Power drain of condenser mics

Chuck4360

New member
I have a project that requires putting a mic in place and then not having good access to it. I have used old regular mics, but they are big and hard to mount in the space available. So I thought I might use a lapel mic, which means a condenser mic. I have a 12 volt, 7.5 AHr battery that is running all the electronics. I was wondering what the requirements would be for a mic of this quality (had to posturl without the standard first part):
store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=ECMCS3
This is a Sony ECM CS3. The frequency response is not important, only cost, sensitivity (to size the amp that will process the signal), and power consumption. I'm assuming this would run on 1.5 volts, but what is the current draw on something like this? I want to power it via the big battery so no one will have to service the little battery.

Sorry for the intrusion on this music recording forum! I used to do some recording and have enjoyed reading here - and hope to be back with real music info!
Chuck
 
Typically <0.5mA per channel, so plan on 1mA for stereo. If you don't need stereo, use a mono mic for half the power consumption. I would send it a bit more than 1.5V or you will lose sensitivity, headroom, or both. 3V should do.
 
Great, that's almost negligible next to everything else in the circuit. Thank you for the information!
Chuck
 
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