mikearmstrong

Hi greenmachine. Firstly, thanks for your inspiration. This DIY electronics thing is really addictive! My questions... I have a few WM-61A capsules and I'm going to have a go at doing the source follower mod. I have seen the diagrams and can see that I have to cut the trace from the ground pad to the capsule casing and then treat that as the positive side. I also have to make a connection from the former positive pad over to the square contact right at the edge. This solder also must make contact with the capsule case for grounding. My soldering technique when making up something small and heat sensitive like this is to firstly tin the wire then let it harden. I then press my iron onto the tinned wire-end (pressing into a surface as support) to melt the solder and then move the wire adn the iron together with the iron still touching the solder pad. Because the wire-end is still molten, the contact is made immediately and I can withdraw the iron immediately also. The only drawback to this method is that I have to be very precise and get the wire into the correct position without making a mistake. So the new + side is easy, just scrape out the trace and make the connection to the + wire. It seems to me that the ground side should be quite easy too. using my technique it seems that I should just place the wire so that the tip is just touching the case at the point where the square contact bit is. Sufficient solder should ensure that contact is also made here with the square contact. The wire then runs to the -ve solder pad and bends up from there. As long as I don't make accidental contact with the positive pad then I can't go wrong. Can you make any comment based on your experience of carrying out this mod? In addition, is the battery box as detailed in this thread suitable for powering a 'source follower' modified microphone? I have seen web pages which seem to suggest that a more elaborate pre-amp is necessary. Finally, Do you have any idea where I can get the lapel clips from in EU/UK. I only want something cheap, similar to that which comes on a mobile phone hands free kit, ie the clip holds the wire, not the actual mic. The only clips I can find on the internet are based in the US and are minimum $6 each + $30 shipping to the UK I can't believe the clips are more expensive than the mic capsules! Thanks again. Mike