Pete Alcock Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Bought a few mic elements for making into bespoke headsets the other day, and came to order the 4-pin mini XLRs to go into my (Trantec, Shure and JTS) beltpacks. I usually pay about £7 for the supposedly SwitchCraft ones, but then I stumbled upon these: http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/AV19854-40.jpg Neutrik and cheap! Wahoo! You get two different sized cable grips too. I say "secret", because they're not in the big catalogue. AV19856 and AV19854 There's even a waterproof one! http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/AV19856-40.jpg No, I don't work for CPC or get a get a bottle of Scotch at Christmas time from Chris, I'm just sharing industry-useful info. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pisquee Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Ooh, very interested in the water (sweat) proof one. Though, will it mate OK with a standard socket on a beltpack (Shure UR1)with sealing boot (patent pending) for water / sweat protection if mated with RT3MP or RT4MP chassis connectors I don't mind replacing the plugs on our headset mics, as they tend to need doing as the cast invariably tear the cables from the solder often enough anyways, but wondering if the rubber seal would work on a standard socket, or would you end up with the rubber boot full of sweat? Edit to add: just looked up the RT4MP and it looks like a standard connector - no extra rubber or anything I can see in the image, so may be a good move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Beware, as not all the REAN stuff is as good as you might assume from a Neutrik sub-brand... These 6.5mm jacks look the business in the photos, but lack the chuck strain relief that makes the NP2C/X what it is so really aren't worth it in my mind.http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/AV19377-40.jpg On the other hand, I found these phono plugs to be fantastic quality & value, and am pretty sure they're REAN. Choice of colours, too.http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/42347807.jpg The shame is, that it's hard to tell until you actually buy one and get to look at it. Though the tiny XLRs *look* OK (but who knows how you'll feel when you open one up?) Presumably you still have to add a little capacitor, if you're making up the JTS leads at least? For my JTS radio-packs, I'm very happy with these CPC cheapy mics for a fiver. But sadly they don't do a 4 pin option, so I simply cannibalise the old XLR, but glad to see there is a cheaper option once these expire.http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/MP3375206-40.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Those REAN phono plugs are very good at the cable end, but I've found that you need to bend the sections around the edge outward slightly if it isn't for a permanent connection - on more than one piece of equipment we've had those connectors rip the phono socket right out the back of the kit before it unmates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Alcock Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Presumably you still have to add a little capacitor, if you're making up the JTS leads at least? Hi Alec, Nope I don't put the little resistor in the plug - it ain't necessary. I use those cheapie mics too, like this: I connect the "hot" in the cable to Pin 2 (+5v), then connect the screen to Pins 3&4 linked together (Audio in and GND via an internal 20k resistor). I've always done it this way and my mics work perfectly across Shure, Trantec and JTS. Leave the ground pin (Pin 1) disconnected. Trust this helps! PA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Nope I don't put the little resistor in the plug - it ain't necessary. I use those cheapie mics too, like this: I connect the "hot" in the cable to Pin 2 (+5v), then connect the screen to Pins 3&4 linked together (Audio in and GND via an internal 20k resistor). I've always done it this way and my mics work perfectly across Shure, Trantec and JTS. Leave the ground pin (Pin 1) disconnected. That's good to know, as I never bothered to try testing to see if you could get away with that. In that case, I might knock up a stock of spares with cheapy connectors ready to use "off the shelf". A tiny premium to pay for the convenience. And there's a chance that the REAN connectors might have a better strain relief. Think I might just pick up a couple with CPC's current free delivery for orders over a tenner offer (add WEBFREE in the order comments box during checkout, offer ends Monday 17th January 2011 at midnight). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirkenstein Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 On a similar note, does anybody know where you can get 6-pin female tini-qg cable sockets?These are for making up custom connector cables for AKG headsets. I assume the min-XLR socket on AKG headsets is actually a tini-qg rather than something completely proprietary. Do multipin tini-qg conectors intermate? E.g. does a 4-pin plug fit in a 5-pin socket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pisquee Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I thought that these would be great (the water/sweat-proof connector) to put on our cast. I bought 10, planning to change all the headsets over to them over time. Thought I would try one first, as a test, on a dancer, who has to also do BGVs. I figured if the connector could last a few shows on a dancer, then it would be fine to trust to a lead vocalist.The connectors are robust enough, and the strain relief/solder held fine. The problem was though, in the first show with the mic in use, it came unplugged, loosing her vocal part. I thought it was either I hadn't plugged it in properly in the rush of the pack swap from the last user, or it had been "knocked" by the dancer when she was putting it on. Unfortunately after a few more shows, the locking mechanism had completely given up, and it didn't lock into the transmitter pack at all now. Tonight, giving it the benefit of the doubt, I figured that it could be a dodgy one, and the other 9 I had would be fine. I tried during quiet bits of the show to get the dodgy connector to work again, with no luck. As an experiment, I took a brand new connector from the bag, and clicked its lock button repeatedly for the duration of one song, and by the end of the song, this connector no longer clicked into place or locked either.I have emailed CPC to say that I want to send the lot back for a refund, but also to say I think that they should review whether they want to continue selling them.I would advise BlueRoomers that these connectors are not fit for purpose, and so, please do not buy them.Mostly, I am just disappointed, as I thought these connectors were going to be good, and a shame to be let down by a small mechanism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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