Boundary mics

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Boundary mics

Postby josh porter » Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:36 pm

So I have recently com into two Optimus Boundary Mics. They unfortunatley do not have the phantom power pack anymore and the cable end, terminates to nothing. Any options or do I now have two nice paperweights?
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Postby Mathieu Benoit » Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:52 pm

So.... there's no connector on the end of the cable? Also what do you mean by "phantom power pack"?

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Postby josh porter » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:35 pm

ya there is no connector on the end.

The "Phantom Power Pack" was a pack in the middle of the cable that supplyed the mic with power.
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Postby macrae11 » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:36 pm

Uses T-Power maybe?

Easy enough to solder on a new connector.
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Postby josh porter » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:37 pm

ya I suppose I could try that.
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Postby Mathieu Benoit » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:38 pm

I'm trying to find something online about this thing to get a better idea... Is there a reason it can't take phantom power from the mixer?
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Postby macrae11 » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:41 pm

Do you know if the mic takes regular 48V phantom power? If so it could just be powered from a regular mixer. If it needed something odd like 12V you would have to buy a separate power supply.
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Postby Mathieu Benoit » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:46 pm

macrae11 wrote:Do you know if the mic takes regular 48V phantom power? If so it could just be powered from a regular mixer. If it needed something odd like 12V you would have to buy a separate power supply.

Yeah, this is what I was getting at. If it's just regular 48V then stick a male XLR on there and be done with it.
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Postby macrae11 » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:50 pm

Well I found the owners manual for the mic. http://support.radioshack.com/support_audio/55999.htm

It appears as though the mic requires a 16V supply, although it wouldn't hurt for one of the techie types to confirm that. If that's the case, I don't know of any standard audio power box you could buy that uses 16V.

You could probably find an old adapter and have it moded by Al or Thom, but by that time, I would think you could just get a new mic. It's an old Radio Shack job that used to have an 1/8" connector, so I'm guessing the mic is not real superb audio quality wise.
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Postby Malcolm Boyce » Wed Nov 05, 2008 6:04 pm

You have to wonder why a mic like this would be modded in the first place, unless it was someone trying to connect it to a XLR input of something to see if it would work. They may have failed, which is why you find them in the condition they are in.

You would need to know exactly how that was wired up originally in order to connect it properly to a different connector, and properly power it... that is unless you don't mind trial and error and the possibility of destruction.

Sounds like a fun newbie project...
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Postby Alain Benoit » Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:57 pm

FOH guy for Sweet Temptation had a pair of those. Drilled a 3/16" hole in each and mounted them on cymbal stands off his drum rack as overheads. Swore by them, then again he also swore by his "DECA" amplifiers and his "Black Widows".
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Postby macrae11 » Thu Nov 06, 2008 9:23 am

Alain Benoit wrote:FOH guy for Sweet Temptation had a pair of those. Drilled a 3/16" hole in each and mounted them on cymbal stands off his drum rack as overheads. Swore by them, then again he also swore by his "DECA" amplifiers and his "Black Widows".


Rrrrriiiiiiggghht......
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Postby jammy jamz » Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:41 am

but, i thought that mics that needed phantom power, only took what they needed tho.

i know, i can be an ignoramus sometimes....(quite a bit) all the time.

i have a shure sm81 that needs 9v, but, it takes the 48v off the pres with no problem.

i have a cabling website in my favorites at home, that has a list of schematic diagrams to show the wiring for all types of cables....i dunno if it will have what you need tho.

i can post it when i get home tho....a link. that is......texas tea.
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Postby jammy jamz » Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:42 am

i need to stop sayin tho so much.
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Postby macrae11 » Thu Nov 06, 2008 11:19 am

You are correct Jamie, that often mics don't require 48V but will accept regular phantom power as a source. There are other types of "phantom power" such as T-Power which will not power normal capacitor microphone.

Without knowing more about this mic I couldn't say for sure. It may even use a proprietary powering system, since the original mic had a built in power supply.

If it was me, I'd slap an XLR on it, and shoot it some 48V and try it out. This does have potential to fry the mic though.
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Postby Mathieu Benoit » Thu Nov 06, 2008 11:42 am

macrae11 wrote:If it was me, I'd slap an XLR on it, and shoot it some 48V and try it out. This does have potential to fry the mic though.


Good times! That would be my approach as well. Either way at least you have a doorstop.
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Postby Alain Benoit » Thu Nov 06, 2008 1:13 pm

Excellent doorstops as a matter of fact, you can slide the boundary under the door and let it wedge against the capsule housing.

I'd venture to guess that at the price these were that they are loaded with an electret type condenser capsule. Try and see if you can any signal at all before applying +48V DC.
Then try ramping up the voltage until you get results if you ever do.
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Postby jammy jamz » Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:49 pm

the voice of reason.
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Postby jammy jamz » Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:53 pm

as promised the link to the cableing website.......but, unfortunately josh, i dont think its what you need..... sowwy.

http://www.rane.com/note110.html

if you copy and paste this, into google, it should be the first link...i think. it worked on my system. i just dont feel like making an anchor. :)
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Postby jammy jamz » Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:54 pm

well slap my face and call me red.

it anchored itself. so not only can malcolm track a bass, he can build a pretty freaky deaky website too.

:-D
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Postby josh porter » Sat Nov 08, 2008 9:21 pm

Wow, I didn't know that my simple question would evoke such response. I have gotten some good ideas and will try some of them through trial and error
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