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Balanced Microphone From An Old Telephone

by civilmonkey on February 17, 2014

Table of Contents

Balanced Microphone From An Old Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Balanced Microphone From An Old Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: The Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2: Breadboard Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Case Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 4: Fitting It Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Balanced-Microphone-From-An-Old-Telephone/
Intro: Balanced Microphone From An Old Telephone
It's been done before, but here is my take on converting an old rotary telephone carbon microphone into a lo-fi mic. I wanted something that I could hopefully use on
stage so I wanted to make it balanced. I also wanted it battery powered as opposed to phantom powered on the chance that my DIY job fried someones mixer.

I didn't really invent anything here, just combed the internet.

1. I got some great resources from groupdiy.com a www.diystompboxes.com and found a circuit I liked. I used on a circuit by PRR (post here ). The only difference was
that I a) added a transformer (see point #2), b) used different resistor value (see point 3) and c) added a 2k resistor after the transformer (it really helped to reduce hiss). I
also wanted to try this one on groupdiy by abbey road d enfer (post here ), but didn't in the end. If you have, how did it sound?

2. After that I added an audio transformer to convert my signal to a balanced single as described in RaneNote 110 (http://www.rane.com/note110.html )

3.I bread boarded the circuit to tweak resistors and get the best sound I could from the mic. I found this step crucial as the resistor valves affected how much hiss / noise
floor I had.

4. I put it together and hacked a mic clip to fit my enclosure

Sound samples at the bottom from this mic. It's all voice (in one case a little banjo), with some delay/reverb.

Parts
-Old phone (rotary / vintage). Needs to have an old carbon mic for the sound (free if you're lucky, $5 to $20 flea market, used, etc)
-resistors (I used 1 x 600 ohm, 1 x 120 ohm, 1 x 2000 ohm). Something close, but really doesn't matter too much (< $1)
-capacitor (I used 10 uF) (< $1)
-600 ohm 1:1 audio transformer ($3 ebay + shipping)
-XLR jack ($6, local supply store)
-on off switch ($5)
-LED (optional) ($1)
-some sort of case ($8, I used a hammond 1591 case)

I was lucky and able to get most stuff free or use spare parts. My build cost was $20, but I only had to buy the case, transformer and XLR Jack.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Original mouth piece from the phone handset. 1. XLR jack
2. Mic clip
3. on/off switch

File Downloads

carbon mic funky.mp3 (470 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'carbon mic funky.mp3']

123 carbon mic Loop20.mp3 (277 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to '123 carbon mic Loop20.mp3']

http://www.instructables.com/id/Balanced-Microphone-From-An-Old-Telephone/
Step 1: The Schematic
Here is the final circuit I used. Not shown on the circuit are the a) LED -- green high efficiency with a 3k or 3.5k resistor (can't remember which I used) and b) a switch to
cut power when the mic isn't in use.

The LED resistor was picked to minimize current. The mic didn't draw much and I didn't like the resistor being 50% of the power use!

With my resistors shown and a 9V power source, the mic draws around 6 mA when idle and up to around 8 mA when singing into it. The LED was another 2.5 mA.

R1=600 ohm (ok ok, in reality it was 2 x 270 ohm resistors, what I had in my drawer)
R2=120 ohm
R3=2k ohm. Not necessary but for me it quieted hiss and was worth it. Too much and if affected the sound and output.
C1=10 uF electrolytic (what I had in my drawer).

The transformer was an audio 600 ohm : 600 ohm from ebay ($3). Mine was centre tapped but I didn't use them,

Image Notes
1. I didn't actually ground pin 1 since I had a plastic case.

Step 2: Breadboard Time

For me this step was really important. I set it all up and played with resistors until found the optimal values (very rough use of the word!). In reality most values worked,
some just better than others. I tried R1 from 1k to 10k, and R2 to 10k to 100k (roughly). Compared to R1=600 ohm and R2=120 ohm, they had much higher hiss and
didn't sound good.

I also tried R1=300 ohm, and it had higher hiss than R1=600 ohm. So for me, R1 was roughly 600 ohm for my mic to sound it's "best". Remember this is a lo-fi mic for
effects, not for crystal clear vocals.

I didn't vary C1, but should have. I'll always wonder if C1 as 20 or 50 uF would have been better.

Image Notes
1. original handset.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Balanced-Microphone-From-An-Old-Telephone/
Step 3: Case Work
I wanted to keep everything self contained, so I hacked the phone apart and fit it all into a Hammond 1591 case with the brass inserts for the screws. The brass was
important since the 9V battery will need replacing (every 10-15 hours of use based on my current draw).

1. I cut the original phone handle but kept the end intact. The mic cartridge fit nicely into the handle and it made sense to re-use the threads / mouth piece.
2. I used a hole saw bit very slightly larger than the threaded portion of the original handset. The threads first through the hole, and the mouth piece could thread on from
the opposite side.
3. The original handset (now just the very end) was trimmed using a coping saw. There wasn't much room left in the case and this is where I had to put the battery in the
end
4. A circuit was made on strip board and crammed in, along with LED, switch, XLR jack and mic clip.
5. The mic clip was the female threaded part from normal mic clip with a bolt and washers. The photo explains it better.
6. Everything is bolted on and closed up.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. on off switch 1. Trimmed with a coping saw. The 9V sits here in the end. This was the original
2. LED handset, all you see where is one end hacked to pieces.
3. Hole cut with hole saw bit, slightly larger than threads on handset
4. XLR jack

Image Notes Image Notes

1. This was the original holder / contact mechanism for the mic (back side 1. Because the handset doesn't thread all the way down (since the plastic case
here). It made a lot of sense to reuse it. takes away some threads), the mic was loose. I used rags to fill the gap and
make a little windscreen

http://www.instructables.com/id/Balanced-Microphone-From-An-Old-Telephone/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. Threaded mouth piece with rags inside (filling the small gap / windscreen) 1. threaded portion from a mic clip
2. phone mic 2. washers and bolt
3. piece of metal with 90 degree bend

Step 4: Fitting It Together

After the case was done, I got the electronics inside, closed it up and rocked out. I'm super happy with it. See step 1 for some sound samples using this mic.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. section cut away from the handset. 1. you can see where the 9V fits on the section cut away from the handset.
2. I used these terminals, not necessary but really helpful. This is the XLR jack
output.
3. Carbon mic input
4. 600 ohm audio transformer
5. hot glue used to isolate electrical wires, also strengthen / secure the LED
(messy I know...)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Balanced-Microphone-From-An-Old-Telephone/
 Image Notes
1. XLR jack
2. Mic clip
3. on/off switch

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Balanced-Microphone-From-An-Old-Telephone/