The basic concept revolves around getting those spirit box responses consistently, and there's actually quite a bit to consider here. First and most crucial, you'll need complete darkness since the ghost won't respond otherwise (this ties into their sensitivity to light). Your distance from the ghost matters too, especially with lower-tier boxes, since they only work within about 3 meters of the entity (interesting fact - this is why upgraded equipment makes such a difference).

Something that trips up a lot of investigators is not realizing that some ghosts are particular about who they'll respond to. You might be doing everything right, but if you're dealing with a shy ghost and there are multiple people around, you won't get anywhere (this is actually tied to their personality traits). Voice recognition can be finicky too - if you're having trouble, try switching between windows and vosk modes in your settings, since each handles voice detection differently.

Here's something that might be helpful - if you're getting frustrated with no responses, double-check your audio setup first. Make sure your mic is set as the default device both in-game and in windows (you'd be surprised how often this is the actual problem). And if things suddenly stop working mid-investigation, a quick game restart usually sorts things out, particularly after alt-tabbing (the game can sometimes lose track of your audio inputs).

Remember that persistence is key with lower-tier equipment, and don't be afraid to repeat your questions a few times when you're in position. Sometimes the timing just needs to be right, especially after the ghost has shown some activity in the area.