If you are like me you have often had a hard time trying to record a phone conversation. Sometimes you might be in a noisy environment and you can’t put the person on the speaker phone, or other times you might get the call on a phone with no speaker phone at all.

After looking around for a while, I think I have found the easiest and most reliable way to record a phone conversation.

The Olympus TP7 Telephone Pickup is basically a little microphone that you plug into your ear. You simply hold the phone to your ear, just like you would on any regular phone call, and the microphone picks up both ends of the conversation.

The TP7 can be plugged into any tape or digital recorder–like you see in the picture–or it can be plugged directly into the mic input on your computer.

The microphone itself comes with a 1/4 inch mono jack, but adapters for 1/8 inch mono and 1/4 inch stereo are provided as well. This should make the TP7 work with almost every kind of portable recorded on the market.

What I really find great about this little thing is that it is such a simply solution to what seems like a complex problem for me. You can be sure that no matter when or where you take a phone call, you can always easily record it. Since the microphone plugs into your ear, you always have one hand free to take notes, or doodle, depending on the importance of the interview.

Below is an audio sample of a quick recording I made with the TP7. I just called my bank’s 800 number, so don’t expect anything interesting. But you can hear both sides of the conversation and I think the quality and clarity is really good.

Olympus TP7 Recording Sample

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And the best thing about the TP7 is the price. I got mine from Amazon for under $18. I read a couple of reviews before I bought this and one guy mentioned paying $50 for the same thing.