Members thurstonbm2 Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Who: Ben ThurstonWhat: Put a CB microphone into the P.A.When: One month from nowWhere: An outdoor wedding I'm deejayingWhy: To look cool when I make announcements. But as an added bonus, the switch on the side will be an easy assurance that the mic will only be on when I want it to. I've learned CB mics generally have a four pin cable as seen here. I've also found this thing. If you have any knowledge to contribute about this please do. If you think this is a stupid idea, I don't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Lots of mics have switches. I'm guessing this is a trucker thing. If no one else gets back to you with help, PM me and I'll look up the contact information. I really don't know why there are four conductors. Maybe one pair is for the switch to control the transmitter. (That makes sense.) More I think about it, that is the only thing that makes sense. OK, how to hook up the switch in a way that allows its use without screwing up your equipment. Got an experiment for you to try. (I don't have one of these mics.) Run the mic's hot line back through the switch and on to an amp. This might generate a lot of noise, so keep the volume down until you know that it doesn't. If that works, the connections will be easier to deal with. If it's noisy, you might have to put in some kind of DC solenoid for the switch to work. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rbts Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Just as a crazy idea.... one of these might be just as cool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Square Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Shure makes a CB style mic, you can see it here: http://http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_527B_content I am not certain of the connector it uses, so you may want to call Shure to inquire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fmw Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Radio mics use push-to-talk. The circuitry mutes the receiver and engages the transmitter. It isn't just an on and off switch. Incidentally, it will sound terrible. Go get any old dynamic sound reinforcement mic with a switch. Much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thurstonbm2 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks for the responses so far.The other mics were good ideas especially the one that looks just like a CB mic, however those are high cost solutions. Wynn D, I don't have the mic, I was going to order it if I thought I could make it work. Additionally I don't know what you mean by putting the hot line into an amp. Would that involve using this thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 Terrible sounding and probably will suffer from feedback. They work for CB due to the high distortion, receiver mute and high ambient noise levels so you just don't hear how bad. It's really terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bugzie Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 I can see where a push to talk button on a mic would come in handy at outdoor events. Couldn't get the link from above to work. Anyone have any experience with one that performed decently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members krikey Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 Square, Linky no worky... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Square Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 Square, Linky no worky... sorry! Try this: http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_104C_content Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thurstonbm2 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 I looked at that mic again and it's just the same as any other CB Mic, it has a 4 port cord just like the rest of them. Also, it's not the worst thing in the world if it is a distorted signal, but thanks for that information. I think it would be kind of cool for it to sound a little scratchy (kind of like a "this is your captain speaking," but instead "this is your D.J. speaking, feel free to move about the dance floor"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clayface74 Posted July 31, 2008 Members Share Posted July 31, 2008 I love the idea...Its supposed to sound horible!! Its a trucker thing! If you are DJing the crowd will totally dig it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members djcgtr Posted July 31, 2008 Members Share Posted July 31, 2008 I looked at that mic again and it's just the same as any other CB Mic, it has a 4 port cord just like the rest of them.Also, it's not the worst thing in the world if it is a distorted signal, but thanks for that information. I think it would be kind of cool for it to sound a little scratchy (kind of like a "this is your captain speaking," but instead "this is your D.J. speaking, feel free to move about the dance floor"). HiOn the CB mic - most likely the 4 pins will be 2 of them for PTT ( Push To Talk ) and the other 2 pins will end up being, one way or the other, connected to the mic element. Open the mic, write down the 4 colors you have.It will help sorting things when installing a different plug on the end.Note if you have a section of the cable that is an insulated conductor inside of some sort of braided or spiral shield.Use those as the mic wires to go to a 1/4 inch unbalanced male plug or to pins 2 and 3 of an XLR type male plug. On the PTT button - you will have contacts that, when pushed, essentially connect together thru the other pair ( possibly unshielded ) wires. You will not use those wires after replacing the 4 pin cable end with a 1/4 inch plug or XLR as mentioned above. Use what fits the DJ mixer you have. On the PTT switch inside the mic housing, many times you may be able to use contacts ( like if a SPDT - leaf switch ) to reconnect the mic element wires so that the switch is normally closed across the mic wires. If able to do that - then simply run the shield, and center conductor of the shield, to the mic element wires at the normally closed contacts. Doing this will ''short'' out the mic signal until you push the switch.You end up making the switch work in an opposite manner, than to activate transmit in a transceiver. If unable to adapt the switch as described here, you can at least connect the mic wires to the appropriate plug for your mixer and bring up the fader or talkover function when you wish to announce. Note on the XLR - for this application, on a DJ mixer and no phantom power involved, do connect pin 3 to pin 1 on the shield wire, meaning pin 2 will be only the center conductor of the mic cable. Hope this helps...... Deric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted July 31, 2008 Members Share Posted July 31, 2008 Probably the easiest and most authentic would be to just use a cheap CB radio which is equipped with an announcement speaker output and mic the speaker out (with a Shure Prologue). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted July 31, 2008 Members Share Posted July 31, 2008 Probably the easiest and most authentic would be to just use a cheap CB radio which is equipped with an announcement speaker output and mic the speaker out (with a Shure Prologue). I know the original poster wanted bad sound, but there are limits. maybe just put a megaphone on the speaker out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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