Stereo 3.5 plug compatibility problem

[khaga]

hey, I have an ATR25 stereo mic that I used successfully with my old Sony videocam... it's connected to a 6' extension/splitter cable that results in 2 mono miniplugs that I then bring back together with a stereo 3.5 adapter plug (this was the way the extension cable came with the ATR25...).

When I plug the stereo mic through the 6' extension w/ 3.5 plug into the HV20 external mic input, seated all the way in, I'm only picking up 1 channel. However, if I pull the plug out slightly, it seems to connect ok and I can hear both channels in my headphones - but the plug is loose and not seated all the way.

I've "eyeballed" this adapter stereo plug and it looks the same as any other 3.5 stereo plug... length, etc (and it worked fine on my Sony). And when I tried the other short (1.5') mic cable that came with the mic and has a built in stereo plug, it works great, sounds great, seats properly, and looks the same...

My question is - are these 3.5 stereo plugs different somehow - there must be some length difference that I can't perceive for it to seat funny... I can go buy another "dual mono to stereo" adapter I guess, but I just don't want to buy the same problem all over again...

Probably a shot in the dark, but I figured I would ask... thanks!

[arenson]

I see no-one answered you..but if you look at my post, it reflects the same basic problem, in my case using a stereo phono plug (big) to mini plug adaptor.

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External microphones - DM50, VideoMic, MKE400 and more
<-----GO TO LAST POST (OR A FEW BACK FROM THE LAST)


Did you get a response?

[khaga]

Problem solved... turns out the "Y" adapter I was using was not what I thought it was... I needed an adapter that would bring together 2 mono inputs into a stereo plug. What I actually had (it turns out) was a stereo headphone splitter that allows 2 stereo headphones to get the same signal from a stereo source... the impact to the HV20 was that both channels of the stereo mic were being jammed into the same single channel, leaving the other channel dead...

Not sure why I didn't catch this on the Sony!

[arenson]

Hmmmm.

Wonder if that is what I have. I long ago lost the original cables from Audio Technica. I wasn't using them. One was a short and one was a long. I do not remember now if they terminated in mini plugs or in two mono. Two mono is what I think I needed at the time, since I wanted to plug it into my Firepod Mono jacks and then to my computer.

I went and got a new chord when I thouh of using with my Canon videocam.

That ended in a big stereo plug which I then inserted into a miniplug adaptor. They both seem to have stereo tips (two black bands around the circumference). So I assumed it would work. But I get the exact same problem.

Can you refresh my memory?

My mic came with these--->



A) 1.7' (0.5 m) cable (XLRF-type to stereo 3.5 mm mini-plug
B) 10' (3 m) cable (XLRF-type to two mono 3.5 mm mini-plugs

I am not sure if you had the same cables. It seems like so.

I take it that the one that worked for you is the short one (A).

I am trying to replace what would have been (B) with my
XLR to single stereo big phono plug and its miniplug adaptor and getting the same results you did when you added on that splitter. I am guessing that while your SPLITTER was the problem for you as it was actually designed for splitting two stereo signals, my REPLACEMENT cable was not really the right cable (the one that ended in a big phono plug.

In any case, you solved the problem. What I think I need to do is EITHER get the original long cable and a correct mono to stereo splitter OR find a long cable with the stereo end.

I am surprised that AT doesn't supply that. In fact the tech person in Ohio said he recommended (A) and extending it with a standard XLR cable. But that doesn't make sense to me....how can one extend a cable that terminates in a mini plug with a an xlr cable?

Anyway, the point may be moot since I just got the Zoom H2. If I want to use the AT mic, I think I will just get the small cable.....

Thanks, and if anyone else wants to weigh in on this as electronics are one of my weak points.