mini-to-xlr Y-cable

Nicholi Brossia · February 4th, 2004, 07:09 PM

Great advice everybody, the Switchcraft looks like a keeper. My only concern now is the actual wiring. I've looked on the internet for wiring instructions. Here's what I understand so far...

Both XLR's #3 pin will be connected to the mini plug's base (black wire).

XLR-1 #2 pin connected to the mini plug's ring (red wire).

XLR-2 #2 pin connected to the mini plug's tip (red wire).

Both XLR's #1 pin reserved for ground (shielding wire). Would it be appropriate to ground these wires to the camcorder?

I'm also concerned with how much wire will squeeze into the little 3.5mm jack. It seems as through two XLR cables might be a little much. Any suggestions here? Am I even on the right track?

Bryan Beasleigh · February 4th, 2004, 08:02 PM

I have all kinds of soldering gear but it's easier to buy a hosatech for $15 and do the keeper when your sure about cable length etc. The stuff works fine, it's just not pretty.

For wiring go to dvplay.com

Anthony Lee · February 5th, 2004, 12:08 PM

I had a somewhat related question. I have a GL2, just bought a NT3. I'm having a hell of a time finding a way to use a low to high impedence transformer and yet have a decent quality cable with a right angle 1/8

*edit*
I did find this
http://www.broadcastrepair.com/sales/show.asp?subcat2=10&lbl=XLR-1%2F8%22
"Cable, 3pin XLR Female To 1/8" (3.5mm) Stereo Right Angle Mini Plug, For Palm-Size Camera Mic In, With DC Blocking Capacitors, 10 ft. "
....but I would still be missing low to high impedence transformer

Glenn Chan · February 5th, 2004, 04:21 PM

Quote:

I'm also concerned with how much wire will squeeze into the little 3.5mm jack.

If you're going to make your own cable, do all the soldering in the XLR barrel. You can get ones that you can open up, although it's somewhat expensive. You might as well try the Hosa cable first considering the effort you would have to expend making your own cable.

Quote:

It seems as through two XLR cables might be a little much. Any suggestions here? Am I even on the right track?

You could always cut it off. ~$30 for 2 cables is only a bit more expensive that buying parts for 2 cables (one with 1 XLR, one with 2 XLR). However, you get a slight advantage to making your own cable in that you can split one XLR onto both channels and record one lower than the other (for redundancy and for extra safety against clipping).

For wiring, the dv.com articles by Jay Rose (the pads and minidisc articles) are different from the dplay.com instructions (the dplay ones can't be printed).

Quote:

I had a somewhat related question. I have a GL2, just bought a NT3. I'm having a hell of a time finding a way to use a low to high impedence transformer and yet have a decent quality cable with a right angle 1/8

Jay's articles on dv.com have lots of information on that (see the DV camera audio article too [that's not the exact title]). I don't think you need a low to high impedence transformer. Jay has written an article on ohm's law and impedences, but you don't really need to read it. His article on making the right cable doesn't mention that you need to match impedences.

Bryan Beasleigh · February 7th, 2004, 07:01 AM

Unbalanced for short runs will work in most instances.

Dave Largent · February 7th, 2004, 08:52 AM

I just ordered the two-XLR-to-3.5mm-stereo from B&H.
I previously had tried a Radio Shack splitter (2-mono-to-1-stereo) but it didn't work out -- noticed a
hum in the audio from a Sennheiser mic. I thought this
might be because of the DC plug-in powering of the VX.
Or maybe it was just a cheap RS splitter. If the
Y-splitter I ordered doesn't do the trick, I'll go with
a cable that has a DC-blocking capacitor.
Curiously, I notice that Beas has not had any trouble with the
VX plug-in power.

February 4th, 2004, 07:09 PM	#16
Nicholi Brossia Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 389	Great advice everybody, the Switchcraft looks like a keeper. My only concern now is the actual wiring. I've looked on the internet for wiring instructions. Here's what I understand so far... Both XLR's #3 pin will be connected to the mini plug's base (black wire). XLR-1 #2 pin connected to the mini plug's ring (red wire). XLR-2 #2 pin connected to the mini plug's tip (red wire). Both XLR's #1 pin reserved for ground (shielding wire). Would it be appropriate to ground these wires to the camcorder? I'm also concerned with how much wire will squeeze into the little 3.5mm jack. It seems as through two XLR cables might be a little much. Any suggestions here? Am I even on the right track? __________________ Nicholi Brossia

February 4th, 2004, 08:02 PM	#17
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	I have all kinds of soldering gear but it's easier to buy a hosatech for $15 and do the keeper when your sure about cable length etc. The stuff works fine, it's just not pretty. For wiring go to dvplay.com

February 5th, 2004, 12:08 PM	#18
Anthony Lee New Boot Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Kalispell Montana Posts: 22	I had a somewhat related question. I have a GL2, just bought a NT3. I'm having a hell of a time finding a way to use a low to high impedence transformer and yet have a decent quality cable with a right angle 1/8 edit I did find this http://www.broadcastrepair.com/sales/show.asp?subcat2=10&lbl=XLR-1%2F8%22 "Cable, 3pin XLR Female To 1/8" (3.5mm) Stereo Right Angle Mini Plug, For Palm-Size Camera Mic In, With DC Blocking Capacitors, 10 ft. " ....but I would still be missing low to high impedence transformer

February 7th, 2004, 07:01 AM	#20
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Unbalanced for short runs will work in most instances.

February 7th, 2004, 08:52 AM	#21
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	I just ordered the two-XLR-to-3.5mm-stereo from B&H. I previously had tried a Radio Shack splitter (2-mono-to-1-stereo) but it didn't work out -- noticed a hum in the audio from a Sennheiser mic. I thought this might be because of the DC plug-in powering of the VX. Or maybe it was just a cheap RS splitter. If the Y-splitter I ordered doesn't do the trick, I'll go with a cable that has a DC-blocking capacitor. Curiously, I notice that Beas has not had any trouble with the VX plug-in power.