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rode ntg2 to 3.5 insane
hi all,
i am stumped, been testing for hours, cant figure this out.
i have an ntg2 which i want to connect to 3.5mm jack, on my pc and on a digital recorder.
so i bought an xlr to 3.5mm cable, this is the exact one here : https://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/13183-hosa-3-5-mm-to-xlr-f-stereo-plug-5-ft-.html
the cable is 5 foot in length, and the 3.5mm jack is a stereo one.
when i plug it into the digital recorder :
set to stereo record : mic levels are visible in the digital meter, they look nice and strong, but NO sound is monitorable, and there is no sound in playback.
set to mono record : there is no signal visible in the digital meter, but there IS sound on playback, albeit very quiet and pooor quality.
when i plug it into my pc it is verrrry quiet, so quiet that i cant really tell the sound quality for sure, but its probably bad.
i tested it in my camcorders xlr slot, VIA another xlr to 3.5 jack, so thats
ntg2 xlr > 3.5 > cable > 3.5 > xlr > sony ex3
and it worked fine, no problems, good sound, good levels, same as phantom, and plugging it straight in via xlr.
the pc and the digital recorder work perfectly with another condenser lav mic i have.
sooooo, in independent tests, all pieces seem to work fine, but together, there is an issue.
any ideas pleeeeease ?
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6 Replies
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How are you providing power to the microphone?
FCP 6.0.5 /
OS 10.4.11 /
Mac Pro 2×2.66 Ghz Dual Core/ 2G RAM
External: FW800 G-tech 500 HD and G-Tech Quad 750GB
playback deck: Pan dv2500 -
Hi Mike and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
Think it through. You have a mono mic, you have a stereo input………..hmmmm.
Maybe you need a cable that ALLOWS a mono mic to be plugged into a stereo input. Like this: https://www.trewaudio.com/store/product.php?productid=146&cat=21&page=1
Looks the same, wired differently. Pin 2 to tip AND ring. Check yours. Probably each pin goes to a different conductor on the TRS plug.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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thanks for your replies.
i am powering it with an AA battery, tried a different battery just in case, but like i say, it worked fine plugged into 3.5 jack on camcorder.
and if it were a cable that did not allow a mono input, again, surely it wouldnt be working on my camcorder ?
i just did another test, right this minute with the camcorder through a 3.5 jack, and it works fine, can pick my voice up no problem from across the room.
its annoying because i bought the ntg2 for 3.5mm usage, in case of emergency, purely because it can be powered from a battery like this.
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MIke,
The cable your link describes shows a Tip Sleeve plug. That’s a two conductor pug. The fact that it works in your camera, therefore, is a mystery to me. I think the plug you want should be a Tip Ring Sleeve with pin two of the mic connected to Tip and Ring.
Like this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/158476-REG/Hosa_Technology_XVM_101F_Mini_Stereo_Male_to.html
It doesn’t have the blocking capacitor the other cable I posted has, and there’s no telling whether the lack of it will mess with your connection until you try it.
Occasionally you will find anomalies in which equipment that was never designed to be used together, but looks like it might, doesn’t. When asked about why a particular connection doesn’t work, the engineers’ brow furrows and they say “Why on earth would you want to do that?”
What you’ve got here are camera manufacturers who are using consumer grade, unbalanced connections to save connector size. Unbalanced audio is never a good idea, but having it bite your rump at this stage should be a warning that while shooting, you need to listen to the camera audio ALL THE TIME because just when you least expect it, something will happen to botch your audio.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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hiya, thanks for your reply again.
the link i posted has a misleading picture, it is actually a TRS 3.5mm jack on the end, not the TS they show in their picture. they have a picture of a mono advertising a stereo cable …..
the one i have is the same as your second suggestion.
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::sigh:: then it’s still very possible that it’s wired wrong.
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