Microphone types and characteristics

The history of microphones

The first microphone to be invented was in 1876 and its original purpose was to be used as telephone voice transmitter. A few years later in 1878 the carbon microphone was invented. Shortly after with radio becoming popular broadcasting microphones were created. The micro phone known for broadcasting was invented in 1942 it was called the ribbon microphone. Alexander Graham Bell received US patent 174,465 on the scheme shown below. The mechanical string you can see was in a sense replaced by a wire that could conduct electrical direct current. With audio signals generated and also received via a moving armature transmitter and its associated receiver. Like the mechanical version the system was reciprocal. By this I mean transmission was eligible in either direction. However the patent below also shows the acoustical advantage of a horn which increases the driving pressure at the sending end and a horn to reinforce output pressure at the ear at the receiving end. Bells additional experiments with the transmitting device lead to the liquid transmitter that was demonstrated in 1876. Here, the variable contact principle provided a more effective method of electrical signal modulation than that afforded by the moving armature. However the contract principle was actually extended by Berliner in a patent application in 1877, in which a steel ball was placed against a stretched metal diaphragm, further work was done my Blake. The rise of broadcasting meant the need for better microphones and loudspeakers. Western Electric had a quick response to these needs. They developed both capacitor microphones and moving conductor microphones. The capacitor microphone used a fix electrical charge on the plates of a capacitor, one of which was a moving diaphragm and the other a fixed back plate. This meant that sound waves caused a slight diaphragm, which then in turn was translated into a variation in the voltage across the plates. A Western Electric capacitor microphone was developed by Wente in 1917. First employed as a driving element for loudspeakers and headphones, the moving coil and the ribbon eventually found their place in microphones design during the mid-twenties. Microphones operate on the same principle this being, the electrical conducting element is placed in a transverse magnetic field, and its motion generated by sound vibrations induces a voltage across the conducting element.

How does a microphone work?

Firstly a microphone is a type of transduce, by this I mean its a device which converts energy from one form to another. Microphones convert acoustical energy (sound waves) into electrical energy (the audio signal). However different types of microphones have different ways of converting energy but they all share one thing in common: The diaphragm. This is a thin piece of material which vibrates when it is struck by sound waves. Usually the diaphragm is located in the head of the microphone.

Location of Microphone Diaphragm

Microphone types Dynamic microphones are ideal for general-purpose use. They use a simple design with few moving
parts. They are relatively sturdy and resilient to rough handling. They are also better suited to handling high volume levels, such as from certain musical instruments or amplifiers. They have no internal amplifier and do not require batteries or external power.

How Dynamic Microphones Work

As you may recall from your school science, when a magnet is moved near a coil of wire an electrical current is generated in the wire. Using this electromagnet principle, the dynamic microphone uses a wire coil and magnet to create the audio signal. The diaphragm is attached to the coil. When the diaphragm vibrates in response to incoming sound waves, the coil moves backwards and forwards past the magnet. This creates a current in the coil which is channeled from the microphone along wires. A common configuration is shown below.

Earlier we mentioned that loudspeakers perform the opposite function of microphones by converting electrical energy into sound waves. This is demonstrated perfectly in the dynamic microphone which is basically a loudspeaker in reverse. When you see a cross-section of a speaker you'll see the similarity with the diagram above. If fact, some intercom systems use the speaker as a microphone. You can also demonstrate this effect by plugging a microphone into the headphone output of your stereo, although we don't recommend it!

Technical Notes: Dynamics do not usually have the same flat frequency response as condensers. Instead they tend to have tailored frequency responses for particular applications. Neodymium magnets are more powerful than conventional magnets, meaning that neodymium microphones can be made smaller, with more linear frequency response and higher output level

Capacitor Electric condenser Ribbon Carbon Crystal Handheld/stand Tieclip/lavier Boom Polar pattern omnie, cardioid , hyper cardioid figure of 8

Radio microphones

Application (what you do with them) how you use the microphones
Ex dynamic microphones are usually used for

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