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Re: Vintage Victor HM-200 binaural headphone - How to open?

 

I've opened up a few headphones lately. kennjava's advice is good. I imagine those HM-200s have an inner and outer plastic piece (aka housing/shell) that are held together by two screws.? on opening up a pair of lawn mowing headphones (smoostarts) might be helpful to check out.?

PS Those HM-200s look awesome. I listened to the ducks and the recording sounds really nice. Looking at those specs (SNR of 45dB) I would expect there to be much more hiss in the signal. Pleasantly surprised how clean it was. Either way, sounds great! Would love to find a pair, myself. What did you use to record the mic signals?


Re: Vintage Victor HM-200 binaural headphone - How to open?

 

On Mon, Jan 29, 2024 at 03:54 AM, Heinz wrote:
Does anyone know how to open the HM-200 headphones without breaking it?
I have not worked on that model, but headphones like that usually follow the same general construction. The soft earpads have a rim or flange that fits into a slot that runs around the cup edge. Gently pull the pad sideways at one spot to ease the flange out of the slot, then coax the rest of the flange out, all the way around the cup, to remove the pad. Removing the pads exposes some screws; unscrew them, and you're in.

Hope this helps.?




Re: Vintage Victor HM-200 binaural headphone - How to open?

 

I listened to the ducks but on loudspeakers.
I don't perceive the typical hole in the middle from real binaural. I like that fact.

Hope I cross this headphone somewhere to do further tests.

Thanks,
Johan


Vintage Victor HM-200 binaural headphone - How to open?

 

I bought vintage binaural headphones from Victor last year. It's from 1976 and still works. If anyone is interested, I have placed the specs and a test recording in the Victor HM-200 folder. When I took the test recording, the headphone was quite heavy. The weight, including the batteries, is approx. 600 g. I looked strange but the ducks didn't care. :-)?

Does anyone know how to open the HM-200 headphones without breaking it? I haven't been able to find a way yet. I'm just curious about the capsule dimensions and what the circuitry looks like and whether more sensitive capsules would fit.

Many thanks!

Heinz


Re: Bamboo housing for nature recordings

 

I have placed the order but it will take some time for the items to arrive.?Until then, I'll think about a possible Sound Sleuth bamboo housing design.?Perhaps a bamboo SASS design would be an interesting housing to test (BASS - Bamboo Ambient Sampling System :-)?.I'll take a closer look at the possible SASS dimensions. However, the surfaces would be round instead of flat. Which will certainly make a difference in terms of audio reflection surfaces. Instead of foam I would like to use needle felt. I'll get back to the group once I've created a kind of prototype. I'm really curious about the sound quality of the PUI AOM5024 capsules already. Many thanks so far to everyone who pointed me in the right direction!


Re: Suppressing RF noise - ambient mics into CODEC (on headphones)

 

Half of LNprimer.pdf in my Files is dedicated to RFI/EMI suppression.

RFI is usually due to some internal circuitry demodulating the RF.? You need to get the yucky RF that is coming in to a low enough level so demodulation doesn't happen.? But even 1" of wire or track is enough to act as an aerial ... or even a 1" slot.

The ideal is a Faraday cage (or box when we are considering UHF like cell phones).? Every line coming into or out of the box is shielded and the shields are connected DIRECTLY to the box on the OUTSIDE at RF.? This is the function of the "circumferential capacitor" on the?Neutrik EMC-XLR series connectors.


Re: Groups.io "reverification" is legit

 

Thanks Scott
Best Regards,

Jules Ryckebusch

On Jan 25, 2024, at 15:25, Scott Helmke <scott@...> wrote:

?Hi folks,

Groups.io is doing a "reverification" of some (just a few, I think) members as part of keeping spam at bay. It's legit, be careful as always but this particular thing is legit.

Thanks,
-Scott

--
---- Scott Helmke ---- scott@... ---- (734) 604-9340 ----
"I have ceased distinguishing between the religious and the secular,
for everything is holy" - Joe Henry






Groups.io "reverification" is legit

 

Hi folks,

Groups.io is doing a "reverification" of some (just a few, I think) members as part of keeping spam at bay.? It's legit, be careful as always but this particular thing is legit.

Thanks,
-Scott

--
---- Scott Helmke ---- scott@... ---- (734) 604-9340 ----
"I have ceased distinguishing between the religious and the secular,
for everything is holy" - Joe Henry


Re: Microtech Gefell MV203 Circuit/Repair

 

Replaced the tantalum cap and the mic is working once again!?


Jules' Ambi-Alice and the Rycote BBG windshield

 

Hi everyone, does anyone know if the Ambi-Alice (GoPro mount version) will fit inside the
They make them to fit 20,21,22,and 25mm mic bodies. I think the GoPro mount diameter is 25mm? I can measure to make sure before I buy, but also want to make sure the basket will fit inside the windshield.

?


Re: Microtech Gefell MV203 Circuit/Repair

 

You are probably correct. I was basing the value off the input impedance specified in the data sheet.?


Measuring it on the pcb is tricky since the cap is encased in resin and I don't want to mess around with removing it. Probing my LCR meter from the capsule terminal to FET gate gives around 180 pF so 200 pF seems likely


Re: Microtech Gefell MV203 Circuit/Repair

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

C4 is probably 200pF, not 0.2.

Le 23/01/2024 ¨¤ 20:58, Jwaters18 via groups.io a ¨¦crit?:

Just got done measuring the blank resistors. They form a simple 2x100Mohm voltage divider with 10Gohm feeding the divided voltage to the rest of the circuit. Here is the updated schematic with all component values.


Re: Microtech Gefell MV203 Circuit/Repair

 

Just got done measuring the blank resistors. They form a simple 2x100Mohm voltage divider with 10Gohm feeding the divided voltage to the rest of the circuit. Here is the updated schematic with all component values.


Re: Microtech Gefell MV203 Circuit/Repair

 

Capsule is the MK221.

Removing the tantalum cap seems to have restored the correct biasing conditions (65VDC offset at the output) so I will be ordering a replacement (and maybe everything to make another board). I'm about to etch a quick pcb I can use to determine the values of the mystery resistors. I will post an updated schem with the measured values later today.

Thanks for the help!??


Re: Suppressing RF noise - ambient mics into CODEC (on headphones)

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

That is worth a shot ?for sure. RF and EMI are deceptive. Your headphones wires can easily act as antennas. ?Having one single ground point for everything helps. People normally think of ground loops happening with higher current draws but with RF a short wire has impedance properties, especially at Cell Phone and RF frequencies.?


Best Regards,

Jules Ryckebusch?

On Jan 23, 2024, at 09:02, Pete Lewis <petelewis228@...> wrote:

?Hmm... I had a couple thoughts in the middle of the night.

(1) I'm wondering if my output could be causing the issue. The wires to my headphone driver speakers are currently just two wires without any shielding.

(2) I'm using capless headphone mode on the WM8960, which utilized VMID as the source for a buffered GND for the headphones. VMID is also used as the non-inverting input on the PGA (my mic input gain stage), so maybe the speaker wires are acting like an antennae and it's making it's way into the OUT3 pin (the buffered VMID).

As it is an output, I wasn't looking at the speaker wires (or mode) previously, but I'll give shielding the speaker cables a shot, and also I could try switching away from capless headphone mode and avoid any connection from the speaker wires to VMID.


Re: Suppressing RF noise - ambient mics into CODEC (on headphones)

 

Hmm... I had a couple thoughts in the middle of the night.

(1) I'm wondering if my output could be causing the issue. The wires to my headphone driver speakers are currently just two wires without any shielding.

(2) I'm using capless headphone mode on the WM8960, which utilized VMID as the source for a buffered GND for the headphones. VMID is also used as the non-inverting input on the PGA (my mic input gain stage), so maybe the speaker wires are acting like an antennae and it's making it's way into the OUT3 pin (the buffered VMID).

As it is an output, I wasn't looking at the speaker wires (or mode) previously, but I'll give shielding the speaker cables a shot, and also I could try switching away from capless headphone mode and avoid any connection from the speaker wires to VMID.


Re: Microtech Gefell MV203 Circuit/Repair

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Disconnect the tantalum cap and check voltages. You could then check it for leakage.
If it's not the culprit, I would think it could be a micro crack in the PCB.

Le 22/01/2024 ¨¤ 23:21, Jwaters18 via groups.io a ¨¦crit?:

Hello,

A while back I purchased a used MTG MV203 measurement mic to use as comparison/testing for any of my future projects. After researching the MTG documentation I built a rack-mounted power supply/preamp to go with the mic. Everything was working fine (PSU functioned nicely & super clean/healthy output from the mic). I moved the PSU into a new enclosure to make things more portable and started having issues with the mic. Sometimes I would get no output, sometimes very distorted, sometimes functioning perfectly. After thoroughly troubleshooting my PSU I found no issues with it at all, which led me down the harrowing road of cracking the mic body open and prodding around with my DMM.

Here are pictures of the internals and my best shot at the schematic. Output was disconnected to verify the cable was not causing issues. Had to replace a 6k8 resistor that took flight when I was desoldering the adjacent mystery component.?

I used the component codes, DMM, and educated guesses to determine most of the components and I plan on measuring the unlabeled caps.

I'm fairly confident the High Z section under the resin is two 10G resistors in series and a 0.2 pF cap (input impedance is specified at 20G and 0.2 pF). However, I am not sure what the black mystery components are. Intuition tells me they are resistors, but they must be on the order of >>10M because my DMM cannot read them. I will have to carefully remove them and employ something like to measure them on a separate board.?

Luckily I had also taken a look inside while it was working. I know from my first measurements that, when functioning, the output sits at around 65V DC offset. It now sits around 40V DC (sometimes as low as 24V) and I measure no signal regardless of sound source.?

Prime suspect is the 1uF tantalum cap as I understand they are prone to damage and considered somewhat unreliable. The dual diodes, MOSFET body diodes (not sure I understand why they are used here), and Both BJTs measure ok with the DMM diode mode.

I'm posting this here mostly for general interest, but if anyone has suggestions on troubleshooting the circuit I would greatly appreciate any insight.?


? ?


Re: Microtech Gefell MV203 Circuit/Repair

 

MV 203 is the preamplifier. What kind of capsule is it??Maybe you can get information from Microtech Gefell or Josephson (US Distributor)?
?


Re: Suppressing RF noise - ambient mics into CODEC (on headphones)

 

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When you say; ¡°It has a low-pass filtering at 33KHz, and so that includes some 47nF caps to GND already.¡± I¡¯m looking at the schematic as well, where do those 47nF caps tie to ground? Is there a Star ground setup? RF into low noise analog is a challenge ?especially with Cell and WiFi stuff in the gigahertz range. Evan a short wire becomes an antenna ?5Gig is about 6cm wavelength so 1/4wavelength antenna is less than an inch. ?


Best Regards,

Jules Ryckebusch?

On Jan 22, 2024, at 22:56, Pete Lewis <petelewis228@...> wrote:

It has a low-pass filtering at 33KHz, and so that includes some 47nF caps to GND already.


Re: Suppressing RF noise - ambient mics into CODEC (on headphones)

 

Hey Jerry,
Have you tried adding a capacitor between input and ground?
I would try with anything between 1nF and 4.7nF.
You may also want to add a ferrite bead in series.
Thanks for the suggestions. I have not yet tried either a cap to GND or a ferrite bead.

I'm assuming the cap from signal to GND would be best placed as close as possible to the input pin on the CODEC. Is this correct?

Also, the ferrite bead would be in series with the signal, also as close as possible to the input pin on the CODEC?

Thanks!

PS one other thing, I actually forgot to mention earlier that I put some filtering on the inputs of the?. It has a low-pass filtering at 33KHz, and so that includes some 47nF caps to GND already. Would you recommend trying additional caps to ground somewhere else on the circuit??[schematic highlight image link]