Old Microphone Question

[zozoe]

Good evening all,,, I wasn't sure exactly where to post this, but this cool mic came with an old Webster Electronics amp, & look what I see when I open the capsule,,, diaphragm & internals seems to be all there, but the 2 wires coming from the small tranny, are disconnected from the 2 solder joints at that wafer beneath the magnet. How would I determine which wire goes where? I s'pose one way would be is to wire it & see if it's OOP with another known 'correct' mic,,, but is there any other telltale sign from before my time?
Thanks all & be well
Kenny

 

[Enzo]

Unless you are using two of them to record the same thing at once, I doubt phase will matter much. Somewhere in my kit I even have a couple phase reversal adaptors for XLR lines.


And easy enough to change it it ever does matter.

 

[zozoe]

I hear ya,, Thnx & be well~~

 

[turk 182]

second thread about the same topic....
it appears to be an old carbon cell mike with a missing battery, some of the better one's had provisions for the connection of an external supply but most employed mercury cells which where prone to leakage which can be a toxic hazard.


the most common place where carbon cell mic's where used was in telephone handsets those used the phone line voltage as their power source.

 

[zozoe]

Great info, & thanks.... I th9nk it'll do just fine as a paperwork doorstop!! The weird thing is was that as i was messing with it, i could hear my tapping on the rear of the capsule, but nothing they the front....Looks cool~~
Thanks & be well
Kenny

 

[turk 182]

without a battery physical shock/tapping is about all you'll get, if there's loose carbon granules.


you could recycle the case by dropping a different mic capsule in there.


i've put SM57 or 58 capsules into those, harmonica players love them because the shape is easy to hold.

 

[zozoe]

What kind of battery? There's no room in the body to house a battery. It's an old-timey mic that came with an old Webster Electronics PA amp, and has the screw-on mic connector...?? Thnx

 

[turk 182]

mercury cells are small but due to the chemical elements involved and production bans there virtually impossible to find.


it's possible the amp has dc across that input to supply the mic, similar concept to "phantom power".

 

[zozoe]

Very, very possible,,,

 

[JMFahey]

I think typical 600 ohm DCR for a carbon mic would discharge any battery, specially a tiny one, real quick.
As in hours.
Telephones of course have an endless supply from the Telephone Company, same some WW2 mikes which were fed from a car battery or equivalent.
If that´s a carbon mike, I guess it´s fed from the matching PA amplifier.

 

[turk 182]

interesting point the matter of battery drain but as an obsolete/limited application mic it's merely academic.


the Shure 104c is the one i'm most familiar with and most other's i've encountered in PA use generally employed "push to talk" switching.
https://d24z4d3zypmncx.cloudfront.n...rhnq6xf0wzo0189d1drd101/27A1149__SK__104C.pdf


point being without some means to provide DC it's useless.

 

[zozoe]

Strange indeed~