3.5mm to XLR mic cable

Colin McDonald · July 9th, 2008, 03:15 PM

Just thought I'd share this - maybe it should have been in the Audio forum.

When making up a cable to connect a Rode NTG-2 mono mic to an HV30, I thought I would see what happened if I just connected the cable as signal (Tip & Ring shorted) to pin 2 and ground to pin 3. It worked fine until I touched (or put my hand near) the NTG-2 when a high pitched whine became audible through the monitoring headphones. This whine was constant even when several hundred yards away from any source of electrical interference. It disappeared when I shorted pin 1 to pin 3, which is the way I would normally have wired the cable anyway.

The difference in audio quality using the external mic over the built in mic is very noticable even with this simple cable (I don't have a Beachtec and was hoping not to have to buy one).

C.S. Michael · July 13th, 2008, 09:16 PM

just FYI, you can connect an XLR mic without a Beachtek. Just use an XLR to mini cable. I bought an AT8341 for less than $20.

Colin McDonald · July 21st, 2008, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C.S. Michael

just FYI, you can connect an XLR mic without a Beachtek. Just use an XLR to mini cable. I bought an AT8341 for less than $20.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I thought I had described how I'd done just that, going in to detail of how I wired up the cable.

July 9th, 2008, 03:15 PM	#1
Colin McDonald Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Glasgow Scotland Posts: 425	3.5mm to XLR mic cable Just thought I'd share this - maybe it should have been in the Audio forum. When making up a cable to connect a Rode NTG-2 mono mic to an HV30, I thought I would see what happened if I just connected the cable as signal (Tip & Ring shorted) to pin 2 and ground to pin 3. It worked fine until I touched (or put my hand near) the NTG-2 when a high pitched whine became audible through the monitoring headphones. This whine was constant even when several hundred yards away from any source of electrical interference. It disappeared when I shorted pin 1 to pin 3, which is the way I would normally have wired the cable anyway. The difference in audio quality using the external mic over the built in mic is very noticable even with this simple cable (I don't have a Beachtec and was hoping not to have to buy one).

July 13th, 2008, 09:16 PM	#2
C.S. Michael Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 99	just FYI, you can connect an XLR mic without a Beachtek. Just use an XLR to mini cable. I bought an AT8341 for less than $20. __________________ Bored? Check out my blog (shot with Canon HV20, Letus Mini, Sony HC3, Nikon D90): www.thelonglonghoneymoon.com

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode