XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed at DVinfo.net

Greg Miller · January 25th, 2015, 11:38 AM

With all the talk on another thread about "right" and "wrong" adapters, I am looking for one that seems to be a bit of an oddball.

I want a single-piece adapter (not two connectors with a length of cable between them).

3.5mm TRS Female (jack) -- wired to -- XLR Male (plug)

This may seem quirky or wrong at first glance, but I want to feed a mic with 3.5mm TRS stereo plug into the female end of an XLR mic cable. (I already have the appropriate adapter to extract the stereo at the equipment end of the cable.)

The adapter would look like the Rode VXLR, as shown in the attached photo.

However, any description I can find of the VXLR says it is a "mono" adapter, and there is no info about internal pinouts & connections, so I have to assume the VXLR will not work for me.

Does anybody know of an adapter like this, that specifically connects Sleeve to P1, Tip to P2 (or else P3), and Ring to P3 (or else P2) ... maintaining three separate circuits throughout?

Thanks in advance!

Richard Crowley · January 25th, 2015, 11:51 AM

That is a quite specialty requirement. It seems possible that no such commercial product exists.

Colin McDonald · January 25th, 2015, 12:39 PM

May one ask why you need this particular wiring arrangement? Just curious.

Greg Miller · January 25th, 2015, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin McDonald

May one ask why you need this particular wiring arrangement? Just curious.

Sorry, I thought I explained that in the original post. Using an unbalanced stereo mic, with 3.5mm plug, with XLR extension cable(s).

Paul R Johnson · January 25th, 2015, 03:01 PM

Why not just get the rode, pop out the insert and rewire it if required?

Greg Miller · January 25th, 2015, 07:56 PM

Can the insert be "popped out" without doing some permanent damage?

Is the insert a TRS jack, and not just a TS?

If you have a Rode VXLR and you can you give specific answers to those questions, that would be helpful.

Richard Crowley · January 25th, 2015, 08:09 PM

Nobody else makes a single-piece 3.5mm TRS to XLR adapter that I have ever seen.
And the Rode has no visible screw to hold the XLR block in place.
It seems quite possible that it was not designed to be opened.

Greg Miller · January 25th, 2015, 09:26 PM

Mr. Crowley, thanks for the information, even if it is disappointing.

Rolling my own would be a nice exercise, if only I had a small metal lathe, and a lot of time to waste. Alas, I have neither at the moment.

BTW, I have sent an inquiry to Rode, asking whether they have a 3-circuit TRS version available. I will post their reply here for reference.

Greg Miller · January 26th, 2015, 12:12 PM

UPDATE

I just spoke with Rode in California, and they have clarified everything.

The 3.5mm jack is TRS. T and R are connected to pin 2. S is connected to pins 1 and 3. So it will convert an unbalanced mono or stereo mic to mono on the XLR end. Unfortunately, it won't do what I want.

Rode also said that the two halves of the shell are pressed together, and it can't be opened without causing permanent damage. So it can't be field modified. Mr. Crowley's hunch was correct on that point.

The quest continues. Looks as if I might ultimately need to fabricate something from scratch.

Battle Vaughan · January 26th, 2015, 12:36 PM

I'm sure you have a reason for the one piece construction, but if you could compromise on that point it would be dead simple to make such an adapter with a short cable between the two parts...just sayin'.....

Jonathan Levin · January 26th, 2015, 12:49 PM

I don't know if this will help, but it sure cleared up a lot for me! In fact the same people who are here are at this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...sound-pro.html

Jonathan

Richard Crowley · January 26th, 2015, 01:24 PM

Greg. It seems possible that you can "create" what you need with a couple of Switchcraft parts:

For the 3.5mm TRS female, you can use the "business end" of a Switchcraft 35LJN"
This is a "cord-end' 3.5mm TRS female connector, and you can unscrew and discard the cable shell at the "back end"

http://www.switchcraft.com/Drawings/35LJN_SERIES_CD.PDF

For the male XLR part, I would try an ordinary Switchcraft A3M.
That is a cable-end, male, 3-pin XLR plug.

http://www.switchcraft.com/Drawings/aa_m_series_cd.pdf

You can remove the two grub screws, remove the rubber strain relief, and the two little curved metal pieces between the screws and the rubber part.
The remaining hole may be around the right size for the outer shell of the 35LJN. If it isn't, you could drill out that hold to the right size for the 35LJN.

Once you have a nice tight fit, you MIGHT be able to re-use the two grub screws to hold the 35LJN into the XLR shell. If not, you could rough up the outside of the 35LJN and use some thick (putty-like) epoxy to hold the pieces together. On other forums I have seen people using "J-B Weld" to repair mic bodies, etc.

Remember that you may not be able to access the solder terminals on the 35LJN after epoxying it into place, so solder the wires on BEFORE the epoxy!

Johathan, remember that there are SOME legitimate uses for stereo mics.
The fact that Greg is trying to make something to facilitate an EXTENSION indicates that it is quite probably a legitimate application where the microphone is positioned at some appropriate location which requires cable extension.

Rick Reineke · January 26th, 2015, 01:35 PM

I don't think your going to find that 'off the shelf' Greg. At one point I needed to send a stereo headphone feed over a long XLR and ended up making two short adapter cables, one with male XLR, the other female, both had a 3.5mm TRS plug.
OTOH, Harken XLR/3.5mm adapters from Markertek do come apart, so it 'may' be possible to customize one of those. Go to Markertek.com and type in "Harken"or HK-122 in the search field.

Jay Massengill · January 26th, 2015, 01:44 PM

You can contact Harken Specialties directly. They do make a mono adapter close to what you want:

HK - 121/122 Adapter Page

I'm sure they could make you one to carry stereo unbalanced. It looks a lot like Richard's suggestion for a DIY approach.

Colin McDonald · January 26th, 2015, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Miller

Sorry, I thought I explained that in the original post. Using an unbalanced stereo mic, with 3.5mm plug, with XLR extension cable(s).

Sorry, didn't pick up that the TRS was the output of a stereo mic, but on reading your original post I do see that you "already have the appropriate adapter to extract the stereo at the equipment end of the cable."

Can't find any that are not wired like the Rode either.

Incidentally, I sometimes use the opposite scenario - two separate mics wired with standard XLR cables coming together into a single TRS stereo mic input in a small camcorder. My TRS stereo jack plug to mono TRS L + mono TRS R sockets breakout cable is sort of the reverse of what you need (except it's not an all in one adaptor).

I'll shut up now :-)

January 25th, 2015, 11:38 AM	#1
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,791	XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed With all the talk on another thread about "right" and "wrong" adapters, I am looking for one that seems to be a bit of an oddball. I want a single-piece adapter (not two connectors with a length of cable between them). 3.5mm TRS Female (jack) -- wired to -- XLR Male (plug) This may seem quirky or wrong at first glance, but I want to feed a mic with 3.5mm TRS stereo plug into the female end of an XLR mic cable. (I already have the appropriate adapter to extract the stereo at the equipment end of the cable.) The adapter would look like the Rode VXLR, as shown in the attached photo. However, any description I can find of the VXLR says it is a "mono" adapter, and there is no info about internal pinouts & connections, so I have to assume the VXLR will not work for me. Does anybody know of an adapter like this, that specifically connects Sleeve to P1, Tip to P2 (or else P3), and Ring to P3 (or else P2) ... maintaining three separate circuits throughout? Thanks in advance! Attached Thumbnails

January 25th, 2015, 11:51 AM	#2
Richard Crowley Trustee Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,238	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed That is a quite specialty requirement. It seems possible that no such commercial product exists.

January 25th, 2015, 12:39 PM	#3
Colin McDonald Trustee Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 1,546	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed May one ask why you need this particular wiring arrangement? Just curious.

January 25th, 2015, 03:01 PM	#5
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed Why not just get the rode, pop out the insert and rewire it if required?

January 25th, 2015, 07:56 PM	#6
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,791	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed Can the insert be "popped out" without doing some permanent damage? Is the insert a TRS jack, and not just a TS? If you have a Rode VXLR and you can you give specific answers to those questions, that would be helpful.

January 25th, 2015, 08:09 PM	#7
Richard Crowley Trustee Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,238	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed Nobody else makes a single-piece 3.5mm TRS to XLR adapter that I have ever seen. And the Rode has no visible screw to hold the XLR block in place. It seems quite possible that it was not designed to be opened.

January 25th, 2015, 09:26 PM	#8
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,791	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed Mr. Crowley, thanks for the information, even if it is disappointing. Rolling my own would be a nice exercise, if only I had a small metal lathe, and a lot of time to waste. Alas, I have neither at the moment. BTW, I have sent an inquiry to Rode, asking whether they have a 3-circuit TRS version available. I will post their reply here for reference.

January 26th, 2015, 12:12 PM	#9
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,791	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed UPDATE I just spoke with Rode in California, and they have clarified everything. The 3.5mm jack is TRS. T and R are connected to pin 2. S is connected to pins 1 and 3. So it will convert an unbalanced mono or stereo mic to mono on the XLR end. Unfortunately, it won't do what I want. Rode also said that the two halves of the shell are pressed together, and it can't be opened without causing permanent damage. So it can't be field modified. Mr. Crowley's hunch was correct on that point. The quest continues. Looks as if I might ultimately need to fabricate something from scratch.

January 26th, 2015, 12:36 PM	#10
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed I'm sure you have a reason for the one piece construction, but if you could compromise on that point it would be dead simple to make such an adapter with a short cable between the two parts...just sayin'.....

January 26th, 2015, 12:49 PM	#11
Jonathan Levin Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Chicago, Illinois USA Posts: 692	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed I don't know if this will help, but it sure cleared up a lot for me! In fact the same people who are here are at this thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...sound-pro.html Jonathan __________________ "Fearless Fernando Hernandez: A Fighter's Journey"" Jonathan Levin Photography & Video

January 26th, 2015, 01:24 PM	#12
Richard Crowley Trustee Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,238	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed Greg. It seems possible that you can "create" what you need with a couple of Switchcraft parts: For the 3.5mm TRS female, you can use the "business end" of a Switchcraft 35LJN" This is a "cord-end' 3.5mm TRS female connector, and you can unscrew and discard the cable shell at the "back end" http://www.switchcraft.com/Drawings/35LJN_SERIES_CD.PDF For the male XLR part, I would try an ordinary Switchcraft A3M. That is a cable-end, male, 3-pin XLR plug. http://www.switchcraft.com/Drawings/aa_m_series_cd.pdf You can remove the two grub screws, remove the rubber strain relief, and the two little curved metal pieces between the screws and the rubber part. The remaining hole may be around the right size for the outer shell of the 35LJN. If it isn't, you could drill out that hold to the right size for the 35LJN. Once you have a nice tight fit, you MIGHT be able to re-use the two grub screws to hold the 35LJN into the XLR shell. If not, you could rough up the outside of the 35LJN and use some thick (putty-like) epoxy to hold the pieces together. On other forums I have seen people using "J-B Weld" to repair mic bodies, etc. Remember that you may not be able to access the solder terminals on the 35LJN after epoxying it into place, so solder the wires on BEFORE the epoxy! Johathan, remember that there are SOME legitimate uses for stereo mics. The fact that Greg is trying to make something to facilitate an EXTENSION indicates that it is quite probably a legitimate application where the microphone is positioned at some appropriate location which requires cable extension.

January 26th, 2015, 01:35 PM	#13
Rick Reineke Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New York Posts: 2,039	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed I don't think your going to find that 'off the shelf' Greg. At one point I needed to send a stereo headphone feed over a long XLR and ended up making two short adapter cables, one with male XLR, the other female, both had a 3.5mm TRS plug. OTOH, Harken XLR/3.5mm adapters from Markertek do come apart, so it 'may' be possible to customize one of those. Go to Markertek.com and type in "Harken"or HK-122 in the search field.

January 26th, 2015, 01:44 PM	#14
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: XLR-M to 3.5mm TRS-F adapter needed You can contact Harken Specialties directly. They do make a mono adapter close to what you want: HK - 121/122 Adapter Page I'm sure they could make you one to carry stereo unbalanced. It looks a lot like Richard's suggestion for a DIY approach.