Skip to main content

Is it possible to damage a KM184 just by unscrewing the tip? I was searching for the serial number to register my mic, and then screwed it back together. Now the mic seems to be not working. Is this a fluke, or did I possibly damage it by unscrewing the tip? It was working fine before.

Comments

ghellquist Mon, 08/08/2005 - 09:55

If you are very careful it should be possible to unscrew the capsule of the KM184. It is finely threaded just on the outside of the tube. Inside there is a long "needle" that goes through a plastic acoustic reflector in order to reach down to the electronics. If you are careful, that is, you can remove the capsule and take a look and later carefully reinsert the needle through the hole and it will work.

Do not touch the needle or the plastic reflector with you fingers, they carry oil that is best avoided at that part of the circuit.

If you are less careful it is rather easy to bend the needle, or even to break it, and then it is back to Neumann for repair. (Repairing mics of this class can be worth the money).

In any case, there is not much to see or do inside.

Gunnar.

rmburrow Fri, 04/15/2016 - 18:17

Unless you know what you are doing, do NOT disassemble a microphone. Especially a condenser microphone. One needs a work space that is absolutely clean and dust free...NEVER touch the capsule or any associated electrical components since the microphone operates at extremely high impedance (in the hundreds of megohms minimum)! If the pin is broken, you are looking at a repair bill of at least $400 USD. BTW the serial number ("Nr." auf Deutsch) for most German mics should be stamped or engraved near the connector.