Here's a picture of what I want to do:
The tape/cassette recorder (or PC with sound card) would be in one room. Its recording connector would be split (somehow) into four, so that a microphone could be connected to any of them. Each of, say, four rooms would have a flylead connector as shown. I can do soldering and use sidecutters.
MM
If you are only going to use one at a time you can just parallel them. If you will use more than one mic you would need a mixer.
Tom
When you say, parallel them, what does that entail? Could I just solder the relevant flyleads (inner cores) to, say, a bit of Veroboard, then connect that to the recorder?
Alternatively, the mixer: What would I be looking for? (e.g. Google)
Thanks!
MM
Tom Biasi wrote:
The switch on many microphones shorts out the mic element to terminate the line for no added noise pickup. This kills *all* the mics if they are paralleled.
Yup. Will work universally.
He didn't say he wanted to parallel four mics just four connectors.
Parallel means like wires to like wires. center to center, shield to shield.
Google "microphone mixer"
That's true. However, now I know about mixers it may be more efficient to buy four cheap Maplin microphones and leave them connected. The idea is that I speak anywhere (main rooms) in the house and have my words recorded. Like Beethoven's notebooks, but a vocal version! An alternative might be to have a wearable, *discrete* wireless mic of some kind, but whether this would always connect to the recorder elsewhere in the house is debatable. Having cables instead of wireless would obviate any problem on that score. I tried several years ago with one of the first Sony voice-operated digital recorders, but it lasted about five minutes beyond the guarantee period. Ruddy thing cost me around £130!
MM
I suspect that you will be unhappy with the results of having all the mics paralleled and always active. Since they will be distant from your mouth you will have to crank the gain up high to get a reasonable response. But that will make them very susceptible to noise pickup, so you will be triggering your sound-activated recording on all kinds of incidental sounds like the fridge and furnace. The wearable wireless mic sound like a much better idea in this regard, but much depends on how "discrete" it needs to be. A boom mic right in front of your lips would be ideal; a mic clipped to your shirt may false-trigger from picking up too much body motion noise.
I'd recommend that before you proceed, you use a single mic and run some tests in a single room. See if you can find a happy compromise between gain and noise pickup, then go from there.
Best regards,
Bob Masta DAQARTA v3.50 Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
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