The MiniMic
The Minimic
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Ever need one more mic, or a cheap, no big deal if it gets lost mic? Maybe something for a snare pickup for an enthusiastic drummer who keeps hitting the mic? Maybe a mic to go on Evel Knievel’s bike? Here’s just such a deal. 48V phantom powered, and you’ll be surprised how good it sounds.
Parts: an XLR male connector, a 100K - 150K resistor, a 1mF 50V capacitor, and a “Panasonic” type electret mic element. You can buy a new electret mic element at Radio Shack, scrounge for that one you tossed in the junk bin 10 years ago, pull one out of a dead camera as I did, whatever. This is on the cheap. Under five bucks. Probably free if your parts bin has much audio stuff in it. ( If you’re not into audio, what are you doing here, anyway? )
Here’s a quickie and a cheapie.
MiniMic
The minimum microphone
The miniature mic.
That’s it. Gutless wonder.
The usual pictures from the workbench:
This isn’t my idea. I read about it from Richard Lee who credits David McGriffy . . .
Whoever thought it up, I love it.
What you wind up with is an omnidirectional mic with characteristics much like an instrumentation / measurement mic. You should probably stuff the shell or rubber boot of the XLR with some cotton to eliminate the hollow cavity, and you can glue a piece of felt or foam as a windscreen over the end if you’re going to be using it outdoors or up close and personal with something loud and thumpy.
Try it - you’ll be surprised.
The works.
Assembled.
Where’s the mic?
Oh there it is!
A bit of shrink tubing for insulation and strength
One of the mics tended to hum, so some foil shielding was added.
