Microphone OEM

[GTBecker]

Can anyone suggest how to determine the manufacturer of the Tascam TM80 microphone?

Thanks.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

A large diaphram condenser that is $70 where do you think something like that would be made?
Certainly NOT a Neumann and more certainly not a Shure Brothers. Most likely the big C.

 

[GTBecker]

Surely, yes. Which Chinese manufacturer produces the Tascam TM80 mic is the question.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Only those guys would know. Why do you wish to know? Does it need to be fixed already?

 

[GTBecker]

I have a pair of identical-but-different-brand mics for which I'm trying to locate a schematic. Tascam doesn't sell microphone service manuals or schematics, hence the search for the manufacturer, http://www.797microphone.com/, for example.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

The reason they do not sell a schematic like they do not with the Tascam 238S is that they don't make the thing and do not know what is inside. The company has sunk to pretty low lines of products selling a $70 microphone from China. When will this end? You might get better results if you go on Alibaba and act like you want to buy 10,000 of them and then get the technical info from them- there is probably so little to tell as condenser mics are nothing but a pickup element, a FET and some resistors and then connectors. Could they make a device for $5-$6? Yes, that is why they sell it for $70. The real TLM103 is at least $700 and I have installed them in Radio Studio but they did not belong there. If you get a generic Condenser schematic your mic can not be far from that. There really are no user serviceable parts inside- when something breaks they change the whole board.

 

[GTBecker]

> ... no user serviceable parts inside...

I imagine that depends upon how serviceable the user is. I'm a microphone builder and have been in the guts of many Chinese mics - so I can find my way.

Like others, I'll probably need to trace the circuit board.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

If you design you own then you will probably insulted by what they sell here as you can probably do better yourself. These are high profit margin items and to be truthful I have bought a lot of Microphone in the Radio business usually Electrovoice RE types 20 and 27's.
See what you find in there- it is probably so simple that you do not need a schematic.
I would never buy a mic from China but I have been to AES meetings at Shure Brothers in Niles. I used their mics too in Radio when I was doing production. I was a Chief Engineer- my production work was for a Church a long time ago.