Hey guys,

Just an update on my mic. I ended up pretty much going with a circuit VERY similar to that first 1050 schematic that Lucio posted. And it sounds really really great.

Only thing is, I'm getting some sort of staticky sound every once in awhile. I'm not sure how many forms RF takes, but it sounds like a crackily radio when you're tuning it (the old dial kind) But not real white-noisy. More crackly.

So far I've removed C3, C7, C9, and C10.
Which one/s should I try putting back in to hopefully filter that out? Does it sound like an RF issue?

By the way, I did a power supply mod similar to the one Phil Townsend posted here: http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=19627...apacitor+460&page=14

Except I used Wimas for C7 and the extra cap after C6. 1.0uF and 2.2uF respectively. I replaced all the cheap lytics with Nichicons, and put a Dale resistor in R15. Phill also mentions bypassing the zeners with 10uF tants. (I'm assuming he means D5 and D6, the infamous ones. I'm actually unsure if the rest of the diodes are zeners or not. If they're not, it would definately mean D5 and D6) Anyway, I plan to do that too and see what happens.

But in the meantime, what do you guys think I should do about that static?

honkyjonk,

My mic with the same circuit makes no noise at all. Before changing the circuit, make sure that everything is cleanly soldered and that nothing is intermittently grounding out somewhere. I had some connections come loose on me initially, especially where the tranny connects to the 7 pin connector. It's tight in there.

Lucio

Thanks Lucio,

Hmmm, I'm pretty sure that's not it. It's not cutting out when I hear the crackles like it might if there was something being grounded. I could be wrong though, I'll check it out.

It's happened with two different mics (another 1050) and this. Now that I think about it, it could be the cable, maybe something flaky in the new one I wired up. I've used it with both mics.

Always check the simple stuff first. That cable sounds like it could be it.

Lucio

Well,

I checked and resoldered every connection in the cable. I don't think that's it. When I was last tinkering with the power supply I gave it a good visual looking over too.

I'm gonna open dig down into the cable pins in the mic itself and see if anything is awry there. But again, the other mic was doing it too, so I think it's likely a lack of filtering RF.

I'd post an MP3 of the sound if there was a place to host it.

So, which caps would you guys reccomend putting back in first? C9 and C10? (I have some tiny little Wima .001uFs)

Just hoping that it won't screw with the sound too much because I like it where it is.

C9 and C10 are the RF filters, so yes, replace C9 and C10 with .001ufs instead of the stock .1ufs and it should be alright.

Lucio

Since Dave Thomas apparently is no longer available on internet, let us know when you guys get the mods all figured out if you want to sell a few modded 460's.
WE

...it seems like quite a few guys have "figured out" the mod. I feel like there's at least 4 or 5 guys who post regularly on this thread who have been doing things with this mod. Most have taken the mod that Dave Thomas originally did and really taken it a lot further, tailoring the mods more to individual needs and tastes. And I really think bettering what Dave did overall.

I've built a bunch of these mics for friends and 4 or 5 for some others for some money. I don't really plan to do this too often....I engineer records for a living so, I usually try to get away from this stuff for the most part when not working.....but if you can't find anyone let me know and if my schedule permits I'd be happy to do the mod for a modest fee.

I'd be happy to build a mic according to any of the schematics that Lucio posted in this thread for some money and the cost of parts.

But, if you read into this thread a bit, I'm sure I wouldn't be the first person to consider. I've had a number of problems with my mics, which I've slowly figured out with the help of the good folks here. I'm just copying things that Lucio and MPCNYC do.

You'd probably want to hit up those guys first. And I'm sure they'll treat you a lot better than Dave Thomas would have, and you'll have a lot better mic in the end.

The cost of parts for these mics (including the mic itself) fully tricked out it seems to range between about $500 and $600.

This is just hypothetical, but I'd imagine the best way to to something like that, would be to have the customer source the mic (of course), the tube, and the capsule. The tube because you're in a position to find an NOS tube on ebay or locally or from some vendor on the net and save where you can. The capsule because if I were somebody like MPCNYC or Lucio doing a couple of these mics here and there for folks, I probably wouldn't want to have to have a stock of Peluso capsules sitting around for something like that. They expensive!

The other stuff (resistors and caps and Xformer) though sort of a pain in the ass to source it all, they're not as expensive and it wouldn't hurt ot sort of have a standing order for the proper components in that regard.

Anyway, that's just a thought.

Good Luck.

Yeah, echoing what honkyjonk said, there's a few of us (him included) that have put their time in with this mod. It's safe to say we've all learned a lot from eachother on this one! Honkyjonk done a power supply mod that he's picked up from another forum that sounds really cool. I'm spending my free time making my own headbaskets for the mics.....so yeah we've taken this one pretty far!

We've all had mics come up DOA, I've just suffered in silence, but with determination and experience this mod is super easy for me now. IMO the Nady 1050 is much easier to work on than the 460, but it depends on what you want to do.

Also, if you have any soldering experience I say go for it yourself. The main guts of the mod is changing the capsule transformer and single coupling cap....the rest of the stuff we've been up to is sort of taking the mic that last 10% or so to some ultimate sonic goodness... But, the basic mod has you soldering about 8 spots or so and desoldering and soldering in one cap.

It sure can open up a world of stuff for you if you haven't really gotten into it before and save you a bit of money....either way let someone here know if you need help. It looks like there'd be at least a few guys willing to help.

I'd say also that it's essential (and cheap!) to get that voltage coming from the power supply down a bit.

I settled (like Lucio) on around 156 Volts, which means replacing the 80 Volt zener diode with a 56V diode. The other is 100 Volt.

I think MPCNYC, if I remember correctly, you're using two 82V which works out to 164?, a little higher, but I think anywhere in that range makes a big difference for very little work and money. Course, this is more dangerous than any mod you're doing to the mic.

But yeah, capsule, C8 cap, transformer, and zener diode mod and you're almost all the way there.

...you know I've been meaning to ask you guys something.

What zener is stock in the PS?? I thought it was a pair of 100v zeners?? Am I mistaken? I know I worked off of the schematic that Apex has for the 460 PS, and I think it's wrong?

I tried different zener and thought I like an 82v and the 75v one. I kind of want to get about 150v to the tube. I have so many of these supplies around that I can A/B stuff pretty easily, perhaps it's time for some more tests!?

Maybe it's different between Apex, Nady 1050's and 1150's.
(just going from what I've heard) I think there's a version of the p.s. that has 2 100V zeners. The two I've worked with have had 1 100V and 1 82V.

MPCNYC,

honkyjonk is correct about the 1050 PS, at least in my case, I had one 100v and one 82v. I replaced the 82v with a 56v, in reality it measured 154v, but I don't know how accurate my meter is.

The 460 had two 75v in the PS, which I kept. It measured 154v.

Also the 460 PS schematic isn't even the correct PS. The closest thing is the 450 PS schematic. The layout is correct but some of the numbering is off on the schematic. D5 and D6 in the PS are numbered D9 and D10, D7-D10 in the PS are numbered D5-D8. Also R15 in the PS is numbered R13, which is definitely wrong because the pattern resisters are R7-R14. At least it has a pattern selector shown though.

There are other differences between the Nady and Apex PSs. C9 and C10 in the Nady are 10,000uf like the 450 PS schematic, but the Apex PS actually has 1000uf caps in C9 and C10.

The other difference is that C7 is correct for the Apex at 1uf electrolytic, but the Nady has a 2200 mylar at C7.

Otherwise they are the same.

Lucio

Thanks for the info.....

Honkyjonk I sent you a PM about this, but I'll ask here as well. How's that power supply mod doing for you? You mention putting a caps "after C6"....what's the next component "after" C6?...thanks in advance.

here's an interesting thread that discusses the cathode follower in a mic circuit....a little OT but informative and related to stuff we've been doing to these mics.

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/2713/0

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of putting the cathode follower back in again for my second mic. In total I think I've gone back and forth about 3 or 4 times in the two mics I've modded.

What I thought was a bit more of a bite at first, I think maybe it just more of a pinched sound when the follower is removed.

Ah well, we'll see.

I still have the damn cracklies every once in awhile. They go away pretty quick when I wait, so I'm recording with it, but takes get ruined every once in awhile. I gotta fix that.

I guess I'll start by recapping the power supply. I don't see relatively new Nichicons crapping out like that, but I suppose it's possible.

Any other ideas?

Hey guys

I used this forum and a few others to finally decide to mod my Apex 460 with a Peluso CEK-12 capsule and a CM-2048 transformer. It was a bit daunting but I got it all installed no problems. I decided to make a simple site with a picture tutorial how to do it to make it easier for everyone else who wants to do the mod. Here's the Peluso capsule mod here:

http://www.morphproductions.com/apexcapsulemod.htm

When I get the transformer mod site done I'll let you know. Enjoy!

Nice addition Ahston! Wish this was up when I installed my capsule. Except isn't it the 2480 transformer?

Craig

How about a tutorial on how to change the tube, since I'm an idiot and couldn't figure it out?