[SOLVED] old 1976' MK-12 oktava?? how can i use this thing for my studio?

B

bigfootangel

Guest
hi hi,
ive got old good mic from 1976... its oktava tube condenser, right?
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u see the connections at the bottom.. how can i use this kind of beast? where to start? can connect it to my art tube preamp or external audio card?
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i found this, maybe it has truth in it:
The MK-12 was the original Oktava SDC head from the early 70's that was based on the Neumann SMR-64, which is the same head as the MK-64, and the predecessor to the wildly successful MK-012 many years later. This mic has a similar sound, quality and design to the legendary Neumann KM-84.
This microphone uses the 6S6B sub-miniature tube, which is the Russian analog of the famous AC701k tube. A sub miniature, low noise tube designed specifically for microphone use.
The capsule is an MK-12, a faithful copy of the Neumann analog found on their KM series of microphones.
The body is a ZT4M body made by Zvuko Technika a Leningrad company that made electret condenser for LOMO. AEG choose this body because the size and rear headbasket space is the same as the famous Neumann mics. The result is an excellent tube mic that can sit beside Telefunken, Schoeps and Neumann contemporaries.
This microphone's power supply is 220v OR 120v

This microphone uses the 6S6B sub-miniature tube, which is the Russian analog of the famous AC701k tube. A sub miniature, low noise tube designed specifically for microphone use.
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so some of those pins are for feeding the power to the mic, and others are for outputing audio signal.. maybe these two traffics must be separated here..right? its a hard road... but.
so theres no chance to use it with a xlr phantom power? is it possible to convert all those pins to standard xlr?? i guess it has sorta sub-miniature tube inside..hmm??

thanks, god blessss!

samuel
 
Hi,
I saw your GS thread about this. DO NOT connect anything to anything because YOU WILL break the mic. :)

Seriously, can't back up what those guys said enough. You NEED the original power supply or a custom built equivalent.
Sorry, I HATE it when guys capitalise every other word but I saw the article you linked about 6 pin to XLR conversion and it's totally irrelevant.
Please don't be tempted to start botching cables and hoping that it magically runs on 48v DC somehow, 'cos it really won't.

That microphone might be designed to run on bipolar 18V, 5vDC, 110V AC. (OK, not likely...but you get the point).
It might even require various rails..maybe 5V for this, 25V for that and 50V for the other.....
We have literally no idea what its requirements are.

Some (all?) of the more modern oktava power supples seem to have a 6 pin connector for the mic cable so be wary of that.
If it's not definitely 100% made for your mic, assume that it will instantly break your mic. That's the only way to be safe. :)
 
Last edited:
Steenamaroo said:
Hi,
I saw your GS thread about this. DO NOT connect anything to anything because YOU WILL break the mic. :)

Seriously, can't back up what those guys said enough. You NEED the original power supply or a custom built equivalent.
Sorry, I HATE it when guys capitalise every other word but I saw the article you linked about 6 pin to XLR conversion and it's totally irrelevant.
Please don't be tempted to start botching cables and hoping that it magically runs on 48v DC somehow, 'cos it really won't.

That microphone might be designed to run on bipolar 18V, 5vDC, 110V AC. (OK, not likely...but you get the point).
It might even require various rails..maybe 5V for this, 25V for that and 50V for the other.....
We have literally no idea what its requirements are.

Some (all?) of the more modern oktava power supples seem to have a 6 pin connector for the mic cable so be wary of that.
If it's not definitely 100% made for your mic, assume that it will instantly break your mic. That's the only way to be safe. :)
Click to expand...

thanks mate for the opinion. maybe someone will know how to connect that thing correctly. im gonna wait..

danke

samm
 
Well, getting somebody to open it up will give you a start.

In general though, the power supply that came with it would have a dedicated HT supply on one of the pins - probably 150V plus and minus. Two more would be the standard 6.3V supply to the heater, and then two more for the audio out. Ground takes care of the sixth pin. Not sure what the seventh one would be for? Depending on the tube used, the HT might come down a bit, but probably not a great deal. The single side diaphragm might let the polarising voltage be around the 70-80V range - i.e. half the HT supply rail.

As you can see 48V, and tiny current isn't in the plan at all. There are plenty of circuits on the net that are broadly similar, power supply wise - so it's just finding the right pins really. They're quite easy to follow inside, as most connections are hard wired.

Perhaps not a good project for a beginner, because HT can hurt quite a bit!
 
rob aylestone said:
Well, getting somebody to open it up will give you a start.

In general though, the power supply that came with it would have a dedicated HT supply on one of the pins - probably 150V plus and minus. Two more would be the standard 6.3V supply to the heater, and then two more for the audio out. Ground takes care of the sixth pin. Not sure what the seventh one would be for? Depending on the tube used, the HT might come down a bit, but probably not a great deal. The single side diaphragm might let the polarising voltage be around the 70-80V range - i.e. half the HT supply rail.

As you can see 48V, and tiny current isn't in the plan at all. There are plenty of circuits on the net that are broadly similar, power supply wise - so it's just finding the right pins really. They're quite easy to follow inside, as most connections are hard wired.

Perhaps not a good project for a beginner, because HT can hurt quite a bit!
Click to expand...

thanks rob, i appreciate the info. danke
 
bigfootangel said:
thanks mate for the opinion. maybe someone will know how to connect that thing correctly. im gonna wait..

danke

samm
Click to expand...

With respect, it's not an opinion.

Think of the mic as a mobile phone and the phantom power you have as a mains outlet.
There is no way to connect these two things correctly, without an additional specifically designed piece of equipment - The correct power supply.


bigfootangel said:
is it possible to convert all those pins to standard xlr??
Click to expand...
No. XLR is three pins - Ground, +signal and -signal.
+and- are also capable of carrying +48V to power microphones which run on this voltage.


The fact that your mic has 7 pins tells you that four of them are for power rails.
What rails? No one knows.

Sorry dude - Don't meant to sound so dismissive but I just have a gut feeling you really want to connect that mic to phantom power somehow and then you'll most likely have a paperweight.
 
Steenamaroo said:
With respect, it's not an opinion.

Think of the mic as a mobile phone and the phantom power you have as a mains outlet.
There is no way to connect these two things correctly, without an additional specifically designed piece of equipment - The correct power supply.



No. XLR is three pins - Ground, +signal and -signal.
+and- are also capable of carrying +48V to power microphones which run on this voltage.


The fact that your mic has 7 pins tells you that four of them are for power rails.
What rails? No one knows.

Sorry dude - Don't meant to sound so dismissive but I just have a gut feeling you really want to connect that mic to phantom power somehow and then you'll most likely have a paperweight.
Click to expand...

thanks mate, your info is awesome. i understand now that xlr is not enough..
ye.. power source for the tube etc is also needed..
i hope that when its open , tech will trace inner guts and writings somehow..
:{

sam
 
DSorry it's not better news.

There are some real oktava fanatics out there, though, and a thriving DIY community.
Maybe try reaching out to the guys at groupDIY?
I mean, it's extremely unlikely there'll be a simple DIY solution, but at least the guys over there can give you impartial advice with experience to back it up.
Hell, one of them might even take on a commission, or know the model number + specs of the original PSU.

If you were able to find out the pinout and voltage requirements for certain, the rest would be a pretty easy job.
Any half decent DIY enthusiast could make up/acquire a power supply, if the specs were known, and wire up the appropriate cable, assuming connectors are available.

On that note, though...You quoted some info from a reverb.com sale listing for one of these mics.
The mic in that picture appears to have a smaller connector on it than yours (although it's hard to see from the pictures).

I could be wrong, you'll know straight away, but if the connector is different it would suggest that the owner of that mic had the same problem and went the DIY PSU route himself.
Seems likely he couldn't get a 7 pin cable to fit the mic, so he fitted a more modern/available equivalent.

Edit....
His listing says "The power supply enclosure is a modern AEG power supply, hand assembled and wired, and checked twice."

I missed a trick there at the start - I'd contact that guy and ask him for voltage/current specs and pinout.

Edit edit...
Looking again, the two mics are not the same.
I'd send him pics of yours too.
 
Steenamaroo said:
DSorry it's not better news.

There are some real oktava fanatics out there, though, and a thriving DIY community.
Maybe try reaching out to the guys at groupDIY?
I mean, it's extremely unlikely there'll be a simple DIY solution, but at least the guys over there can give you impartial advice with experience to back it up.
Hell, one of them might even take on a commission, or know the model number + specs of the original PSU.

If you were able to find out the pinout and voltage requirements for certain, the rest would be a pretty easy job.
Any half decent DIY enthusiast could make up/acquire a power supply, if the specs were known, and wire up the appropriate cable, assuming connectors are available.

On that note, though...You quoted some info from a reverb.com sale listing for one of these mics.
The mic in that picture appears to have a smaller connector on it than yours (although it's hard to see from the pictures).

I could be wrong, you'll know straight away, but if the connector is different it would suggest that the owner of that mic had the same problem and went the DIY PSU route himself.
Seems likely he couldn't get a 7 pin cable to fit the mic, so he fitted a more modern/available equivalent.

Edit....
His listing says "The power supply enclosure is a modern AEG power supply, hand assembled and wired, and checked twice."

I missed a trick there at the start - I'd contact that guy and ask him for voltage/current specs and pinout.

Edit edit...
Looking again, the two mics are not the same.
I'd send him pics of yours too.
Click to expand...

you rock , man

ive contacted reverb seller and Oktava USA - North American Distributer of Genuine Russian Made Microphones for info.. i hope i'll get answers.

cheers

samm
 
Could one of the mods move this thread to "Microphones"? Maybe exposure in that category might get the attention of someone with experience with the mic.
 
Help you how? You still need to go and find the voltage requirements.
That seller obviously knows them and his item sale was recent, so that's a perfect resource!
 
Steenamaroo said:
Help you how? You still need to go and find the voltage requirements.
That seller obviously knows them and his item sale was recent, so that's a perfect resource!
Click to expand...

his mike is not exactly as mine.. some mods need to be done to fit my mic. but guesses are that it will use a 19a19 or 19a18 power supply.
and all these things are quite expensive... damn.. :(

The logo is Zvyka Technika, Z/T a Leningrad company that made mics in cooperation with LOMO.

i hope i'll find something sooner or later, cause god is omnipotent and helps.. jesus..

thanks brothers in arms!

sammy
 
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