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Microphone Project Report

Introduction
Brief
This trimester in Audio Technology 4, we were assigned the task of
constructing either an electret condenser microphone or a dynamic
microphone from a pre-designed circuit diagram. Our lecturer
recommended components and we were to purchase these
components on our own. This product must be submitted as a
finished and working product. So, extensive testing on the circuit
must be required. To successfully complete this project, soldering
kits were available to us from the studio office.
For this assignment, I planned to produce a finished electret
condenser microphone complete with phantom power, low
impedance and balanced signals. The circuit chosen was the last
circuit better electret microphone phantom powering circuit. I
chose to do this to give myself a challenge.

Materials and Pre-construction


Before I began completing my final product, I started with the
simple battery powered circuit using the same components used in
the demonstration in class.
This was to get myself familiar with the technique of soldering. After
a few attempts at the simple circuit, I went off to purchase the parts
for my final product. The items purchase were:
Resistor 330 ohms
2x Resistor 2200 ohms
2x Resistor 10000 ohms
2x Resistor 100000 ohms
2x Tantalum Capacitor 1uF
2x Electrolytic Capacitors 10uf
2x Transistors BC557
Zener Diode 12V
Amphenol Male XLR connector
Panasonic WM 61A Condenser mic capsule
Cables, wire and etc.
Most of these components were purchased from Jaycar, except the
mic capsule. There werent any BC 479 transistors, so I had to
purchase an alternative which was suggested to me by one of the
guys at Jaycar. The empty shell that encases everything was found
at a friends house, so since it wasnt being used I decided to use it
as a housing for the microphone.

Body
Construction
I began with preparing the shell, drilling a few holes and filing out
the bottom hole to allow the XLR connector to fit. I also fit in a pvc
pipe to prevent short circuiting to the shell. Then I began soldering
the circuit with the components I got. I started from the capsule,
then I worked my way through to the XLR pins. I came across a few
soldering problems but I managed to fix them. Most of the
components were firstly twisted together, then, soldered to make a
stronger connection. I wish I had planned the way I was going to
solder each component to save more space and instead of having
everything all over the place.

Electrical Operation
I made a mistake in the connection to the XLR, where I should have
used a shielded cable. Pin 1 is ground, the shield connection to the
cable. Pins 2 and 3 are the balanced lines, which the +48V power
will go through and is divided equally between the two. In all
honesty, I cannot accurately explain how the electronics of this
circuit works, as I do not know how transistors perform. Although, I
made sure that I tested every section of the circuit.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that something had gone wrong in the
soldering process of the circuit. This can be heard from the hum
noise when the microphone is connected to the mixer. This could be
due to the incorrect components, incorrect soldering or lack of
shielding provided. Completed in a day, I am quite happy with the
way it turned out and for not overheating any components.

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