Help - low audio/feedback on broken Canon XHa1 & rode ntg-2

T

tomsimone

New member
I've pressed all the buttons, twizzled the dials, and perused the forums, and now I need some guidance...

The inbuilt mic on my Canon XHa1 has come off, with the connecting wires snapping in half.

For a while I used my rode ntg-2 mic plugged into XLR channel 1 and it worked fine.

However the last time I used it the audio levels remained very low (barely audible).

Mic att switches are in the off position. Tried audio levels on auto and manual, makes no real difference adjusting levels.

I tried taking the battery out of the ntg-2 and switching on the +48 phantom power on the front of the camera.

This resulted in loads of white noise making the audio unusable.

Does anyone know a solution to this, or what's going on?
Does it sound like the camera's wiring is messed up?
If so, anyone know how/where to fix it?

The closest I got to ok audio was by going to the camera menu and selecting +12db in the audio options, with the phantom power turned off.

I'm a bit of a newbie at all this, but I've got a couple of projects coming up so I really need to get it sorted.

Thanks in advance, tom.
 
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Update:

I've tried using a non-XLR mic (well, a pair of headphones actually) and that records sound fine, and all the buttons and dials do what they're supposed to do.

So perhaps something wrong with the ntg-2?

I've tried changing the battery, but are there any other reasons it might give extremely low signal or white noise when phantom power is switched on?

thanks, tom
 
Yes, it started off a bit loose, then came off altogether.

There are now exposed wires, but I don't think these should affect the XLR input.

My ntg-2 picks up my voice if it's right next to my mouth, but stops when I move it a few inches away.

If anyone knows how to get stuff like this fixed in the UK or why I can't get a good audio input from xlr mic, please help.

thanks
 
Well, I'd be worried that the mic being torn off has done some damage to the audio section, but setting that aside for now, try a different cable, try it without a battery on phantom, try both the inputs, try the mic with a different device, basically do everything you can to narrow down the problem so you know what needs to be fixed.
 
I think you have the XLR's set to line not mic. Also I would put some electrical tape around the loose ends of those wires so they don't short out on anything. And yes they might affect the audio so tidy them up or get it fixed.
 
Thanks for the responses.

Unfortunately I do have it set to mic on the XLR inputs.

I'll go to the electrical store tomorrow and figure if it's a problem with the mic or camera.
 
Problem solved!

The XlR lead had a loose wire in it - very relieved 't was cheapest thing that had the fault.

Guy at Maplin helped me out with spare bits and bobs, including a little contraption that stops wires breaking.
 
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