Mystery mic connector

[Greg Miller]

Does anyone recognize this mic connector. (Sorry, dimensions not available right now.)

I'm fairly sure it's a European design. I don't know whether or not it's compatible with anything US.

Is (was) it relatively common? Is a mating connector still available?

[Richard Crowley]

CONTEXT is half the battle.
Do you have a photo of the whole thing?
What is it? Is it a microphone?
Is the connector really coming out of the side?
What vintage is it?
Where did it come from?
Are there any markings on it?
What is the scale? How big is the connector?
Can you tell if the threads are some standard like 5/8-27?
Can you find a photo of the gadget or the connector online anywhere?

[Greg Miller]

As stated, it is a mic connector; i.e. the device is a microphone.
As stated, it is almost certainly European; further details uncertain.
Not sure of the exact age, but I'm led to believe it's over 50 yrs old.
I believe the connector comes out the back or bottom, as was typical of many mics of that vintage.
As stated, I do not have dimensions; that includes dimensions of the thread (diameter, pitch); therefore it logically follows that there is no scale.

I was hoping one of our Euro- or Anglo-located members would recognize it from the pin configuration and the fact that it's a mic connector. For example, if you showed me a photo of an Amphenol MC-3F, I could identify it (with very high probability) from its pin configuration and notched threads. I would not need dimensions or thread pitch to reach my conclusion, nor would I need to know where it was located on the mic body.

I personally have seen neither this "mystery" pin configuration, nor the un-notched connector threads, in over 50 years in the US. I was simply hoping someone on the other side of the big lake might have seen such a thing and might recognize it.

[Seth Bloombaum]

You may be looking at a historic radio or industrial microphone connector. Similar types are used for aviation (non-standard), industrial communication consoles, and cb radios today.

Sennheiser or Neumann, pre-war or circa WW2, perhaps? Both these companies made a lot of communication microphones of various types.

Here's one online museum:
MICROPHONE MUSEUM - TELEGRAPH & SCI INSTRUMENT MUSEUMS

[Don Palomaki]

Is it my imagination, or is the center pin bent up a bit? If so, this might be an offer to sell a similar male connector: 4 Pin Male Mic Connector Vintage Ham Radio CB | eBay

The "Y" layout is unusual. a square being common these days.

It might be Phillips:
https://www.google.com/search?q=vint...iSnfDMZJPpM%3A

https://www.google.com/search?q=vint...MsLi7Y9_IHM%3A

https://www.google.com/search?q=vint...C_zQ9gbSI2M%3A

[Donald McPherson]

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...act=mrc&uact=8

[Greg Miller]

Gentlemen, thanks for those links! All very interesting photos! I am more than a little envious of those collections.

I think the old Philips connectors, per Mr. Palomaki's link, appear to be the closest match. Indeed, the center pin may be bent a little ... hard to be certain from the photo I received (which I posted).

[Phil Goetz]

I received the following message from Chuck Conrad with the Texas Museum of Broadcasting & Communications:

I wish I knew what it is on. It may be an Amphenol connector which was pretty common on Shure and EV mics, or it may be one of the many Japanese connectors that were common on imported mics sold by Radio Shack, Lafayette Radio, Olson's etc. Or it may be a CB mic connector.

https://www.facebook.com/txmbc/?pnref=lhc

[Don Palomaki]

Be nice to see a photo of the complete device, and to be able to read all the text around the connector. Part of it appears to be an impedance rating - perhaps 600 ohms.