Foo - Sound recorder systems for your computer.

I'd like to be able to record long periods of radio , audio lead from radio stations. Audio special programming. Like maybe an hour or more worth of recorded time.
Someone suggested I will have to record to a mp3 player. Said, a 'wave ' program will not work for long recording time.
Any suggestions. Can such systems be downloaded off of the net or do I need software. What options do I have. thanks.

Is this streaming radio from the net? Or recording something off a normal radio into your computer?

I've used Nero Wave Editor to make MP3's from record albums... up to about 20 minutes in length, never tried anything longer. It consumes a lot of HD space but worked very well for me.

My hope is to record audio streaming music and information from various networks. One NPR music program on weekends lasts for two hours. I'd like to record all of it if possible and play back from cd's or mp3's or whatever works. any ideas please. I am not familiar with what is out there.

Any thought of doing a digital to analog and back to digital? If you recorded on reel to reel or video tape then you could record all of the program then segment the MP3/CD files at logical points to have smaller file sizes and allow you to access specific program points. When you burn the CD you can do so without the pause between tracks for virtually seamless playback.

There would be a negligble loss of quality with high tape speeds and would accomplish what you need.

Just an idea.

- sound patch cord from device, such as an FM receiver; then record and convert to whatever format

- .mp3 player w/line-in and FM radio function, such as Cowan iAudio G-series... recording can be done 'on-the-fly' with the device, then .mp3 files transfered to your notebook or PC via USB

- the first approach will only cost for a patch cord (about $3 from Rat Shack)

- the second requires the player/recorder, but has the advantage of anywhere/anytime...

Creative Audio MuVo has a built-in FM receiver where you can record whatever station you are on to an MP3 file on the device. The device acts like a hard drive, when plugged into a computer via USB, so transfering files to another storage device or burning a CD/DVD should be no problem.

As far as time limits on .WAV files, I have used the same MP3 device (built in mic) to record training classes and seminars at work. It will record as long as there is memory to store it. I've gotten >2 hours worth of recording time from my 500 MB device. You can change the bit rate for recording. Decreasing bit rate decreases audio quality and the storage size of the file on the device.

Back when I did an internet radio show, I'd record it using Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). My shows ran over 3 hours long, and I had no problems with it. It gives you the option to export the recording as mp3, as well as a few other formats. Of course, as NoRacer said, recording time limit depends on available hard drive space.