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Re: Sony ECM-979 MS

Subject: Re: Sony ECM-979 MS
From: "Flawn Williams" flawn1951
Date: Fri Jul 15, 2016 5:39 am ((PDT))
Max,

The wiring of the plug appears to be consistent with what other manufacture=
rs use for their 5-pin stereo mics. So you can hunt around for commercially=
 available 5-to-twin-3 cables if you don=92t want to roll your own. One exa=
mple of a longer one can be seen at:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/994801-REG/rode_nt4_dxlr_cable_5_pin_=
stereo_xlr_cable.html

You can also buy a 5-pin extension cable and then use your short splitter a=
t the recorder end.

If the mic is battery powered and doesn=92t need phantom power, then the pi=
n 1 ground does not need to be connected at the mic end. The shields in bot=
h cables will still function as shields as long as they are attached to pin=
 1 at the recorder end.

Is the mono-audio problem the same if you set the switch at the 90 degree o=
r 120 degree position? Try exercising that switch 20 times or so=85this is =
an old mic and switch contacts might have gotten corroded.

Also, when talking into the mic at close range your voice may pick up in al=
l the elements, at least for the lower frequencies where the mic elements a=
re less directional. The stereo effect is going to be more pronounced at th=
e higher frequencies, and will be more distinct with more distant sound sou=
rces (more than a couple of feet away). And let your ears be your guide: wh=
en you listen to playback of the sound, can you hear any difference between=
 the two sides of the image? Don=92t just try to judge by what the waveform=
s look like.

Without hearing a sample of the audio from the mic it=92s hard to tell if t=
he horrendous handling noise is electrically created (think =91crackle=92) =
or if it is just the result of a mic with directional elements being handle=
d (think =91jostling=92). A lot of these mics were not intended for direct =
handheld use. So you might need to put it in a shock mount or on a stand or=
 other means of mechanical isolation. If the mic=92s barrel diameter is the=
 correct size, slipping a piece of bicycle handlebar foam covering over the=
 barrel can go a long way to reducing handling noise.

I don=92t know why the plug-in doesn=92t work. But you shouldn=92t need a p=
lug-in to verify the basic stereo operation of this mic.

=97Flawn




> 1a. Re: Sony ECM-979 MS
>    Posted by:   oatcruncher
>    Date: Thu Jul 14, 2016 8:00 am ((PDT))
>
> OK, the mic finally arrived yesterday morning, and I'm a bit concerned. O=
n doing some quick tests it would appear that something is wrong, and I nee=
d a technical person's opinion please. What appears to be wrong is that the=
 mic has no stereo capability? I tried the simple test of talking into the =
mic from the left, center and right, but on looking at the image in Auditio=
n the response looks to be equal on the 'left and right channels'. I had so=
rt of gathered from the very good responses of both Scott and Flawn that th=
is mic delivered an already decoded stereo image and decoding wasn't requir=
ed?
> I downloaded a Voxengo MS plugin with the intention of trying it in my Au=
dition 3, but it wouldn't load? I did of course point the plug-in manager t=
o the correct location and twice refreshed the list, but to no avail.
> Another thing that I'm not sure about here is whether or not the wiring o=
f the five pin plug is correct. There is horrendous handling noise. The wir=
ing follows this scheme:
> The newly discovered pinouts of the 957's 5-pin XLR connector https://www=
.flickr.com/photos/aaronazz/539888902/
>
>
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronazz/539888902/
>
> The newly discovered pinouts of the 957's 5-pin XLR ... https://www.flick=
r.com/photos/aaronazz/539888902/ PROJECT: To improve my Sony ECM-957 MS Ste=
reo Microphone. I've always been annoyed by the use of the 5-pin XLR plug o=
n the Sony ECM-957 ...
>
>
>
> View on www.flickr.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronazz/539888902/=

> Preview by Yahoo
>
>
>
> which I found on the tapersection site. What I don't know is what do the =
dotted lines mean? On my cable (2 separate cables into a 5 pin plug) the gr=
ound tag of the plug is not connected to anything, and I suspect that could=
 be why I'm getting the bad handling noise? This cable is clearly newly mad=
e and stupidly short, so if I keep and use it I'll make up a new one. This =
is a pic of my plug:
> Yahoo! Groups https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/naturerecordists/photos=
/albums/168717161/lightbox/96276521?orderBy=3Dordinal&sortOrder=3Dasc&photo=
Filter=3DALL#zax/96276521
>
> https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/naturerecordists/photos/albums/168717=
161/lightbox/96276521?orderBy=3Dordinal&sortOrder=3Dasc&photoFilter=3DALL#z=
ax/96276521
>
> Yahoo! Groups https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/naturerecordists/photos=
/albums/168717161/lightbox/96276521?orderBy=3Dordinal&sortOrder=3Dasc&photo=
Filter=3DALL#zax/96276521 Oops! Sorry, an error occurred while loading the =
content.
>
>
>
> View on groups.yahoo.com https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/naturerecord=
ists/photos/albums/168717161/lightbox/96276521?orderBy=3Dordinal&sortOrder=
=3Dasc&photoFilter=3DALL#zax/96276521
> Preview by Yahoo
>
>
>
>
> Any help on any of these questions would be dearly appreciated.
> Max






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