MA-100 XLR audio adapter questions

Stephen A. Dolphin · September 8th, 2006, 10:29 AM

I have a XL1 with a MA-100 XLR Adapter. I connected a Audio-Technica PRO-88W LAV Wireless Mic with the 1/8" to XLR Cable setup. I connected the 88W receiver to the MA-100 and during filming I noticed that the 88W receiver started to smell like the curcuit board was burning.

Since the AT PRO-88W has it's own 9v Battery should I have disconnected the DC Cable of the MA-100? Will the MA-100 adapter work without that DC cable disconnected if the input device has it's own power? I can't get a difinitive answer from Canon Support on this question and I am afraid to duplicate this issue again. One tech yesterday said that the DC Cable needs to be connected to the XL1 in order to work. I have also spoken to a support guy at Audio-Technica and he said that if the MA-100 has phantom power that could potentially fry the PRO-88W.

Does the MA-100 have phantom power once the DC cable is connected? Also, if it does would that fry my battery powered mic?

If anyone can help me out on this issue that would be GREAT!!!

Don Palomaki · September 8th, 2006, 04:19 PM

The MA-100 does not provided phantom power.

The MA-100 contains active circuits, so it must be connected to the 5 VDC power source on the camcorder to function.

It is a transformer-less design. The impedance and balanced-to-unbalanced conversion is with electronic circuits (including operational amplifiers), and it provides about 6 dB gain.

The input impedance of the MA-100 is about 600 ohms, and should be fed from a low impedance source with mic-level output. It will clip if you send it a line-level signal.

It is unlikely that the MA-100 would provide enough power to start a circuit burning, but you might have some sort of exotic ground loop depending on what else is connected and how it is connected/powered.

Stephen A. Dolphin · September 8th, 2006, 04:25 PM

Don, thanks for the info. The AT88W is the only externally added device in conjuction with the MA-100. I mailed in the AT88W back to Audio-Technica and I will see on Monday as to what their findings were.

David Fleming · October 13th, 2006, 05:09 PM

I was wondering if anyone using an MA-100 has experimented with drilling a hole in the XL-1 Jack cover so the power jack could be plugged in with the cover closed. I am planning on shooting with the MA-100 Audio plugged into inputs 3 & 4, but the only acceptable power jack is behind the connector cover on the rear. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Karl Heiner · October 13th, 2006, 11:30 PM

have a ma-200, and need the bnc for the video out.

what are you gone do with the exposed out put, when not using the ma-100?

David Fleming · October 14th, 2006, 01:57 PM

I figured the hole in the plastic cover would be about 3/8”, or just large enough for the power plug to fit thru. If I needed to protect it I could stick a small piece of electrical tape over the inside of the cover. I generally leave the MA-100 on since it’s also my only shoulder brace, so there would be very few times when the hole in the cover would not be filled by the power plug.

Thijo van Beek · March 7th, 2007, 07:19 AM

Hi, My name is Thijo van Beek from Holland.
I would like to know the following:
I own an XL1s with MA-100 adapter.
But I bought a new mic, a Rode NTG 2
That comes with XLR connection.
I got it last week, it was the first time I ever worked with XLR.
I connected the mic to the left channel of the MA 100,
but the result was very, very poor.
A big wisttle/ noice came with the signal, no matter what settings I tried.
I have gone through the manual a thousand times.
Last night I took my camera and mic to the videoclub,
we tried whatever we could, and we do have some good technicians in our club.
Then we connected the mic to an other camera (A big Sony, don't know witch one)
and then the mic worked perfectly!
Our conclussion was it must be the MA 100.
But I would like to know very much what you guys think of this,
as you are using this camera/adapter a lot longer then I am!

Thijo van Beek

Greg Boston · March 7th, 2007, 09:08 AM

The MA-100 does not provide phantom power so make sure you have installed a battery in the mic. The little power plug for the MA-100 is only to power the mic pre-amp.

regards,

-gb-

Thijo van Beek · March 7th, 2007, 11:56 AM

Thanks, Greg. But I knew that. The mic does have an AA battery.

Lorinda Norton · March 7th, 2007, 02:53 PM

I agree with you, Thijo. I bought a used MA100 several years ago and got maybe a dozen uses out of it. First one channel quit--now it doesn't work at all. I haven't decided what to do, because my cameras are old enough that I don't want to keep sinking money into accessories. Luckily, my best friend is an audio engineer and can help me out if I really need it. Hope you find a good solution. :)

Don Palomaki · March 8th, 2007, 05:29 AM

It should work. Try another mic with the MA-100. That can help isolate the issue.

Thijo van Beek · March 8th, 2007, 10:43 AM

Thanks for the replies so far.
I will try another mic, as soon as I have one or can borough another mic with XLR connection.
I do have some other mics, but they all are 3,5 minijack.
And that is no problem, that works great.
So I need to find another XLR mic first.
And I don't wanna buy more of them as long as I am not sure the MA-100 is OK.
That videoshop I bought it is also not right around the corner, otherwise I would have gone there right away!

Thijo

Greg Boston · March 8th, 2007, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thijo van Beek

Thanks, Greg. But I knew that. The mic does have an AA battery.

Sorry Thijo, I wasn't trying to insult your intelligence. Sometimes though it's the simplest thing forgotten that gets overlooked by very intelligent people.

Hope you get it worked out okay.

-gb-

Thijo van Beek · March 8th, 2007, 05:25 PM

Greg, don't worry, be happy!
I never even considered it an insult!
And I'm too dum to see an insult anyway...

Thijo

Jack Smith · March 11th, 2007, 12:24 AM

You didn't say what settings you did use, so this is just to cover that base.
Behind the door, you have audio1 set to audio1, not mic and not mic att.
The levels are set to mid ,if in manual.
In the menu you have audio 1 set to LINE not mic, and 16bit 2channel
The MA100 power connector plugged in.
The rca connectors plugged into audio 1.
Hope the MA100 isn't faulty.

September 8th, 2006, 10:29 AM	#286
Stephen A. Dolphin New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Anaheim, Ca Posts: 20	Connecting a AT PRO-88W to MA-100 XLR Adapter Properly I have a XL1 with a MA-100 XLR Adapter. I connected a Audio-Technica PRO-88W LAV Wireless Mic with the 1/8" to XLR Cable setup. I connected the 88W receiver to the MA-100 and during filming I noticed that the 88W receiver started to smell like the curcuit board was burning. Since the AT PRO-88W has it's own 9v Battery should I have disconnected the DC Cable of the MA-100? Will the MA-100 adapter work without that DC cable disconnected if the input device has it's own power? I can't get a difinitive answer from Canon Support on this question and I am afraid to duplicate this issue again. One tech yesterday said that the DC Cable needs to be connected to the XL1 in order to work. I have also spoken to a support guy at Audio-Technica and he said that if the MA-100 has phantom power that could potentially fry the PRO-88W. Does the MA-100 have phantom power once the DC cable is connected? Also, if it does would that fry my battery powered mic? If anyone can help me out on this issue that would be GREAT!!!

September 8th, 2006, 04:19 PM	#287
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	The MA-100 does not provided phantom power. The MA-100 contains active circuits, so it must be connected to the 5 VDC power source on the camcorder to function. It is a transformer-less design. The impedance and balanced-to-unbalanced conversion is with electronic circuits (including operational amplifiers), and it provides about 6 dB gain. The input impedance of the MA-100 is about 600 ohms, and should be fed from a low impedance source with mic-level output. It will clip if you send it a line-level signal. It is unlikely that the MA-100 would provide enough power to start a circuit burning, but you might have some sort of exotic ground loop depending on what else is connected and how it is connected/powered. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

October 13th, 2006, 05:09 PM	#289
David Fleming Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 42	MA-100 Power Adapter Connection I was wondering if anyone using an MA-100 has experimented with drilling a hole in the XL-1 Jack cover so the power jack could be plugged in with the cover closed. I am planning on shooting with the MA-100 Audio plugged into inputs 3 & 4, but the only acceptable power jack is behind the connector cover on the rear. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

March 7th, 2007, 07:19 AM	#292
Thijo van Beek Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Holland Posts: 45	MA-100 broken? Hi, My name is Thijo van Beek from Holland. I would like to know the following: I own an XL1s with MA-100 adapter. But I bought a new mic, a Rode NTG 2 That comes with XLR connection. I got it last week, it was the first time I ever worked with XLR. I connected the mic to the left channel of the MA 100, but the result was very, very poor. A big wisttle/ noice came with the signal, no matter what settings I tried. I have gone through the manual a thousand times. Last night I took my camera and mic to the videoclub, we tried whatever we could, and we do have some good technicians in our club. Then we connected the mic to an other camera (A big Sony, don't know witch one) and then the mic worked perfectly! Our conclussion was it must be the MA 100. But I would like to know very much what you guys think of this, as you are using this camera/adapter a lot longer then I am! Thijo van Beek

March 7th, 2007, 02:53 PM	#295
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	I agree with you, Thijo. I bought a used MA100 several years ago and got maybe a dozen uses out of it. First one channel quit--now it doesn't work at all. I haven't decided what to do, because my cameras are old enough that I don't want to keep sinking money into accessories. Luckily, my best friend is an audio engineer and can help me out if I really need it. Hope you find a good solution. :) __________________ Lorinda

September 8th, 2006, 04:25 PM	#288
Stephen A. Dolphin New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Anaheim, Ca Posts: 20	Don, thanks for the info. The AT88W is the only externally added device in conjuction with the MA-100. I mailed in the AT88W back to Audio-Technica and I will see on Monday as to what their findings were.

October 13th, 2006, 11:30 PM	#290
Karl Heiner Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: california Posts: 342	have a ma-200, and need the bnc for the video out. what are you gone do with the exposed out put, when not using the ma-100?

October 14th, 2006, 01:57 PM	#291
David Fleming Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 42	I figured the hole in the plastic cover would be about 3/8”, or just large enough for the power plug to fit thru. If I needed to protect it I could stick a small piece of electrical tape over the inside of the cover. I generally leave the MA-100 on since it’s also my only shoulder brace, so there would be very few times when the hole in the cover would not be filled by the power plug.

March 7th, 2007, 09:08 AM	#293
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	The MA-100 does not provide phantom power so make sure you have installed a battery in the mic. The little power plug for the MA-100 is only to power the mic pre-amp. regards, -gb-

March 7th, 2007, 11:56 AM	#294
Thijo van Beek Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Holland Posts: 45	Thanks, Greg. But I knew that. The mic does have an AA battery.

March 8th, 2007, 05:29 AM	#296
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	It should work. Try another mic with the MA-100. That can help isolate the issue. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

March 8th, 2007, 10:43 AM	#297
Thijo van Beek Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Holland Posts: 45	Thanks for the replies so far. I will try another mic, as soon as I have one or can borough another mic with XLR connection. I do have some other mics, but they all are 3,5 minijack. And that is no problem, that works great. So I need to find another XLR mic first. And I don't wanna buy more of them as long as I am not sure the MA-100 is OK. That videoshop I bought it is also not right around the corner, otherwise I would have gone there right away! Thijo

March 8th, 2007, 05:25 PM	#299
Thijo van Beek Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Holland Posts: 45	Greg, don't worry, be happy! I never even considered it an insult! And I'm too dum to see an insult anyway... Thijo

March 11th, 2007, 12:24 AM	#300
Jack Smith Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ontario Posts: 445	You didn't say what settings you did use, so this is just to cover that base. Behind the door, you have audio1 set to audio1, not mic and not mic att. The levels are set to mid ,if in manual. In the menu you have audio 1 set to LINE not mic, and 16bit 2channel The MA100 power connector plugged in. The rca connectors plugged into audio 1. Hope the MA100 isn't faulty.