Shirou
京平
I tried to make a video about this but I'm not good at doing voice-overs.
Here you're going to learn how easy and cheap is to make a microphone for the Drift HD camera. This works for the Drift Ghost or any other camera as long as you get the proper connector (and pinout) for the accessory port of your device.
With a few tools, a bit of cable, a condenser microphone, the camera connector and half an hour of time, you can make a very good quality microphone. You don't have to buy the $20 drift branded mic or spend $100+ on Sony, Olympus or more expensive units. This mic has enough quality for all your vlogging needs. And it isn't even half bad.
First thing to get is the microphone itself, these are very small components you can salvage from devices that handle audio capture, try an old cellphone, a computer headset (Note 1), a cellphone handsfree unit, a "normal" landline phone, bluetooth headset (who uses them nowadays?). The best mics come from handsfree units, second best from old cellphones. Newer cellphones have a new kind of solid state microphones that won't work (square SMT part soldered on-board, impossible to handle). A good place to salvage a very small mic is from cheap, basic SAMSUNG phones and bluetooth headsets.
Here are a couple suitable mics, the one with the small board came from an LG handsfree and the other one came from a generic SIEMENS handsfree.
Next thing you need is the connector and cable for the camera. The drift HD requires a 2.5mm TRS connector. Again, the best place to get it is from a Motorola Handsfree. Nokia, Samsung and Alcatel used the same connector but probably a different pinout, that doesn't matter because we're not using whatever is on the other side of the cable. I got these two, the white one is from a Motorola ROKR (E1, E398) stereo handsfree and the black one is from another random Motorola Handsfree, the model I think it came from a C330/C333/V60/V300/V600/V630/C236/C650 or whatever, it works on all motorola phones that have that socket.
The white one is called a TRRS connector and the black one is a TRS, the drift needs a TRS but can work without problems with the TRRS.
Now, a little shortcut.
If you got the Motorola headset, connect it directly to the camera, press REC and talk on the mic. If it works (it should), just cut the earpiece and leave the microphone and button. That's it, you got your mic, tuck it into your helmet and go vlogging.
For the rest of the word who haven't got a Motorola Headset, cut the cable at the other end of the connector and test it, using a multimeter, a battery and a LED or another suitable device to see what goes where. When you cut the cable, you'll end up with a bunch of enameled wire, it looks like each part of the cable has one wire but actually they carry one pair each. One color, golden, is common on both parts of the cable and it is hooked up to the sleeve of the connector. If you look closely, you'll notice there's another color on each pair, it could be red, green, blue, whatever other color. That's the one you don't know where it's connected so test it and note what color goes to the TIP of the connector. About the RING, it is not used on the camera so leave it unconnected.
After you figured out what goes where, it is time to connect the microphone, cut the pair that goes to the ring, we don't need that one. Connect the other pair to the microphone soldering points.
Now, you're working with enameled wire, it is very fine, it's easy to break, it's a nightmare to solder on but let me share a tip. Put a blob of solder on your soldering iron and place the enameled wire inside the blob, move the wire back and forth until the enamel goes away. You'll notice when that happens because it emits a characteristic smell (quite like a burnt transformer).
Now that you soldered the mic, test it using the camera, try with the sensitivity on 1, it should sound nice and clear. If it doesn't, try replacing the mic with another one. If you're satisfied with the result, put a blob of hot glue on the back of the mic to avoid moving the cables and then place the entire assembly inside shrinkwrap.
There you go, cheap Drift mic for nothing more than a little bit of time and salvaged electronic trash.
It doesn't look "pro" but it can be as compact as you want if you get a small microphone. In the country where 20 bucks is a load of money and where I can't afford to buy a "genuine" drift mic, this allowed me to vlog in no time.
Note 1: The Drift camera expects a plain, old, unpowered microphone. Some microphones, specially those made for computers or Sony products with a red plug (those that require a "Plug in power" socket) have 3 pins, these won't work with most sport cameras because they have an internal amplifier that requires power. Even if you provide the mic with power, they'll saturate the input on the camera and won't work properly. Avoid the 3 pin mics. They're unsuitable for this application.
Here you're going to learn how easy and cheap is to make a microphone for the Drift HD camera. This works for the Drift Ghost or any other camera as long as you get the proper connector (and pinout) for the accessory port of your device.
With a few tools, a bit of cable, a condenser microphone, the camera connector and half an hour of time, you can make a very good quality microphone. You don't have to buy the $20 drift branded mic or spend $100+ on Sony, Olympus or more expensive units. This mic has enough quality for all your vlogging needs. And it isn't even half bad.
First thing to get is the microphone itself, these are very small components you can salvage from devices that handle audio capture, try an old cellphone, a computer headset (Note 1), a cellphone handsfree unit, a "normal" landline phone, bluetooth headset (who uses them nowadays?). The best mics come from handsfree units, second best from old cellphones. Newer cellphones have a new kind of solid state microphones that won't work (square SMT part soldered on-board, impossible to handle). A good place to salvage a very small mic is from cheap, basic SAMSUNG phones and bluetooth headsets.
Here are a couple suitable mics, the one with the small board came from an LG handsfree and the other one came from a generic SIEMENS handsfree.
Next thing you need is the connector and cable for the camera. The drift HD requires a 2.5mm TRS connector. Again, the best place to get it is from a Motorola Handsfree. Nokia, Samsung and Alcatel used the same connector but probably a different pinout, that doesn't matter because we're not using whatever is on the other side of the cable. I got these two, the white one is from a Motorola ROKR (E1, E398) stereo handsfree and the black one is from another random Motorola Handsfree, the model I think it came from a C330/C333/V60/V300/V600/V630/C236/C650 or whatever, it works on all motorola phones that have that socket.
The white one is called a TRRS connector and the black one is a TRS, the drift needs a TRS but can work without problems with the TRRS.
Now, a little shortcut.
If you got the Motorola headset, connect it directly to the camera, press REC and talk on the mic. If it works (it should), just cut the earpiece and leave the microphone and button. That's it, you got your mic, tuck it into your helmet and go vlogging.
For the rest of the word who haven't got a Motorola Headset, cut the cable at the other end of the connector and test it, using a multimeter, a battery and a LED or another suitable device to see what goes where. When you cut the cable, you'll end up with a bunch of enameled wire, it looks like each part of the cable has one wire but actually they carry one pair each. One color, golden, is common on both parts of the cable and it is hooked up to the sleeve of the connector. If you look closely, you'll notice there's another color on each pair, it could be red, green, blue, whatever other color. That's the one you don't know where it's connected so test it and note what color goes to the TIP of the connector. About the RING, it is not used on the camera so leave it unconnected.
After you figured out what goes where, it is time to connect the microphone, cut the pair that goes to the ring, we don't need that one. Connect the other pair to the microphone soldering points.
Now, you're working with enameled wire, it is very fine, it's easy to break, it's a nightmare to solder on but let me share a tip. Put a blob of solder on your soldering iron and place the enameled wire inside the blob, move the wire back and forth until the enamel goes away. You'll notice when that happens because it emits a characteristic smell (quite like a burnt transformer).
Now that you soldered the mic, test it using the camera, try with the sensitivity on 1, it should sound nice and clear. If it doesn't, try replacing the mic with another one. If you're satisfied with the result, put a blob of hot glue on the back of the mic to avoid moving the cables and then place the entire assembly inside shrinkwrap.
There you go, cheap Drift mic for nothing more than a little bit of time and salvaged electronic trash.
It doesn't look "pro" but it can be as compact as you want if you get a small microphone. In the country where 20 bucks is a load of money and where I can't afford to buy a "genuine" drift mic, this allowed me to vlog in no time.
Note 1: The Drift camera expects a plain, old, unpowered microphone. Some microphones, specially those made for computers or Sony products with a red plug (those that require a "Plug in power" socket) have 3 pins, these won't work with most sport cameras because they have an internal amplifier that requires power. Even if you provide the mic with power, they'll saturate the input on the camera and won't work properly. Avoid the 3 pin mics. They're unsuitable for this application.
