great, too - the A/D converters are of the same quality as the rest of the M-Audio line. It's a pricier solution than you seem to be looking for; the recorder can be had for $400 on the street, but add to that some sort of CompactFlash media. I got a Hitachi 4GB microdrive for mine, which was another hundred or so. I am extremely happy with this recorder, and will never go back to MD again! There's a review of this device with a lot more detail at: http://www.sonicstudios.com/mt2496rv.htm If you do a lot of field recording and are looking for a very portable setup, you can't go wrong with this. -- ====================================================================== Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh(a)brainiac.com Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa