Auna HKMIC-CM 280 - inside a cheap USB desktop microphone. (+ some Mackie stuff)

[rock soderstrom]

As you know, I have a soft spot for strange-looking microphones and am always on the lookout for suitable donor bodies for my own projects.

I was able to buy today's candidate for very little money on kleinanzeigen, let's see what we got for 5€.





I am surprised to find an externally polarized capsule, the body is not bad, a bit small for a tube mic but it will all fit in. The lettering is unfortunately partially lasered or etched into the chrome. I think I'll relic the mic a bit so that the chrome looks like it's from world war II. That will be exciting. The housing openings that are not needed will be covered with a fancy nameplate. That's the plan. Stay tuned...

 

[micolas]

As you know, I have a soft spot for strange-looking microphones and am always on the lookout for suitable donor bodies for my own projects.

I was able to buy today's candidate for very little money on kleinanzeigen, let's see what we got for 5€.

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I am surprised to find an externally polarized capsule, the body is not bad, a bit small for a tube mic but it will all fit in. The lettering is unfortunately partially lasered or etched into the chrome. I think I'll relic the mic a bit so that the chrome looks like it's from world war II. That will be exciting. The housing openings that are not needed will be covered with a fancy nameplate. That's the plan. Stay tuned...

You got an interesting toy for 5 euros

 

[rock soderstrom]

You got an interesting toy for 5 euros

Yes, that was the by-catch to an even better deal! A defective Mackie 802VLZ4 for €20. I urgently needed another mini mixer! Let's see what's kaput.

Just arrived...

 

[micolas]

Yes, that was the by-catch to an even better deal! A defective Mackie 802VLZ4 for €20. I urgently needed another mini mixer! Let's see what's kaput.
View attachment 147842
Just arrived...

VLZ4 !!!
Incredible

P.S.
GAS in action!

 

[rock soderstrom]

GAS in action!

You got me!

 

[pmfalcman]

Quite a lot of goodies for 5 euro
Is the mic's body metal?

And the mixer - lovely prize.
The pots alone are worth more than 20 euro

 

[rock soderstrom]

Is the mic's body metal?

Yep, full metal. Quite stabil and robust body.

And the mixer - lovely prize.
The pots alone are worth more than 20 euro

The price is killer - I use these Mackie mini mixers a lot. I like the old design better visually, I'm curious to see if there are any other differences to the VLZ3 (which I also have).

 

[pmfalcman]

VLZ4 !!!
Incredible

P.S.
GAS in action!

GAS? This is not GAS. It's pragmatism.
(sorry, Rock)
I don't do mixing, don't need a mixer but I'd buy it for 20 euro.
This is GAS!

 

[rock soderstrom]

I have found the defect, the master bus is much quieter on the left...

because the master pot is broken. If you press it with your finger, the problem is solved!

 

[micolas]

I have found the defect, the master bus is much quieter on the left...
View attachment 147849
because the master pot is broken. If you press it with your finger, the problem is solved!View attachment 147850

Great! The all-rounder little mixer featuring Mackie's flagship Onyx mic preamps!!!

 

[pmfalcman]

I have found the defect, the master bus is much quieter on the left...

because the master pot is broken. If you press it with your finger, the problem is solved!

That's why I love buying "broken" things.
Very often the cause is banal

 

[micolas]

That's why I love buying "broken" things.
Very often the cause is banal

You're right! Most of them had minor defects.
Some weren't even defective, they had the plugs connected wrong
Or they used faulty cables.

 

[rock soderstrom]

That's why I love buying "broken" things.
Very often the cause is banal

You're right! Most of them had minor defects.
Some weren't even defective, they had the plugs connected wrong
Or they used faulty cables.

+1 You're both right, most of the time it really is small things. Sometimes I'm really disappointed because the errors are so trivial but I'm in repair hero mode.

 

[nashkato]

my best guess would be :
pcb as big as the mixer itself .
pots mounted to that pcb on which all components are smd of course .
that means :
--take of all knobs
--unscrew every pot screw underneath them ( don't loose any of those washers )
--unscrew the bottom plate
--remove pcb without damaging anything
--replace master pot
--now the whole thing from bottom to top .

can you do it in 2 hours ?

 

[k brown]

My guess is that the pot itself is fine, but it has a cracked solder connection to the board.

 

[rock soderstrom]

My guess is that the pot itself is fine, but it has a cracked solder connection to the board.

Possible, we will see...

 

[Khron]

What about the mic?

 

[micolas]

What about the mic?

But what about Plautus' microphone?

 

[rock soderstrom]

What about the mic?

We'll get to that in a moment...promise!

 

[rock soderstrom]

My guess is that the pot itself is fine, but it has a cracked solder connection to the board.

My lucky streak continues, you were right.

Easy repair by re-soldering without having to order a new pot and without removing the bottom motherboard, which really wouldn't be that much fun since some genius replaced the screws for mounting the PCB with soldered-in(!) posts. Congratulations for this very smart solution Mackie, very service friendly if you need to replace a pot. That wasn't the case with the older models, unbelievable!

Total time for the repair (and cleaning) was 12 minutes, the pot caps are not yet back on because I'm going to wash them, as they are a bit yellowed, bleach detergent works well.

By the way, stubborn poti caps can be removed very easily with finger picks.


here the broken soldering point, maybe it was never soldered right?

this one of the ~10 soldered PCB holder