Oops, wrong audio setting at DVinfo.net

Jeff Harper · May 15th, 2012, 10:40 AM

I've been running a battery powered mic on my XA10 with the +48 turned on, instead of off, as I should have.

Can anyone tell me what kind of effect this has probably had on things?

Ryan Chaney · May 17th, 2012, 02:18 PM

Probably nothing except for draining your XA10's battery a little prematurely. I've done exactly what you described a few times briefly and didn't seem to have an ill effects. Not that I recommend continuing to phantom power a mic that doesn't need it, but either my camera nor my mic seemed to be harmed. =)

Jeff Harper · May 17th, 2012, 02:25 PM

Ryan, I've hear mics or circuits can be damaged, but it's been so long I don't know where I read that.

Thanks for sharing.

Allan Black · May 17th, 2012, 06:52 PM

Jeff what brand battery mic is it?

The worst situation would be having an XLR plug on its output and plugging it into your A1 with its 48V turned on :(

But if it's a 3.5mm mic output jack, then the A1 48V doesn't feed that cams circuit. But I wouldn't do it again :)

Cheers.

Jeff Harper · May 17th, 2012, 09:32 PM

Allan, it's a Videomic, and it was a worst situation as you describe it.

Don Palomaki · May 18th, 2012, 06:43 AM

The results depend on the specifics of the gear involved. Reading the manual may give some indication if it has warnings. The phantom power output of most gear is current limited to protect the phantom power soruce. The greater likelihood is damage to the microphone, but the good manufacturers design gear to avoid damage from this sort of predictable user error. If the recorded sound was OK there is a reasonable chance you got by with nothing worse than making an embrarrasing admission in a public forum.

FWIW: many mics have somewhat better specification (especially for max sound level) when on phantom power compared to using internal battery power. Worth checking, especially if recoding in loud venues.

The XA10 typcial camcorder draws around 400 MA. A phantom-powered mic like the Rode NTG2 or AT897 draws around 2 MA, an insigifiicant additional load on th camcorder battery.

I did not know a Rode Videomic had an XLR connector option, thought the were all 3.5MM stereo phone plugs.

Jeff Harper · May 18th, 2012, 07:15 AM

Right Don, it is the mic that I have heard is in greatest danger. Sound came out fine, which it has for the last dozen jobs. I find it incomprehensible that I did not look at that setting, but that's what happened.

I use a specific Rode XLR adapter for the mic.

Mic seems to be working fine still, thank goodness, maybe no harm was done. I'm glad I noticed it when examining the camera the other day.

Don Palomaki · May 19th, 2012, 02:28 PM

The nominal $10 Rode adapter looks like it might map the phantom power directly to the mic terminals. The price point strike me as too low to include any isolation transformers..

Might be interesting to see how the pins map. I expect Pin 1 to direct connect to the sleeve of the 3.5MM plug, pin 2 to tip (might be some resistance, but if so, not much), and pin 3 to the ring.

Given that the XA10 has a 3.5mm mic jack input, why not use it?

Jeff Harper · May 19th, 2012, 02:40 PM

Don, I do use the mini-jack at receptions, but for the ceremony I run the shotgun and a wireless unit simultaneously, hence the need for XLR.

May 15th, 2012, 10:40 AM	#1
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Oops, wrong audio setting I've been running a battery powered mic on my XA10 with the +48 turned on, instead of off, as I should have. Can anyone tell me what kind of effect this has probably had on things?

May 17th, 2012, 02:18 PM	#2
Ryan Chaney Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 39	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting Probably nothing except for draining your XA10's battery a little prematurely. I've done exactly what you described a few times briefly and didn't seem to have an ill effects. Not that I recommend continuing to phantom power a mic that doesn't need it, but either my camera nor my mic seemed to be harmed. =)

May 17th, 2012, 02:25 PM	#3
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting Ryan, I've hear mics or circuits can be damaged, but it's been so long I don't know where I read that. Thanks for sharing.

May 17th, 2012, 06:52 PM	#4
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,887	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting Jeff what brand battery mic is it? The worst situation would be having an XLR plug on its output and plugging it into your A1 with its 48V turned on :( But if it's a 3.5mm mic output jack, then the A1 48V doesn't feed that cams circuit. But I wouldn't do it again :) Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

May 17th, 2012, 09:32 PM	#5
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting Allan, it's a Videomic, and it was a worst situation as you describe it.

May 18th, 2012, 06:43 AM	#6
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting The results depend on the specifics of the gear involved. Reading the manual may give some indication if it has warnings. The phantom power output of most gear is current limited to protect the phantom power soruce. The greater likelihood is damage to the microphone, but the good manufacturers design gear to avoid damage from this sort of predictable user error. If the recorded sound was OK there is a reasonable chance you got by with nothing worse than making an embrarrasing admission in a public forum. FWIW: many mics have somewhat better specification (especially for max sound level) when on phantom power compared to using internal battery power. Worth checking, especially if recoding in loud venues. The XA10 typcial camcorder draws around 400 MA. A phantom-powered mic like the Rode NTG2 or AT897 draws around 2 MA, an insigifiicant additional load on th camcorder battery. I did not know a Rode Videomic had an XLR connector option, thought the were all 3.5MM stereo phone plugs. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

May 18th, 2012, 07:15 AM	#7
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting Right Don, it is the mic that I have heard is in greatest danger. Sound came out fine, which it has for the last dozen jobs. I find it incomprehensible that I did not look at that setting, but that's what happened. I use a specific Rode XLR adapter for the mic. Mic seems to be working fine still, thank goodness, maybe no harm was done. I'm glad I noticed it when examining the camera the other day.

May 19th, 2012, 02:28 PM	#8
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting The nominal $10 Rode adapter looks like it might map the phantom power directly to the mic terminals. The price point strike me as too low to include any isolation transformers.. Might be interesting to see how the pins map. I expect Pin 1 to direct connect to the sleeve of the 3.5MM plug, pin 2 to tip (might be some resistance, but if so, not much), and pin 3 to the ring. Given that the XA10 has a 3.5mm mic jack input, why not use it? __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

May 19th, 2012, 02:40 PM	#9
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Oops, wrong audio setting Don, I do use the mini-jack at receptions, but for the ceremony I run the shotgun and a wireless unit simultaneously, hence the need for XLR.