Vintage broadcast mics
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Posted on Jun 01, 2010 12:59 am
coolo
Frisco's Most Underrated
Member Since: Jan 28, 2003
So, my grandfather passed back in 1998 or so. He was into radios back in the day when they were still emerging technology. My grandmother passed about 15 months ago, and my aunts and uncles were trying to go through all the old stuff and see what people wanted. I had heard talk that there were some old mics in my grandfathers work shop. So I went down today and my uncle showed me 5 old broadcast mics. He let me take 4 of them (there was one he had his eyes on). I may have to return some of them, but I get to keep at least one of them.
I did a bit of web searching and found some info on them... thought I'd share. I currently have the following mics in a plastic bag:
2 ElectrovVoice Cardax Model 950 [1945]
1 RCA # RCA Aerodynamic Type MI-6226 [1936]
1 Turner Broadcast Dynamic Model 211 [1937]
Found some of the info on this cool site:
www.k-bay106.com/photos.htm
Going to see if any of them work tomorrow morning.
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cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Jun 01, 2010 01:31 pm Oh well, my attempts to record anything with these did not go so well. When I plugged the mics into the pre, all I get is a humm/buzz. I'm assuming it is a ground buzz, but I wouldn't know for sure because I'm not sure what a ground buzz sounds like. I think the buzz is introduced by the cable since when I detached the mic from the cable and the cable was stilll plugged in, the buzz was still in effect. These old mics do not use standard xlr cables so I'm using an old cable I found in my grandfathers workshop. It looks unbalanced and cheap. Just to make sure, I checked that it wasn't the quarter inch jack on the mic pre causing problems, and it wasn't. Guess I'm gonna have to spring for some better cable...
Jun 01, 2010 02:03 pm Here is the thing. They are unbalanced, without a shield!!!
You can not shield the older mic's. Plus, since they are unbalanced, you can't run the cable over 10 feet. They were meant to have only a 2 foot cable to them. This is why they sat right next to the board.
Better cables will only make the problem worse.
Jun 01, 2010 02:04 pm Quote:
Better cables will only make the problem worse
There is something you don't read every day...
Jun 01, 2010 02:36 pm Oh the joys of working on vintage gear!
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Jun 01, 2010 02:40 pm Rob, you're saying that something like this wouldn't work?
www.oaktreevintage.com/Vi...hone_Cables.htm
3rd pair down...
If they are not shielded, do you have any ideas on what I can do to get a clear signal (no buzz)?
Jun 01, 2010 02:50 pm Those should work for you. If you still get a buzz or a humm down the line. You may have to rebuild the mic. Which is cheap. It's just a piece of paper or cotton, and some iron fillings. The great thing about ribbon mics. They are cheap to fix, expensive to buy. Since you got them for free, it shouldn't cost you all that much to keep them running.
