Mic left channel -15 dB down

johnmeyer wrote on 2/6/2009, 4:59 PM
The mic discussion in another thread had me pulling out my Audio Technica AT822 mic that I hadn't used in awhile. I just found out that the left channel from this mic is way down, about 15 dB, from the right channel. I have two XLR connectors and have tried them both. I also tested the battery.

I still have audio in the bad channel, so it isn't completely dead. Before I open it up and start looking for bad solder joints, etc., does anyone have experience with this and suggestions as to what else I should try?

Thanks.

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 2/6/2009, 5:28 PM
Sorry, the answer I posted is for mics with attached cables. Looks from the picture like your mic accepts an xlr directly.
johnmeyer wrote on 2/6/2009, 5:59 PM
I opened it up, and tested everything (there's not much inside). Couldn't find anything, so I re-soldered every connection (just touched the iron to the pad). That fixed it.

So, it was a cold solder joint.

Sorry to bother everyone with the post.

rs170a wrote on 2/6/2009, 6:29 PM
Sorry to bother everyone with the post.

No bother at all John.
This tip may save someone from spending $$$ at a repair shop some day.
Basic soldering is a great skill to have as you can make your own cables for (sometimes a lot) less than what you'd pay in a store.
It can also come in handy in other ways too.
About 5 years ago, the heat pump attached to my furnace failed.
After some troubleshooting, the repair tech said I needed a new controller board and it would be $600.00..
When I asked what was wrong, he said "bad solder joints".
I was surprised that he didn't have a soldering iron (not part of their kit apparently).
I told him to take the board out, got my iron and some solder and 5 min. later, it was fixed.
There were 9 solder joints on the edge of an old-fashioned (i.e. real components, not surface mounted crap) circuit board.
It's still working to this day :-)

Mike
ushere wrote on 2/6/2009, 6:35 PM
not bothered - just happy to know that there's still repairable items.... my wife's (cheap) mp3 player gave up the ghost and just opening it was a nightmare. as for what was in it, well i've no idea - it was the most minimalistic pcb i've ever seen....
rs170a wrote on 2/6/2009, 6:47 PM
Have you ever tried to take apart a modern camcorder?
There's something to be said about the old BetaCam "boat anchors" that we used to curse for their weight.
They were often field repairable with only a few tools.

Mike
BTW, mother nature listened as tomorrow's high is to be +9 C. (-20 C. 2 days ago)
ushere wrote on 2/6/2009, 7:18 PM
i remember 'borrowing' extender boards for various bits of equipment; cameras, vision mixers, etc., then gently tapping components till the thing worked. nearly every time it was a cold-solder joint.

nowadays the only approach to a hardware problem is a joint!

well she's deaf down here - 41c, though they say there's a change a coming.... i have to say there's NOTHING at all enjoyable about standing around in a hot paddock waiting for a horse to break into a gallop! i set myself up with a sort of beach type umbrella rig, a 10lt container of iced water (ha! it stays cold for about 10 minutes), but none of this stops my sweat dribbling into the eyepiece and giving me hippy-trippy fx's...
johnmeyer wrote on 2/6/2009, 9:15 PM
I still have a can of freeze spray which is useful if the board is too big to re-solder everything. Just spray it on the suspected component and the thermal expansion/contraction will usually either completely kill the joint or momentarily make it connect. Either way, you've found the problem.