KM84 DIY Body & PCB kit – CLOSED

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For anyone like me trying to find info on how to bias the FET, here's the different techniques I've found so far. I haven't tried any of them yet.

http://www.vintagemicrophonepcbkit.com/Neumann%20U87%20Build.htm
"It’s time to pump a little 48v phantom power into this baby to see what we have cookin!  Connect your mic preamp of choice, preferably one that works, and turn on the phantom power.  We’re going to calibrate the drain on the microphone to 11.5 volts.  Take your multimeter and put the red probe on r6. This is right next to the FET.  Take your black probe and put it on the ground hole.  Take a small flat-head screw driver and tweak the pot until you measure 11.5 volts. "

http://repforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/topic,11630.0.html
"I feed a 1K sine wave signal to the gate and slowly increase the source resistance from 0-10k Ohm with a temporary trim pot (10k) until I reach the lowest distortion of the FET.

This will be a pretty precisely defined point right after the highest output of the mic, right after the first heavy distortion audible when the FET turns on, and right before the more gradual onset of the distortion as the FET's output decreases again.

The trick is to feed enough 1k into the gate that at this ideal bias point the distortion is indeed barely audible or gone altogether, and clearly audible to each side of the ideal bias point.

All of this is best done at very low listening levels over headphones in a quiet environment. If you don't want to do it aurally, you can use an oscilloscope.

I then copy the ideal value I found  with the trim pot and choose a fixed source resistor of the same value for final installation."


https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=46109.40
"First, you set the adjustable source resistor (R7, or the source resistor that is in parallel with the bypass cap C4) to maximum resistance.  Then, with the capsule disconnected, you inject a test signal into the coupling cap leading to the gate of the JFET).

Here's a shot of the incoming signal (1kHz, 200mV peak-to-peak in this case).  The JFET device is a 2N3819 in this case.

Then you set your scope to AC coupling, and place the scope probe on the drain of the JFET.  You then start increasing the input amplitude until one side of the signal begins to flatten out.  Here's what this looks like (you can see the top of the signal is starting to flatten):

After this, you decrease the value of the source resistor until the signal again looks symmetrical:

You keep repeating this process (increase input amplitude until one side of the signal distorts, then decrease the source resistance until the waveform looks symmetrical), and after three or four iterations, you'll see that the waveform begins to clip evenly on both the top and bottom of the waveform as you increase the input amplitude.  Here's what this looks like:"
 
I just finished my two mics and I am getting some odd results. At the 21.5 and 10v measure points, I get around 23v. The 46v and 24v spots are accurate but it doesn't drop from there. I have 24v on the drain of the fet no matter what I do with the trim pot. Also the 46v spot on the schematic between the  1G and 10M resistors is measuring only 16v. It's happening on both of mics. I used the parts from the Mouser BOM so I don't think I got any parts wrong. I've gone over the parts and my soldering multiple times and can't figure it out. Is it possible the fets from ebay are bad? Photos below.
 
The voltage you measure is lower than in reality, because you are loading the circuit while measuring.
That is why the voltage drops.
To measure the voltage correctly, you would need a meter with an infinite internal resistance.

Example: your meter is 20 K.ohm/volt. In the 50 V. range the internal resistance of the meter is 1 M.ohm.
Now you measure with a series resistance of 10 M.ohm.
What you are measuring now, is 1/11 of the real voltage!
 
What are you guys doing with the extra flap of foil on the Cinemag CM-5722?  Are you connecting it to pin 1 or should I just leave it floating?

 
jrasia said:
What are you guys doing with the extra flap of foil on the Cinemag CM-5722?  Are you connecting it to pin 1 or should I just leave it floating?

The excess foil on the axial end? I tore it off. I had trouble getting it to fit in the PCB with it still attached.

Thanks!

Paul
 
usatrene said:
The parts were delivered yesterday to the far east.  Thank you again for handling and the support, Bonzai. ;)

I am wondering how can I paint the body.
It would be great if you guys share how are you going to paint the surface.
Ordinary color paint with a primer underneath or powder coat?

Anyway, thanks again and hope everything works fine.

Hey Usatrene,

To paint with a professional looking finish, the easiest and cheapest option is powder-coat. Round here it would cost about €10.

Otherwise for wet paint, just lightly sand the tube by hand to get rid of any oxidation, wipe clean with some rubbing alcohol, apply a coat of primer, and finish with a spraycan for a smooth and even finish.

For a really shiny and smooth paintjob, you can apply a finish layer of clear varnish, then buff the tube with some polish.
 
Banzai said:
Hey Usatrene,

To paint with a professional looking finish, the easiest and cheapest option is powder-coat. Round here it would cost about €10.

Otherwise for wet paint, just lightly sand the tube by hand to get rid of any oxidation, wipe clean with some rubbing alcohol, apply a coat of primer, and finish with a spraycan for a smooth and even finish.

For a really shiny and smooth paintjob, you can apply a finish layer of clear varnish, then buff the tube with some polish.

Thank you again, Bonzai!
I was just thinking about powder-coat.
There are powder-coat companies but it they mainly work on auto-parts as far as I looked in the ads.
I hope they would be interested in this project.

I still waiting for the JFET, it seems parts company like Mouser does not have one at the moment.
 
Thanks for the info but unfortunately the mic does not work and it would seem that the bias voltage staying constant despite tweaking the trim pot would be a problem. I suspect a bad batch of fets from eBay/China. Ordered some legit fets from small bear and will report back. I've gone over the pcb a thousand times and everytbing is flawless so it's the only thing I can imagine.

RuudNL said:
The voltage you measure is lower than in reality, because you are loading the circuit while measuring.
That is why the voltage drops.
To measure the voltage correctly, you would need a meter with an infinite internal resistance.

Example: your meter is 20 K.ohm/volt. In the 50 V. range the internal resistance of the meter is 1 M.ohm.
Now you measure with a series resistance of 10 M.ohm.
What you are measuring now, is 1/11 of the real voltage!
 
Banzai said:
Haven't tried it, but at $120 it wouldn't even be an option for me.

Rather get two Cinemag's, or the original Haufe ;)

I was just curious if anyone noticed an audible difference. The price disparity is daunting.
 
This is how the 2N3819's I got from China/eBay tested. I guess now I know why my mics don't work. Don't trust Chinese components on eBay regardless of what the markings on the components say. Small bear carries these.
 

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Finally got these working after replacing the bad FET's from China. I highly recommend Small Bear for a source of good 2N3819's. Got through the bias procedure with a scope, using my DAW as a signal generator. After multiple unsatisfactory patina attempts, I decided on a simple satin clear coat, we'll see how it holds up. One problem is that I seen to have lost the inner mesh for one of them. Can anyone recommend a place to find a replacement? Right now I'm thinking about taking a piece out of one of those splatter screens for cooking.
42887551385_ec1d5564c8_z.jpg

41982412450_f60f3903c0_z.jpg
 
Hello everybody,
all received here.

A couple of questions:

Can someone please explain me exactly where to intall the mesh included in the package?
I presume it's for the capsule, but i cannot figure out how to open the capsule and install the mesh ....or i'm in the wrong direction ?

Can i replace with 2N3819  with a J113  ->  https://www.mouser.it/ProductDetail/ON-Semiconductor-Fairchild/J113?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvAvBNgSS9LqrkM%2fzSS1Sxk . ???

Cheers
 
AW_music said:
Hello everybody,
all received here.

A couple of questions:

Can someone please explain me exactly where to intall the mesh included in the package?
I presume it's for the capsule, but i cannot figure out how to open the capsule and install the mesh ....or i'm in the wrong direction ?

Can i replace with 2N3819  with a J113  ->  https://www.mouser.it/ProductDetail/ON-Semiconductor-Fairchild/J113?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvAvBNgSS9LqrkM%2fzSS1Sxk . ???

Cheers


Hey
I suppose it's for the slots under the capsule.


BTW banzai and Graeme, all received well here.
Amazing looking kit, many thanks!
Didn't get around to building just yet.

One question though, which type of screws goes into the white plastic thingy?

Thanks!
 
Hey everyone

I've just built my first one and no luck yet... It's "windy", like with lots of constant artifacts and VERY LOW gain... Something is very wrong...
Double checked all the solder joints and looks fine...

BUT, first I figured out that I placed the C4 inverted (duhhhhh), tested it with 48V on, etc... and of course it won't work properly...

Then I corrected it and nothing changed...

Any ideas?! Maybe I screwed the FET?

Thanks!!!
 
Hi, jordan s
Congratulations! ;)

Would you kindly tell me how you exactly calibrate the bias if you don't mind?
How and where did you put probes on?
How did you use your DAW signal to the circuit?

This is my first trail draining the volts.
Thanks
jordan s said:
Got through the bias procedure with a scope, using my DAW as a signal generator.
 
I posted 3 different methods borrowed from the U87 project above.

usatrene said:
Hi, jordan s
Congratulations! ;)

Would you kindly tell me how you exactly calibrate the bias if you don't mind?
How and where did you put probes on?
How did you use your DAW signal to the circuit?

This is my first trail draining the volts.
Thanks
 
lkipod said:
Hey
I suppose it's for the slots under the capsule.


BTW banzai and Graeme, all received well here.
Amazing looking kit, many thanks!
Didn't get around to building just yet.

One question though, which type of screws goes into the white plastic thingy?

Thanks!

Hey Ikipod,

The screws were included in the spring/mesh bag. If you have a couple of units, it will be in one of the bags.

Size is M2.
 

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