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This is why I laugh at people using super expensive mics on CB and Ham
- Thread starter Onelasttime
- Start date
First, thanks, for the proper speeling - er spelling of - Cardioid...
Where I was hoping to take this was to help with someone's "studio" to help enhance their enjoyment and focus of the efforts on listening.
Anyone whom has been in a CB realm of a time back when, family channels were the norm, where a neighborhood tends to treat the channel much like a party line telephone. People hung-out on the channel as a means to keep in touch if not keep track of some of the latest news that even the local TV stations had not picked up on yet.
Anyone that grew up during the days of Smokey and the Bandit - knows this - but many that are new may not be aware...
Anyone who had a D104 TUG or any of the electric lollypops, would experience the shrill - nearly fingernails' scraping on chalkboard - effects of high-pitch tones and yelling that can be so bloody - others on roundtables with other channels would stop and spin their dials to listen in to the ruckus, the foray, unfolding on their radios.
So I was chiming in over the efforts to remind those whom wish to have the best sound, need to keep their faces towards the mic element - lest they use an element with a type of pickup pattern that is more omnidirectional than directional. Hence the reference to "Jetsons" and how hard it is to take someone seriously when all you hear is "Saturday Morning Cartoons" riding in on their voiceover for the electric babysitter on the Grandkids.
Anyone interested can easily search for Microphone Pickup Patterns and will receive a plethora of information about both the pickup types and the design ideas for a studio.
You can't always have a studio in a mobile situation - anyone doing a live broadcast knows this - hope the for the best, but plan for the worst. Be it from; mother nature or humankind - adding a "color" to the interview scene. So your choice of windscreen, element, pickup pattern and level of compression/Directionality plays a role - you have enough to think about if you're driving in heavy traffic...
But, you can make it a chore if you want - we also have to keep reminding ourselves, this is supposed to be fun.
:+> Andy <+:
Where I was hoping to take this was to help with someone's "studio" to help enhance their enjoyment and focus of the efforts on listening.
Anyone whom has been in a CB realm of a time back when, family channels were the norm, where a neighborhood tends to treat the channel much like a party line telephone. People hung-out on the channel as a means to keep in touch if not keep track of some of the latest news that even the local TV stations had not picked up on yet.
Anyone that grew up during the days of Smokey and the Bandit - knows this - but many that are new may not be aware...
Anyone who had a D104 TUG or any of the electric lollypops, would experience the shrill - nearly fingernails' scraping on chalkboard - effects of high-pitch tones and yelling that can be so bloody - others on roundtables with other channels would stop and spin their dials to listen in to the ruckus, the foray, unfolding on their radios.
So I was chiming in over the efforts to remind those whom wish to have the best sound, need to keep their faces towards the mic element - lest they use an element with a type of pickup pattern that is more omnidirectional than directional. Hence the reference to "Jetsons" and how hard it is to take someone seriously when all you hear is "Saturday Morning Cartoons" riding in on their voiceover for the electric babysitter on the Grandkids.
Anyone interested can easily search for Microphone Pickup Patterns and will receive a plethora of information about both the pickup types and the design ideas for a studio.
You can't always have a studio in a mobile situation - anyone doing a live broadcast knows this - hope the for the best, but plan for the worst. Be it from; mother nature or humankind - adding a "color" to the interview scene. So your choice of windscreen, element, pickup pattern and level of compression/Directionality plays a role - you have enough to think about if you're driving in heavy traffic...
But, you can make it a chore if you want - we also have to keep reminding ourselves, this is supposed to be fun.
:+> Andy <+:
Put an amplifier with a ceramic tube in the shack. The blower noise will really make you appreciate a directional mic. You could remotely locate the amplifier like one of my monobanders is but not many people want to juggle something like that. My al1200 is about 5 feet from the mic. The noise is not an issue with the pr40 but if I were running a condenser it would really be a nuisance.
They make transformers to fix that.Hypercardioid like my AKG D58 would be ideal.
Too bad the impedance is too low.
That microphone is about 250 ohms or so and IIRC the recommended load impedance is 5-600 ohms. Very doable with either the proper audio transformer or an amplifier to convert impedances. Try to find a Hammond 850J (500-4.8K ohms) or 850N (500-10K/40K ohms) . I use the Radio Design Labs Stick-On line of preamps (STM series) and line amps (STA series).
http://www.rdlnet.com/
The mic pattern and type has MUCH to do with how it performs on air. Cardioid mic or super-cardioid mics ('cardi' Greek root for 'heart' - or heart shaped pick up pattern) determines the sensitivity direction for sound pressure.
A super-cardioid mic has a very narrow pickup pattern that works best directly in line with the sound direction.
An omni-directional pattern would pick up everything in the room and in the house, since it picks up sound in any/all direction from the mic - despite which direction it is pointed in.
The Heil PR-40 eliminates much of the peripheral room sounds It is a dynamic element and is effective for this scenario, whereas a condenser mic oftentimes will pick up much of the room sound and doesn't reject peripheral sounds anywhere nearly as well. That is the caveat for the condenser: most natural sound for voice but is too sensitive if gain is pushed up.
The Behringer B1 is not a really expensive mic! I am mostly talking about guys running $700+++ Mic's mostly. I should edit my post because I have no issue with anything up to about $140 really but once you get past that point it is all about bragging rights not measurable performance. Yes most stock mics suck but it is not because it is dynamic or electret or ribon etc.... You can find good mics in every design that are great and that suck! There is definitely a point though where returns are very diminishing and depending on the radio that might be with a mic not too much better than stock. The radio itself has a lot of limiting design elements in most cases!
Not that much! We are not talking about commercial broadcasting we are talking about CB. You can use any suitable mic even in broadcasting you see a HUGE variation from one station to the next in terms of brand and style of mic. Yes it matter's but all of them can sound really good if the entire system is well designed and adjusted properly. TV in the form of interview makes has to be the greatest wildcard yet you can not usually tell from one station tot he next in terms of what you hear over your TV. Even in the music world you see an insane number of mic designs and seldom is the mic the key defining element the sound engineer has a much larger effect on the outcome than the mic!
People make far too big of a fuss about the mic than it usually deserves. Unless we are just talking about some real crap it is usually not the defining element in a performance or recording. I am not saying it is not at all important just that it is not the most important thing.
Any of you guys going to rent a $12K mic and feed that into the mic socket of a Cobra 148 or Uniden 980 in stock trim and show me just how wrong I am? LOL....No I do not expect that either! LOL.....I know I am not going to do it!
Ultimately, it's their radio and can do whatever they like to do, it's their business. Sometimes I think it's a little silly myself if someone wants to drop $1k+ or whatever but it's their radio and their money, and it doesn't affect me any. Let 'em have at it. 
~Cheers~
~Cheers~
Yada yada yada... clear audio is all that matters. Cheap or expensive is all up to the end user, no microphone can help if your normal voice sounds like you always have a mouth full of cotton. Speak clearly, annunciate and speak slower than you normally would.
I can't understand why certain people get so bent out of shape about others buying expensive equipment. It happens with antennas, radios, amps, mics and anything else radio related. Is the intent here to help someone, belittle them, troll or just piss and moan?
Some people seem to comb the internet looking for someone that uses equipment they feel is below their standards just so they can preach to them. As soon as that guy gets something nice thats out of their price range the bitch fest begins.
Some people seem to comb the internet looking for someone that uses equipment they feel is below their standards just so they can preach to them. As soon as that guy gets something nice thats out of their price range the bitch fest begins.
I have no problem if people spend their hard earned money on whatever they want radio related or not.
I have to say that even an old radio with a good cheap mic can sound very good. Believe me, I wish I had more money for radios and toys such as the one in my avatar. I see guys that have more money in their engine then I have invested in my entire car.
Sometimes less is more.
I have to say that even an old radio with a good cheap mic can sound very good. Believe me, I wish I had more money for radios and toys such as the one in my avatar. I see guys that have more money in their engine then I have invested in my entire car.
Sometimes less is more.
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You are right. What I'd hoped to accomplish with the thread that I put together a while back on how to give a CB radio high definition audio, was to both demystify what it takes and that it can also be done with an eye towards doing it on the cheap with xlnt results.