Another FX1 Mic Mount

Bram Corstjens · February 1st, 2007, 09:08 PM

Hi guys and girls,

As many of you I really like to mount an external microphone to my FX-1 without losing the ability to add a camera light. Since the ebay auction of the add-on FX1 mic mount has ended or has been deleted and I nor have paypal or a credit card to pay for the thing anyway, I decided to give it a try myself:

Here are some pictures!

This is the microphone mount:
http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...-mic-mount.jpg

This is the microphone mount, but now photographed without flash
http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...nt-noflash.jpg

This is with a Rode Microphone suspension mount attached:
http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...-side-rode.jpg

This is with a Rode Microphone suspension mount attached frontview:
http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...front-rode.jpg

Now with a simple mic mount:
http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...side-small.jpg

These are the parts you need (apart from basic handyman tools):
http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...ount-parts.jpg
-One english 10mm thread screw (this might be very difficult to find! Normal 10mm screws won't work. You MUST have this special thread)
-Two 2.5mm screws to fit into FX1
-A piece of metal to support pipes: "pipe mount". They are made from alluminium and are easy to modify (metal is not too hard)
-A mic mount with removable screw-part (the Rode or a 3 dollar no-name)
-One can of black matte spraypaint to paint everything nicely black

So how do you make this? (just general instructions to get the idea)

-1-
Cut off the metal around the point where a have drawn the red line through it (about 3 centimeters) Just make sure you have enough room on it to mount the microphoneholder so it doesn't interfere with the flipout LCD)

-2-
Bend the metal end in the red circle to 90 degrees. Try not to damage the metal.

-3-
Drill a 10mm hole so the big screw can go through it.

-4-
Remove the plastic cover on you FX1 to see where the 2 small screws fit in. Be intelligent and notice that, in order to mount the piece of metal horizontally, you will have to drill the two small holes on different locations or else you mic will 'look' into the sky

-5-
Drill two 2.5 mm holes in the small part you bended to 90 degrees at step 2. Just position the piece of metal where it should be mounted and figure out where you have to make the holes. The same goes if you want to figure out where in the little plastic cover you have to make the two holes.

-6-
Make the screws shorter. Pay extra attention to the small screws that fit into your FX1. If you keep them too large and just screw them in, you'll probably damage the electronics of the LCD and the buttons.

-7-
You can file off the hard edges of the piece of metal to give it a nicer look and you can spray paint it black so it looks better.

Now here's the deal: This info is free ofcourse :) But if there are enough people who are interested in this, but don't want to bother looking for parts and making the thing themselves and potentionally screwing things up, will think about to make it for them (for a reasonable price ofcourse) I've only managed to get my hands on 10 of these hard to find 10mm english thread screws (they came from some sort of ancient looking metal box and the salesmen told me that this was all they got and it wouldn't be restocked, so i bought them all) So unless I find another source I'm only able to make ten mic mounts at max.

Ok that's about it! Let me know what you guys think and if anyone's interested in a pre-made thing - let me know too :)

Bob Grant · February 2nd, 2007, 05:12 AM

Probably the "special English screws" you're looking for are 3/8 inch Whitworth, they're certainly not metric. Farnell or Radio Spares are a good source of such things and they're pretty well in every country if you cannot find the screws from a regular hardware shop.

Donald Blake · February 2nd, 2007, 01:05 PM

Yeah i gotta admit those screws were the hardest to find when i made my sidemount, i found them in an electronics parts store.

Bram, How's the hole thing hangin? is it steady? mine's just a bit wably... but that dose'nt affect the recording.

Jeff Rhode · February 2nd, 2007, 06:36 PM

nice job Bram.
Looks real good !

Gints Klimanis · February 3rd, 2007, 03:54 AM

Very nice ! Your side mount is actually more useful that that on the Z1 because it's easier to add your own microphone shockmount. Plus, you can now mount anything.

February 1st, 2007, 09:08 PM	#1
Bram Corstjens Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 126	Another FX1 Mic Mount - pictures inside! Hi guys and girls, As many of you I really like to mount an external microphone to my FX-1 without losing the ability to add a camera light. Since the ebay auction of the add-on FX1 mic mount has ended or has been deleted and I nor have paypal or a credit card to pay for the thing anyway, I decided to give it a try myself: Here are some pictures! This is the microphone mount: http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...-mic-mount.jpg This is the microphone mount, but now photographed without flash http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...nt-noflash.jpg This is with a Rode Microphone suspension mount attached: http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...-side-rode.jpg This is with a Rode Microphone suspension mount attached frontview: http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...front-rode.jpg Now with a simple mic mount: http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...side-small.jpg These are the parts you need (apart from basic handyman tools): http://home.planet.nl/~snuve011/bram...ount-parts.jpg -One english 10mm thread screw (this might be very difficult to find! Normal 10mm screws won't work. You MUST have this special thread) -Two 2.5mm screws to fit into FX1 -A piece of metal to support pipes: "pipe mount". They are made from alluminium and are easy to modify (metal is not too hard) -A mic mount with removable screw-part (the Rode or a 3 dollar no-name) -One can of black matte spraypaint to paint everything nicely black So how do you make this? (just general instructions to get the idea) -1- Cut off the metal around the point where a have drawn the red line through it (about 3 centimeters) Just make sure you have enough room on it to mount the microphoneholder so it doesn't interfere with the flipout LCD) -2- Bend the metal end in the red circle to 90 degrees. Try not to damage the metal. -3- Drill a 10mm hole so the big screw can go through it. -4- Remove the plastic cover on you FX1 to see where the 2 small screws fit in. Be intelligent and notice that, in order to mount the piece of metal horizontally, you will have to drill the two small holes on different locations or else you mic will 'look' into the sky -5- Drill two 2.5 mm holes in the small part you bended to 90 degrees at step 2. Just position the piece of metal where it should be mounted and figure out where you have to make the holes. The same goes if you want to figure out where in the little plastic cover you have to make the two holes. -6- Make the screws shorter. Pay extra attention to the small screws that fit into your FX1. If you keep them too large and just screw them in, you'll probably damage the electronics of the LCD and the buttons. -7- You can file off the hard edges of the piece of metal to give it a nicer look and you can spray paint it black so it looks better. Now here's the deal: This info is free ofcourse :) But if there are enough people who are interested in this, but don't want to bother looking for parts and making the thing themselves and potentionally screwing things up, will think about to make it for them (for a reasonable price ofcourse) I've only managed to get my hands on 10 of these hard to find 10mm english thread screws (they came from some sort of ancient looking metal box and the salesmen told me that this was all they got and it wouldn't be restocked, so i bought them all) So unless I find another source I'm only able to make ten mic mounts at max. Ok that's about it! Let me know what you guys think and if anyone's interested in a pre-made thing - let me know too :)

February 2nd, 2007, 05:12 AM	#2
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	Probably the "special English screws" you're looking for are 3/8 inch Whitworth, they're certainly not metric. Farnell or Radio Spares are a good source of such things and they're pretty well in every country if you cannot find the screws from a regular hardware shop.

February 2nd, 2007, 01:05 PM	#3
Donald Blake Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 142	Yeah i gotta admit those screws were the hardest to find when i made my sidemount, i found them in an electronics parts store. Bram, How's the hole thing hangin? is it steady? mine's just a bit wably... but that dose'nt affect the recording.

February 2nd, 2007, 06:36 PM	#4
Jeff Rhode Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NJ, USA Posts: 169	nice job Bram. Looks real good !

February 3rd, 2007, 03:54 AM	#5
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	Very nice ! Your side mount is actually more useful that that on the Z1 because it's easier to add your own microphone shockmount. Plus, you can now mount anything.