tapping into speaker wire for mic input?
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Posted on Mar 19, 2009 04:56 pm
tsxguy77
Member Since: Mar 19, 2009
Ok, so I really am trying to find some help from you guys because Im not very familiar with Mics. Basically I have a video camera setup to recordvideo and sound for performances via the web. Anyway, it has an input for a microphone. I assumed I could just connect the microphone cable but cutting off an end and tapping into speaker wires which currently play the performance via ceiling speakers. When I test it, I cant hear the sound coming through the speakers. I can hear the sounds from the camera when I make it move, but not the sound going through the speaker wire. What am I doing wrong?
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TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Mar 19, 2009 05:12 pm Oh my, not good. You might have already fried the mic input if you're feeding an amplified signal into a mic input. Speakers need an amplified signal, enough voltage to move the speaker cone back and forth. Microphones output a very low voltage, way, way, way lower than a speaker runs on. So feeding a signal intended for a speaker into an input intended for a microphone = fire and smoke. Don't do it. Generally a bad idea to just go cutting wires and crossing them.
If you want a microphone, buy a microphone. They're cheap and plentiful.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Mar 19, 2009 05:17 pm Actually now that I re-read your post, I may have misinterpreted what you're doing, but it's still not very clear.
So you have a video camera that you're trying to use just for its microphone? Or you're trying to record audio into the camera via some other source? I guess I don't get what you're trying to do.
Mar 20, 2009 08:52 am Ok, well I know its not friend yet because I can still hear the sound of the camera moving, but I will disconnect it today before anything goes bad.
Now, let me try to explain again. This camera has a microphone input jack which I need to utilize to pick up the sound being played through the speakers throughout the church. Running a standard microphone cable is not really an option because it is 200' away and it would be a huge job trying to hide the wiring. Is there any way I can tap into the speaker wire near the camera and use that speaker wire as a microphone input?
Mar 20, 2009 08:59 am Hey, idle curiosity, does this camera happen to have a little condenser on the camera itself as well as the mic inputs? Also, does it have stereo RCA's hidden behind any covers on it or anything, many, even cheap ones, do.
Given your situation, if you have an on board condenser, try it.
