Recording with the Rode Podcaster on Linux¶
To record on the Rode Podcaster from Linux, simply follow these steps.
Possibly Update Firmware¶
If your Podcaster has a serial number less than 7730, then you need to apply Rode's "Vista" Firmware Update using Windows. Update 2021.11.14 - the download link is no longer valid - a newer file is available here.
Plug the device in¶
Once the microphone has been plugged in, you should see the entries on the Linux logfile. Issue the dmesg command to confirm.
[259364.405901] usb 1-1.3: USB disconnect, address 3
[263935.850793] usb 1-1.3: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
[263936.275739] usb 1-1.3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[263936.300492] ALSA /build/buildd/linux-ubuntu-modules-2.6.24-2.6.24/debian/build/build-server/sound/alsa-driver/[263936.310464] ALSA /build/buildd/linux-ubuntu-modules-2.6.24-2.6.24/debian/build/build-server/sound/alsa-driver/[263936.375667] input: RODE MICROPHONESj Rode Podcaster as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.2/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:[263936.408705] input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [RODE MICROPHONESj Rode Podcaster] on usb-0000:00:1f.2-1.3
Get the card number¶
ALSA will detect the device, and assign it a card number.
$ cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [PCI ]: Allegro - ESS Allegro PCI
ESS Allegro PCI at 0x1000, irq 5
1 [UART ]: MPU-401 UART - MPU-401 UART
MPU-401 UART at 0x300, irq 10
2 [Podcaster ]: USB-Audio - Rode Podcaster
RODE MICROPHONESj Rode Podcaster at usb-0000:00:1f.2-1.3, full speed
In this case, the Podcaster is assigned to card number 2.
Turn up the volume¶
The microphone might be muted. Turn the volume up by issuing this command :
$ amixer -c 2 set Mic 32
Simple mixer control 'Mic',0
Capabilities: cvolume pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Capture channels: Mono
Limits: Capture 0 - 32
Mono: Playback [off] Capture 32 [100%] [23.04dB] [on]
Note that the -c 2 refers to the 2nd card (as we found in the /proc/asound/cards file)
Record your audio¶
To record the audio, run the following command. Break it (CTRL-C) when you're done. (Note, that 2,0 refers to card 2, device 0)
$ arecord -Dplughw:2,0 -f cd myself.wav
Recording WAVE 'myself.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 44100 Hz, Stereo
Aborted by signal Interrupt...
or
$ arecord -D hw:2,0 -f S24_3LE -r 48000 myself.wav
Recording WAVE 'myself.wav' : Signed 24 bit Little Endian in 3bytes, Rate 48000 Hz, Mono
^CAborted by signal Interrupt...
FAQ¶
I don't have permissions to record on the audio device¶
This can be solved with one of two methods. Add yourself to the audio group (in the example, phil is my username)
$ sudo addgroup phil audio
The 2nd method is to change the permissions of the /dev/dsp* device.
$ sudo chmod o=+rw /dev/dsp*