naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: ME66/K6 battery level indication

Subject: Re: ME66/K6 battery level indication
From: "Mitch Hill" wa1ykn
Date: Sun Aug 21, 2011 11:19 pm ((PDT))
On 8/21/2011 10:06 PM, Peter Shute wrote:
> I'm using it with a PCM-M10, which only provides 3V plug in power. Would that 
> work with this microphone?
>
> Peter Shute
>

Peter,

No, PIP power being 3 volts or less is not enough voltage to activate 
the voltage regulator circuit built into the K6 power module.

I have never tested to see what the minimum voltage required by the K6 
is, I simply know the ME/K6 series mics will work with a Phantom power 
of 12 volts as that is what the SD 302 Mixpre supplies when set to its 
low Phantom power voltage setting.  As I see no difference in the ME66 
microphone performance (sensitivity and self noise in my application) 
whether the Phantom power is set to 12 VDC or 48 VDC, I prefer to use 12 
VDC as having worked with hi-gain audio devices and voltage regulators 
in my career as an electronics design engineer, I know that when pushed 
hard, electronic regulators can generate noise so it makes sense to me 
to use the lower voltage which causes the regulator to operate more 
efficiently and should use less power to get the job done with less 
chance of generating noise.

Frankly, I see no problem in using a good grade AA alkaline battery and 
do not worry about power from the recorder.  One benefit in this is that 
a battery in a microphone will always be electrically quieter than any 
regulator in a recorder feeding voltage down a cable can ever be...

Operating the ME66/K6 on its internal battery will give you better 
recorder battery life compared to using the recorder to power the 
microphone. According to Sennheiser, using the K6 internal AA reduces 
the mic sensitivity (gain) 3db but I don't see this myself in my 
operation with SD hi-gain, low noise preamps in front of the recorder 
and I prefer to use the K6 internal AA battery in place of the recorder 
mic power unless I'm running a very long recording session using the 
high capacity external DC power source for the recording gear.  Under 
those conditions, recorder/preamp/microphone battery life is no longer 
an issue and Phantom power becomes practical...

-- 
-- 
Mitch Hill

(Sent from HP DV6T)






<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU