Can anyone identify this old TFK bottle mic capsule?

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tony hunt

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Mar 13, 2014
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Frankfurt 230V / 50Hz
I have never seen a capsule like this. I have tried image searches, but no luck.
Does anyone know what kind of a Telefunken capsule this could be?
Is this what a crystal capsule looks like?

I cannot detect any magnetism on the capsule "frame". The diaphragm seems to have two paper pressure pads next to each other and is one sided. Mounted on phenolic.

It had two wires running to the bottle body which has two valves: TFK EF14 and EF12.
The build looks a bit like an oldtime-homebrew in places.  Maybe a forced labour product from WW II.

The guts smell even worse than mine. Not acrid or burnt, just an old chemical smell that makes me leave this item in an air tight container.
 

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tony hunt said:
I have never seen a capsule like this. I have tried image searches, but no luck.
Does anyone know what kind of a Telefunken capsule this could be?
Is this what a crystal capsule looks like?

It's carbon capsule

Microphone looks like early funkwerk leipzig or any other east germany mic.
 
Thanks for the link. That site was a great read with some entertaining self-effacing opinions.
The Vox-o rama CMV563 bottle capsules are intriguing and tempting.

This old bottle mic indeed would seem to be a DDR production. There are VEB markings on the large brown caps.
EF12 in pentode, plate follower Ra 50k through a 4700pF coupling cap to the EF14 configured in triode mode.
 
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