Found some old Grunding mics, tell me more about them!

Have a search for a 5 pin XLR to 3.5mm Jack converter, should bring something up.
 
Netz Ausg said:
Have a search for a 5 pin XLR to 3.5mm Jack converter, should bring something up.
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I just did a search and found absolutely nothing :(. All the ones that came up were 3-pins.
 
Sorry, but I don't have much knowledge on Grundig microphones either. I do know that quite a few tape machines came with Grundig microphones in the fifties and sixties. I'm not sure if they have a professional series or not. The adapter you seek, well I wouldn't know where to start looking and without a wiring diagram, I wouldn't know what pins hooks up to what.

I'll delve into this a bit more when I have a chance and see what I can come up with.

BTW, is there a model or serial number on the microphones body or case?

Dennis
 
audiotech said:
I'll delve into this a bit more when I have a chance and see what I can come up with.

BTW, is there a model or serial number on the microphones body or case?

Dennis
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There is no serial number that i could find. I also don't have a case for it. But i appreciate any efforts, i hope you can shed some light on the matter, Audiotech.
 
The main thing i want to know is what kind of connection is on that thing so i can find an adapter for it. Ill try them out myself to know whether their good mics or not.
 
SergiuM said:
There is no serial number that i could find. I also don't have a case for it. But i appreciate any efforts, i hope you can shed some light on the matter, Audiotech.
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What I meant when I said case is the microphones outside structure itself. I was thinking that there might be a hidden model number somewhere on it.

What I did find out so far is, your microphone might need an external voltage source for power to make it work. Some of the Grundig microphones needed something along the lines of 9 volts to power them and not necessarily the conventional 48v phantom power, hence the multipin, DIN like, connector. Again without the model or some sort of documentation, it's kind of tough to figure out.

Dennis
 
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I just double checked and there was no model number. But hey, i greatly appreciate your efforts Dennis, thanks for the help.

Sergiu.
 
audiotech said:
What I meant when I said case is the microphones outside structure itself. I was thinking that there might be a hidden model number somewhere on it.

What I did find out so far is, your microphone might need an external voltage source for power to make it work. Some of the Grundig microphones needed something along the lines of 9 volts to power them and not necessarily the conventional 48v phantom power, hence the multipin, DIN like, connector. Again without the model or some sort of documentation, it's kind of tough to figure out.

Dennis
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Whenever I've been able to use TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve, also called stereo quarter inch but you know that) plugs, they have been for dynamic mics. My understanding is that a condenser/phantom powered mike would need an XLR connector.

The OP should know, if he doesn't already, the stereo quarter-inch (TRS) plugs are another way of wiring up the three-pin XLR mic plugs. The advantage is that TRS takes up less room than XLR, but I don't think TRS can carry power and they offer less electrical contact than XLR.
 
Re: Found some old Grundig mics, tell me more about them!

Death Metal Conga said:
Whenever I've been able to use TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve, also called stereo quarter inch but you know that) plugs, they have been for dynamic mics. My understanding is that a condenser/phantom powered mike would need an XLR connector.

The OP should know, if he doesn't already, the stereo quarter-inch (TRS) plugs are another way of wiring up the three-pin XLR mic plugs. The advantage is that TRS takes up less room than XLR, but I don't think TRS can carry power and they offer less electrical contact than XLR.
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The connector that is on his microphone looks like a 6 pin DIN connector. I believe he is trying to find a six pin female connector to mate with the microphone and then in turn feed it to a 3.5mm phone plug for use with his equipment. The only Grundig microphones that I'm familiar with are the ones that came with older tape equipment and needed some type of low voltage that was supplied by the tape machine. Unless I'm completely miss-reading what is needed.

You're correct about either an XLR or 1/4" TRS connector will work for a balanced microphone output, but I would only use 48V phantom on XLR connectors, it's just safer all around. There is a very delicate and precise balance of DC voltage through two series resistors placed between the 48V B+ and pins 2 and 3 in reference to pin 1 of the XLR connector on the board. Plugging a 1/4" TRS plug into a 48V energised phone jack could possibly cause problems with shorting out the 48V phantom supply or damaging these resistors while inserting or disconnecting the 1/4" plug. Although no phantom voltage is present in this scenario, this is why there is so much racket and noise when plugging or unplugging the 1/4" connector from an amp into a guitar, unless they are using what's called a "quiet plug" or the amp is turned off.

Dennis
 
It looks like something for an older tape deck to me as well. I went and took a shot of one that's on an old Akai 2-track that I have:
 

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Yep, that looks correct input Mikey
 
Re: Found some old Grundig mics, tell me more about them!

audiotech said:
The connector that is on his microphone looks like a 6 pin DIN connector. I believe he is trying to find a six pin female connector to mate with the microphone and then in turn feed it to a 3.5mm phone plug for use with his equipment. The only Grundig microphones that I'm familiar with are the ones that came with older tape equipment and needed some type of low voltage that was supplied by the tape machine. Unless I'm completely miss-reading what is needed.

You're correct about either an XLR or 1/4" TRS connector will work for a balanced microphone output, but I would only use 48V phantom on XLR connectors, it's just safer all around. There is a very delicate and precise balance of DC voltage through two series resistors placed between the 48V B+ and pins 2 and 3 in reference to pin 1 of the XLR connector on the board. Plugging a 1/4" TRS plug into a 48V energised phone jack could possibly cause problems with shorting out the 48V phantom supply or damaging these resistors while inserting or disconnecting the 1/4" plug. Although no phantom voltage is present in this scenario, this is why there is so much racket and noise when plugging or unplugging the 1/4" connector from an amp into a guitar, unless they are using what's called a "quiet plug" or the amp is turned off.

Dennis
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Thanks for that. I always wondered if there was any risk of power transmission using a dynamic mic with a TRS connector. I have a powered board, as well as a little keyboard amp that is unpowered and accepts an XLR or TRS. I guess since that is unpowered it would be safest to use with a dynamic mic with a TRS.
 
mikeyhanson said:
It looks like something for an older tape deck to me as well. I went and took a shot of one that's on an old Akai 2-track that I have:
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Although what you have here looks similar, many of the older tape decks used these connectors, Teac, Akai, I believe early Revox and many others to carry both line level inputs and line level outputs to amplifiers that had mating connectors. The ones you have pictured are not microphone connectors and would not carry the voltage needed for specific Grundig microphones. But again, yes they are either the same type of 6 pin DIN connector or one very similar.

Dennis
 
audiotech said:
Although what you have here looks similar, many of the older tape decks used these connectors.....

Dennis
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Cool, Dennis. Thanks for clearing that up. Saved me a bit of experimenting time with it. The "P.B." of the "Record/P.B." part threw me, and that there was just one. Was that technology/those connectors a proprietary thing? Or was it more of a higher-quality signal path? I love trying to understand the pathways of old gear. Is the 6-din so they can run stereo back and forth? Sorry about the dumb questions....

To keep this on topic, I'd say, I've got a similar type connection, but like Dennis said [I paraphrase], it's only similar in construction, but not in application.
 
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