Reporting and clip-on microphones in television production
Roman Katrovsky

For the time being, the class of reporting microphones is presented by numerous products from many world famous manufacturers of professional audio equipment. As a rule, reporting microphones are inferior to studio and performing microphones in acoustic characteristics, however, they feature such advantages as operational versatility including possibility to be utilized without additional stands, and, of course, excellent reliability. Here, versatility implies compatibility with sound equipment used as a consumer of microphone audio signal (video recorders, MD-recorders, etc.) in reporter's everyday practice. Due to this reason, the vast majority of reporting microphones are dynamic, which lets them be connected to equipment having no phantom power source indispensable for both condenser and electret microphones. Reliability, in its turn, implies stable failsafe operation of the microphone under severe weather conditions, as well as capability to withstand various mechanical impacts and loads. One of the tests, which is used by some manufacturers at development of this type of microphones is dropping the microphone from the height of 1.5...2 m on a elastic surface. It is tolerated that the microphone may get scratches or dents, but the signal should not fail.

One of the most popular professional reporting microphones is the F-115 from Sony. It has the following technical characteristics:

F-115 reporter's microphone

ECM-77 clip-type microphone

ECM-66 clip-type microphone

• polar pattern: omnidirectional;
• capsule type: dynamic;
• frequency range: 40...12000 Hz;
• sensitivity (0 dB = 1 V/Pa at 1 kHz): - 57.8 dB;
• dimensions (handle diameter x length): 24.6x173 mm;
• weight: 270 g.

Clip-on microphones are intended for utilization under such conditions, when there's no possibility to hold the microphone in hand or mount it on a stand. These microphones are attached directly to clothing with the help of various clips, spins and pins. The sound quality, however, is inferior to that which may be gained when applying reporter microphones; and it's not that clip-on microphones feature inherently worse characteristics, it's just because of their peculiar placement. Any bodily movement causes parasitic noises that, in its turn, picked up by the microphone attached to an article of clothing. Nevertheless, owing to their diminutiveness, clip-on microphones may be quite often indispensable.

The tiniest clip-on microphone is the ECM 77 from Sony, with its frequency range of 40 to 20000 Hz and dynamic range of 90 dB.

Its specifications:

• capsule type: electret condenser;
• pickup pattern: omnidirectional;
• sensitivity (0 dB = 1 V/Pa at 1 kHz): - 52.0 dB;
• capsule dimensions (diameter x length): 5.6x12.5mm;
• power requirement: either 12...48 Vdc source or 1.5 V battery;
• capsule weight: 1.5 g;
• total weight: 121.5 g.

"Era" Company, I.S.P.A-Engineering Company.

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