Mini mics

[Steve Ostrander]

I have a couple of mini mics or "tie clip" mics that I want to try on my mando, but I can't get them to work. They are too small to house a battery, so maybe they need phantom power? If so, how do you power them? They have a 1/8" mini plug on the end. I don't know what brand they are, as they are unmarked.

Anybody have any experience with these?

[mandroid]

you may need a regulated power supply , a full 48v phantom power likely would toast that thing.

since "These" as an un identified item, it is only a guess.

[Nate]

They're probably intended to be plugged into some kind of belt-pack transmitter, which would supply them with any power they needed (they may just be passive and not even need any power, which is pretty likely) and amp the signal up to a level that can be sent wirelessly or through a mic cable. They were probably originally wireless mics for speakers / preachers.

I don't imagine they'll be all that great for an instrument, as these little things tend to have pretty narrow frequency responses, but it's worth a shot at least. Almost any belt-pack unit should work, as long as it has the standard 1/8" input and not some propreitary connector. You'll also need a wireless reciever or a transmitter that simply converts to a 1/4" or XLR output instead of to a wireless signal.

[Steve Ostrander]

Thanks Nate and mandroid, that makes sense. It's probably not worth the expense to acquire the power supply and transmitter if the chances are I'm not going to like the result.

[rockies]

Steve, those little mini mike capsules are called "Electret microphones". They are typically powered from a box containing something like a nine volt battery. They will work on voltages from about 3 volts to 12 volts or so. They need a resistor of about 2200 ohms or so in series with the cartridge to limit the current. They actually can work quite well, some pretty good. Guitarists used to mount them in little blocks of foam inside the guitar and they worked very well. Lots of info on the net, just google "electret microphone power". Have fun, worth playing with.
Dave

[eadg145]

Well, I looked for a specific page that would be most appropriate, but they have so many offerings at Sound Professionals I thought I'd just send you here:

www.soundprofessionals.com

I have a very tiny preamp from them that takes a 9 volt battery. The whole thing is not much larger than the battery itself, and it works like a champ. They do a lot of custom configuration, too, so take the time to poke around the site. NFI, but I am a return customer.

cheers,

David