Microphone boost on windows

[kozikowski]

both got 2 wires into the mic itself, etc.

You shouldn't go very far thinking that. Computer microphones have two interleaved connection systems...because it was cheap and inexpensive to do it that way. Taking the obvious one first, the voice signal comes down from the microphone on one of those thin wires and the shield. Needs both. If you lose either one, the voice drops dead.

This type of microphone takes a battery. Some microphones make you go out and buy an actual battery. You want to make sure you have spare batteries if you go out on a job. I'm not joking. This type of microphone works like that.



Computer microphones take a battery, too, but instead of making you go out and buy one, they borrow a little battery from the computer. That's what's going up the other thin wire and the shield.

Please note the shield is doing two different jobs at once. Second illustration in this page.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audioconnecto ... ctors.html

If that last connection back becomes dirty, greasy or just broken or defective, you are seriously hosed. If it's possible to change the cable between microphones, you may find that the hum follows one cable wherever it goes.

Koz

[audacityfanboy]

I just did some testing with different microphone and computers. I did as you suggested and plugged different microphone into an 3.5mm jack extension cord and i found out that the culprit was the microphone.
It is wierd though because that microphone used to work normaly and i checked and the only wires it was touching was internet lines (and just to test it i even unplugged them, didnt make a difference). The only time i could get it to stop buzzing is when i plug it into a laptop running on battery and even then you can hear a slight buzz. That microphone will simply have to be replaced.
As for other microphone, i found out that using 3.5mm jack extension makes no difference, at least not that i can hear, even though the extension is 5 meters long ! The only computer that it is buzzing when plugged is my small netbook that is using only 2 AC lines, meaning no ground. Kind of makes sense that it would buzz on that computer then. At least now i know other things are fine.

What is bothering me though is how bad are the recordings i am making with this microphones. Just for the fun of it i compared them to a simple recording i made with my cheap mobile phone and there is barely any noise on the recording, much less then with what i get on those pc microphones. I even recorded some college lab practices with my mobile phone so i could listen to it at home before exam and it was great. Since i dont intend to spend more then 10 dolars on a mic right now and those "skype pc" microphones seem to be that horribly bad, i was wondering if it wouldnt be better if i just bought the mic peace and connect the wire myself ? Maybe this way i can find a better part for this cheap price and then solder it to wires. If nothing else, at least i get to do something fun and learn something new, what do you think ? Ebay is full of those mic parts:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-Dia-MIC-Cap ... SwwpdW9lav

[kozikowski]

i know other things are fine.

Right.

When the wizards fix this stuff it's not magic (usually). It's following lists of possible problems and make sure you don't leaving anything out. Bow-ring.

I once followed a very highly respected techie around and in the back of my mind compared what he was doing with what I would have done. The only significant difference was he dotted every single "i" and crossed every single "t" with no exception. I would have left out steps in the job and thereby messed it up.

You can do a very good job with "home style" and computer microphones, but you can't be sloppy and everything has to work perfectly correctly. The home stuff has no margin for error like the higher end stuff does.

how bad are the recordings i am making with this microphones.

They don't have to be bad. I have a very old "home" Sony microphone that does a very respectable job. I bet I can create a voice track that you can't tell from a better microphone.

Many home microphones suffer from Perception and Assumption. "Everybody knows home microphones sound crappy, so we don't have to build ours very well." Even worse, people make standard mediocre microphone parts and everybody makes their custom microphones from the same cheap parts.

simple recording i made with my cheap mobile phone and there is barely any noise on the recording,

There we have a special case. Those microphones are carefully matched to the phone and the expected environment. If those microphones fail, somebody will throw the phone against the wall, so those are self-limiting, however, you do have to be careful. Some of them are carefully tuned for voice and nothing else. They won't do music at all. If yours does everything, then you got lucky.

[Shot on the iPhone 6s]

Because of the matching, you usually can't bring the voice out and use it somewhere else in real time. If the job isn't an APP in the phone, you lose. However, I know people who shoot sound on the Personal Recorder and match it up with the video later for a television production. You can do that. Don't get stuck in one mind-set.

"I have to shoot it this one way or somebody will punish me."

Maybe not.

Koz

[audacityfanboy]

Those microphone capsule are so cheap it would be a sin not to try and asemble 1 at home and then test against those cheap microphones i have. Maybe get different types of microphone capsules and compare them, it sounds like 1 of my projects that slows down my college progression !

If i were to buy for instance something like this:

http://www.conrad-electronic.co.uk/ce/e ... archDetail
http://www.conrad-electronic.co.uk/ce/e ... archDetail

I am looking for capsules that need no additional fancy stuff, except 3.5mm jack + wire ofcourse. What kind of characteristics would i be looking for to make sure my sound card and supply enough juice ? In my country for instance i saw capsules of 1, 2 and 4.5V DC. How would i know which one to pick and whether it will be ok ?

[cyrano]

The electret to look for, is the Panasonic WM61a. It's out of production, but stocks are still available. These are less than a dollar and very easy to use. You only need 3 to 9 V power supply and one capacitor to hook them up.

http://industrial.panasonic.com/cdbs/ww ... 00CE22.pdf
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/type/www/au ... ounts.html

These are suited for your first DIY mic. There are better capsules, fi from Transound or Primo, but these are hard to get and pricey. Around 20 times the price of the WM61a. And they require a lot more electronics, and a higher polarization voltage.

And watch out! Making mics is highly addictive to some...

[audacityfanboy]

This looks great ! I am ordering this mic asap, and i have to check whether i have 1uF cap lying around or i have to order that aswell. On the second link you suplied i checked "Soldering cables onto WM-61A's" and i didnt see the guy using any capacitors, does that mean using them is "optional", serving purely as protection, or is it mandatory to use it ?

A quick question regarding voltage, mic is rated from 2V - 10V, does that mean suplying 10V will bring some improvement, like better sound to noise ratio, better sensivity, etc. ? Since i plan to use it with a computer it would be good to know how much voltage can a 3.5mm plug in sound card supply, couldnt really find a good answer to that question. But if more voltage equals to better sound, i can always use power from usb, which will give me 5V.