Turn power on:

press and hold the little power button on the left side. You have to hold it down for a few seconds.

Set the mic gain:

The mic gain switch is on the back. For loud sounds, set gain to low. For quiet sounds, set gain to high.

Check levels:

Press record button once. It should blink red. In the display window, you should see the sound level meters. The input level is controlled with the + / – buttons on the left side. Try to get your loudest sound level as close to “0″ on the meter as possible, without ever making the red “peak” light go on. Red peak light = too loud.

Record:

Press the blinking record button. While you are recording, it glows solid red. To stop, press the “Stop” square on the control panel (below the record button)