antichef
pornk rock
I'm an enthusiastic and electronics-skill-free mic-modding newb -- so far, I've removed a mic transformer, replaced several mic transformers, and tensioned three ribbons. Now, I think I'm ready to move on to a condenser, even though I'm really not. I wound up with an Apex 430 that is essentially disposable, and I've been hoping to learn on it. I believe this is one of the "Shanghai" mics that is suitable for the "Dorsey mod", and information abounds, but I have yet to find a complete guide (the online reproductions of the article have important bits missing, and the reprints of the magazine seem unobtainable.
But no matter - I don't really want to do the Dorsey mod (or, I'm not up to it, in any event), I just want to replace some caps. I've found lots of info here, but no circuit board has looked just like mine, so here's my post with pictures.
I bought some caps at a local electronics store, getting several different types that I was fairly sure were not tantalum or ceramic, which my research indicates are bad to use for the signal path. I got a bunch at the .001uF value, and another set with a 1uF value. Here's the first group (actually, the orange one of these came out of the Apex 430):
can anyone say what type of caps these are? The 1uF set (not pictured), is largely the same, but I have a 1uF "foil" cap - is that good for anything?
Next, here's the circuit boards from the mic. As I hinted, I couldn't wait and already switched out a cap (C5) from the orange one above to the green-ish one above:
and here's the other board (other side of the mic):
and lastly, here's the back of the first board, with the C2 cap (I think) - is the "capsule coupler" cap, and does it look like a polystyrene one? (I had set out to change this one, until I saw it):
for good measure, here's the schematic, that I got from the Apex website:
so: 1) can/should I use any of those caps in the picture? 2) If so, where should they go? 3) if not, is it because they're the wrong value, or the wrong type, or both?
I like the change from the orange one to the green one -- seemed to take some of the harshness of the HF out. But again, I really have no idea what I'm doing.
But no matter - I don't really want to do the Dorsey mod (or, I'm not up to it, in any event), I just want to replace some caps. I've found lots of info here, but no circuit board has looked just like mine, so here's my post with pictures.
I bought some caps at a local electronics store, getting several different types that I was fairly sure were not tantalum or ceramic, which my research indicates are bad to use for the signal path. I got a bunch at the .001uF value, and another set with a 1uF value. Here's the first group (actually, the orange one of these came out of the Apex 430):
can anyone say what type of caps these are? The 1uF set (not pictured), is largely the same, but I have a 1uF "foil" cap - is that good for anything?
Next, here's the circuit boards from the mic. As I hinted, I couldn't wait and already switched out a cap (C5) from the orange one above to the green-ish one above:
and here's the other board (other side of the mic):
and lastly, here's the back of the first board, with the C2 cap (I think) - is the "capsule coupler" cap, and does it look like a polystyrene one? (I had set out to change this one, until I saw it):
for good measure, here's the schematic, that I got from the Apex website:
so: 1) can/should I use any of those caps in the picture? 2) If so, where should they go? 3) if not, is it because they're the wrong value, or the wrong type, or both?
I like the change from the orange one to the green one -- seemed to take some of the harshness of the HF out. But again, I really have no idea what I'm doing.