The capsule which we are using in the locus mike is the panasonic MCE-4000:
High-quality subminiature electret microphone cartridge (omnidirectional characteristic).
Frequency range 20-20,000Hz Sensitivity 5mV/Pa/1kHz, ±3dB Output impedance 2.2kΩ S/N ratio > 58dB Coupling capacitor 0.1-4.7µF Admiss. ambient temp. 0-40 °C Power supply 1.5-10V DC current /0.5mA
This looks kind of similar to the Panasonic WM61 except that the required voltage (2v) for the WM61 is higher than the voltage delivered by the stream box I'm kind of intrigued that it is giving significantly improved results - unless of course you are using an external power supply or battery ?
I too have been thinking that it is time to improve the microphone quality, and I think it definitely boils down to more gain so higher voltage or preamp - maybe using the +5 volts from the usb plug could help I did a few tests with this but was put off by ground noise...
Concerning Parabolic reflectors: yes we did quite a few tests - the mike on Marseille port uses a mini parabola which game from a toy "spy" mike - I also stuck a wire sieve on the front of the dish which when covered with several layers of nylon tights is an efficient wind shield.
We also used a dish which Conrad where selling for around 20$ at one point but it doesn't seem to be out there any more. Anyway - yes parabola will increase gain and directionality and can double up as weather protection. The disadvantage is that the smaller the parabola the higher the cut-off frequency and they will reinforce some frequencies more than others... Be careful to get a proper parabola and not just any curved object (dont believe what you read on the web) the microphone needs to be placed carefully at the focal point.
I have also been wondering about USB microphones
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?item=SP-USB-HG-T
or phantom powered preamp+sound cards
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-X2U-XLR-to-USB-Signal-Adapter/dp/B001PPXFAG
But of course this would be a more expensive solution.
Best Peter
On 8 oct. 11, at 09:24, Björn Eriksson wrote:
Thanks for the tip of this Panasonic WM61a capsule! After some googling I ended up here where there is some rather interesting advices on using this capsule, circuit suggestions and more http://www.linkwitzlab.com/sys_test.htm#Mic I am sure there is more out there, this was like the first search results. If someone knows about some good resources about usages of these capsules please post them here. I surely should want to build something like a distributed system with maybe 3 or 4 different mike positions already mounted, then possible to switch between with a switch (depending on weather and season).
All the best, Björn Eriksson
On Sat, Oct 8, 2011 at 1:26 AM, udo noll un@aporee.org wrote: hi august
too happy with the sound I'm getting and I'm almost certainit could
be better. What kind of adjustments have you been making tofine
tune the sound quality?i've replaced the original mic with a panasonic wm 61a capsule. that was definitely an (low cost) improvement low cost. udo -- radio aporee 52° 29' 66" N, 13° 25' 26" E ::: maps http://aporee.org/maps/ ::: stream http://radio.aporee.org ::: miniatures for mobiles http://aporee.org/mfm/ _______________________________________________ Locustream / Locus Sonus Streaming Project http://locusonus.org/ To unsubscribe, send a message to support@locusonus.org http://nujus.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/locustream _______________________________________________
Locustream / Locus Sonus Streaming Project http://locusonus.org/ To unsubscribe, send a message to support@locusonus.org http://nujus.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/locustream _______________________________________________
Peter Sinclair petesinc@nujus.net http://petersinclair.org http://nujus.net http://locusonus.org
