Ok it is a Shure PG 48 microphone and I have it connected to the the mic/line(plug in power) with an adapter. I work as a missionary here in Ukraine so I don't have access to good equipment sometimes, so I have to make due with what I can get.

OK, so you're using a dynamic mic, good start, no need for phantom power. However it has a balanced output on the usual XLR connector. You say you're using an adaptor, what adaptor exactly?

Also this Sure mic isn't a very high output mic, that's fine for what it is, a vocalist's mic. Just don't expect it to perform overly well with the FX1's preamps for recording faint sounds. However at this point I think how it's connected to the FX1 is the main issue.

Bob.

The PG48 is a balanced microphone, the input of the FX1 is unbalanced. The adapter must be wired in the following manner to convert balanced to unbalanced:

You need a mono 3.5mm male connector to plug into the FX1 and a 3-pin XLR to plug into the microphone. Pins 1 & 3 of the XLR connector are ground and connect to the sleeve of the 3.5mm connector through the shield of the cable. Pin 2 is hot and connects to the tip of the 3.5mm connector.

John

John I have everything connected the way you decribed. I have been playing around with it. I will run this by you if I have my camera plugged into the wall to save battery I get a loud buzz and that is it. This time around I turned off the camera unplugged my powe source turned the camera on again like I did before. With head phones on I heard no buzz and if I turned my audio volume up to 10 the talking came in clear this second time around. Now question here i want to run by you is this. I bought the camera in the states from Sony it is set up for 110 here is 220 so if I have my camera plugged in could this cause my problem.

PS I was also thinking it was the way it was connected but I cannot see any other way of connecting than how John descibed.
Hey guys thanks big time for the help.

Daryl

At a guess the power adaptor is universal, just check the label on it however if it hasn't gone bang by now it's pretty likely it is.

As the adaptors are double insulated it's unlikely you've got a ground loop problem however they do radiate noise. Your best bet would be a balanced to unbalanced adaptor. Beachtek and other make such units. I'd only invest in one of those though if it's vital you can use the mic and run off mains power.

One thing you could try is removing the battery from the camera. I'm not certain but with the battery in the camera and the mains adaptor connected the camera just might also be trying to charge the battery and the extra load on the mains adaptor could make the situation worse. We've certainly run FX1s etc with simple adaptors like yours without problems over several metres of cable but not with the mains adaptor running the camera.

Bob.

Daryl,
You have a few issues here, first is the Mic is Low level, second it is balanced, and the third seems to be power supply hum. The power supply allows some AC into the camera, the battery will not. Usually this is not a problem, but with a low level input and the gain maxed out you get lots of hum. There are two types of devices to get around this problem. First and cheapest is the transformer, which will help change the impedance and level to the camera. Second and better would be an active device.
This would run via battery or AC and change the impedance and amplify the audio.

Rich

Thanks guys I now have sevral options that I can look at. By the way I tried removing the battery and just using power still a big hum. And I will see if I can find an active device in this city, and a higher level mike, and see if I have some faulty cords as well. I appreciate your help.
Daryl

If you add a small 3.3 uf capacitor like they do in http://www.lectrosonics.com/manuals/mcaxlr-wp_adapters.pdfthis diagram[/link] to Johns connection suggestion, that will get rid of the DC bias that is likely causing the hum. You can also use the diagram as a guide except that you want to connect to tip and ring where it says "tip" in the diagram because of the camera's stereo inputs.

Also, usually Shure handheld mics have an option for unbalanced output. If you take the mic apart, you should see a connector from the mic assembly to the XLR connection that is two wires plugged into a connection that can be plugged in two ways. One of these options is balanced, the other is unbalanced. Try the unbalanced option and see if you don't get better level that way since the impedence will match up better.

If you add the capacitor and unbalance the mic output impedence you should get much better sound out of this setup.