Risk of overload when using a digital-audio-tape recorder (DAT) to record high-amplitude impulsive sounds

Impulsive sound signals outside and inside hearing protectors were recorded during the shooting of police pistols. Signals were simultaneously recorded onto the two channels of a digital audio tape recorder (DAT) through the microphone inputs. The recordings of the high-amplitude impulsive signals outside the protectors were subsequently found to be overloaded, but without any warning by the DAT recorder's overload indicator. To avoid this kind of overload, because of its capability for linear response to greater input voltages and the design of the overload detector, line-input channels instead of microphone-input channels should be used when recording high-amplitude, short-duration impulsive signals on a DAT or other magnetic tape recorder.