DVX Mic voltage Question

G

galt

Well-known member
What is the voltage put out by the DVX on the XLR inputs when phantom power is OFF ?
 
I am so confused. I am considering buying some unpowered lav mics, but the mfr tells me that if more than 10 volts is applied, they will fry. These normally are used in minidiscs, computers, and other small devices like that. I have one for my iRiverthat works great. So do thse kind of devices work audio differently than a DVX? Can I even use unpowered mics with a DVX? Every time I think I know something, I found out I know less than when I started.
 
If you are using a dynamic mic, then you don't need power. A DVX with the phantom turned off is safe for any kind of mic. You can have two kind of microphones: ballanced (the ones with XLR connectors) and unballanced (the ones with minijack connectors, for instance) some of them will have batteries, which act like phantom power. No unballanced microphone requires phantom power, only some of the ballanced ones (condenser mics). If you want to connect an unbalanced mic to a DVX, you must get or make an adapter that will put the ground of your mic on pin 1 and the hot on pin 2. For noise/hum reasons, pin 3 of the XLR connector should be grounded. Having said that, when you have this adapter hooked to the camera you must not turn on the phantom, since that is applied between pin 2 and 3 of the XLR and I frankly don't know if the camera will like that. Bottomline is if you are using unballanced mics, you shouldn't wary about phantom, keep it off at all times.
 
Thanks Gabriel. Very helpful indeed. I am going to see if I can get the mfr to work with me on testing these. I am sure lots of us would love to find a great $30 wired lavalier.
 
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