Phantom Power Upgrade to M-300 series mixers

[Muckelroy]

Has anyone here ever added phantom power to a M-308 mixer? (Or any mixer that didn't have it, in general?)

I was just given a schematic for a phantom power circuit, and it seems quite simple -- it's just a matter of finding a 52V dc source, and fitting everything into the guts of the beast w/out starting a fire.


My M-308 was a steal -- about 160 bucks. I would sell it and get a B series, but they're WELL over 300 bucks if you're lucky. I think it'll be awesome to get phantom power on these mic pres, and upgrading it to a B series w/ a bit of elbow grease.

-callie-

[The Ghost of FM]

I suppose if TASCAM themselves figured out how to do it and provided documentation along with their 300B series mixers to show you the wiring and component list, it should be doable depending on your skill levels as a DIYer to do this chore.

Please keep in mind however that there are multi-channel phantom power supply boxes out there and for most home recordists, a two channel unit, (30 - 60 bucks), should fulfill our needs and avoid the risk of damaging our working 300 series mixer and then ending up with nothing in the end.

Good luck!

Cheers!

[Dr ZEE]

yep, simple schematics... true. What I know though...heh heh when it comes to actually building something from scratch - nothing is too simple, a such lil' simple schematics on the workshop table turns out to be a pain in tha'A*s
So...yeah, you can buy the thing that does the job for 29 bucks.
don't forget, , Buying parts for the similar project will end up as few bucks also....
imho, The only justification for DIY here is if you really enjoy building something - and that's the reason why you are building something
well, then just get parts, read some needed tech-stuff and get to work. I would not start with messing up the mixer thou.... build the 'supply-unit' first...test it, make sure it works and then you can "design" how you could "inject" it into the mixer.... ... I'd imagine it may be a problem ...so, if I'd build phantom power supply , then I'd build something like multi-channel box.
here are some links, just if you wish to get some info... maybe helpful: link1 , link2 , interesting stuff (bunch of projects etc)

goodluck

[Muckelroy]

Ouch -- scary lookin' links!

The schematic I found was EXTREMELY simple, much less complex than those links were suggesting, in terms of parts n' such.

No transformer was needed.

Just a handful of resistors, a cap, a switch, and an LED was all. (And a 52VDC source, which I suppose is the only catch.)

I suppose a unit like this could be built as an 8-channel connector box outside of the mixer, for safety's sake, given that good connectors and cables are used to interconnect everything. Like I said, this whole setup is meant to go between the mic and the preamp transformer, so it can be anywhere along the mic cable path.

I tried to post the schematic here, but it would not work. I'll try again later,


-callie-

[Dr ZEE]

yeah..well, simple is good, too simple is not always the best though ..it depends. ....a lot of tech lil' and "big" nuances there, which I'm no even near expert at. I am just posting these links so you may find some info you may need.
Here's another page to check out: link
..btw,
bookmark this ...bunch of links to various projects/schematics and stuff, not all of those links work ...

[Beck]

Nice links, Zee!

[EDAN]

Originally Posted by Muckelroy

Has anyone here ever added phantom power to a M-308 mixer? (Or any mixer that didn't have it, in general?)

I was just given a schematic for a phantom power circuit, and it seems quite simple -- it's just a matter of finding a 52V dc source, and fitting everything into the guts of the beast w/out starting a fire.


My M-308 was a steal -- about 160 bucks. I would sell it and get a B series, but they're WELL over 300 bucks if you're lucky. I think it'll be awesome to get phantom power on these mic pres, and upgrading it to a B series w/ a bit of elbow grease.

-callie-

$160? You got raked through the coals! I paid $119 for mine, ha! lol. Ok, $160 is still a good deal though. I wouldn't even go through the trouble of messing with it, why not just pick up a phantom power unit. I have two Peavey four channel boxes (PS-4AC) I paid around $60 or so apiece for on ebay. They are built like a tank and work great and have the ins and outs on top for easy access using one hand (I find the units with the side jacks are a pain in that you have to use both hands to keep them from moving when plugging in and out).

That being said, if like someone already mentioned, you just like building things then go for it. The M-308 is a great mixer, but also very old and sometimes opening up a perfectly good mixer of that age can also open a can of worms and I'd hate to see you make a mistake and risk damaging your M-308.