Phantom power with PG81

[dgatwood]

My church has a bunch of microphones. The new one is a PG81. The others are older, and look similar (but silver); I'm not sure what they are exactly. They all are powered by battery power when the church uses them normally.

We have a gig coming up next week, and I'm expecting to use some mics that require phantom power. Does anyone know if I need to do anything like remove the battery when running them on phantom power? I get the impression that they should "just work", but I really don't want a battery exploding in any microphones on my watch.

[mshilarious]

The SM94 switches automatically between battery and phantom, and says so in the manual. I read the PG manual, that wasn't mentioned, but I don't know why it would be different. It just takes a diode . . .

[Brackish]

I've got a couple of battery mic's and
the manuals say they switch to the phantom
when plugged into XLR voltage.

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by Brackish

I've got a couple of battery mic's and
the manuals say they switch to the phantom
when plugged into XLR voltage.

The reason I asked is my Shure VP88 has a switch to switch between battery, phantom, and off. These things have just an on-off switch. My first thought, therefore, was "Maybe there's a hidden switch that I have to switch inside it."

[Dr_simon]

I have a pair and I have never had to do anything with the battery, I normally run off phantom power.

[themaddog]

I know it's not a Shure mic, but I have an AKG mic that uses power, either from a phantom power source or a removable AA battery.

When using phantom power, they advise taking out the battery. I would recommend doing the same, if at all possible, if phantom power is going to be running to each mic (including dynamic mics that don't need it). I would just be afraid of shorting something.

In addition, whenever possible you're generally better off using the phantom power rather than the power form the battery. On most microphones this will yield a larger signal to noise ratio, but I guess you would have to experiment with each type of mic to see if there is a difference, how noticeable it is, and whether it sounds better with or without the battery.

-MD

[xstatic]

If there is any uncertainty, I too would reccomend removing the battery.