Sony ECM-16 electret

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CAlbertson

Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Messages
8
Location
Redondo Beach, California
This is a late 1970's vintage lavaliere microphone.  I got it from eBay way cheap, 99 cents.  I put a new battery in it, takes smaller size button 1.5 volt cell.  It has a single ended mini TS plug on the end.  I try this mic and the thing is nearly deaf.  If I tap the mic I can detect some faint clicks.  I was able record voice using a very high gain amp but the voice was way down in the noise and hiss.

What goes wrong with these?  It would be fun to try and repair it.  This was actually a decent mic in its day.  Being an older mic, it is large,  maybe 1/2 inch in diameter.  So There is hope I might be able to see the parts if I can figure out how to disassemble it.  THere are no screws or fasteners of any kind, the mic does unscrew to allow access to the battery, So I imagine you have to pull the guts of the mic out

Here is an image that Google found, mine is identical.
p1_uza4eetwk_so.jpg
 
Loss of charge can be a reason, but I doubt if this will be the case here.
I own some electret microphones that are older than 40 years and still sound the same as the moment I unpacked them...
There is a good chance that the electronics are not integrated in the capsule.
If this is the case, I would suspect the FET or a capacitor inside the microphone.
Sony has a good reputation, so I doubt if they would have used inferior (aging sensitive) capsules.
 

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