MICROPHONE DOCUMENTATION
Looking for microphone product documentation (product catalog descriptions, engineering specifications, etc.) for vintage microphones? For most broadcast grade American-made microphones by RCA, Western Electric, Electro-Voice. Shure Brothers, and others, e-Mail your specific need and I will research what I might have available.
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RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA (RCA)
"MICOLOGY"
During its some five decades of microphone production, probably no other single manufacturer came close to the technical engineering expertise, development innovation, and product line quality than at RCA. As American as mom and apple pie, the RCA "meatball" on a microphone was a recognized as a symbol of a quality audio product throughout the World.
A historical listing of principal RCA microphones and accessories is presented
below:
| Master ID (MI) # | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| n/a | 1 | Carbon (Westinghouse/RCA) |
| n/a | 3-A | Condenser (General Electric/RCA) |
| n/a | 4-AA | Condenser |
| n/a | PB-31 | Ribbon Velocity |
| n/a | PB-46 | Ribbon Velocity |
| 3000 | PB-17 | Ribbon Velocity |
| 3010 | 44-A | Ribbon Velocity |
| 3015 | PB-144 | Ribbon Velocity |
| 3019 | PB-121 | Condenser Transmitter |
| 3023 | PB-17 (Rev.) | Ribbon Velocity |
| 3025 | 77-A | Uni-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 3027 | n/a | Ribbon Velocity |
| 3030 | 50-A | Inductor |
| 3042 | n/a | Ultra-Directional Pressure |
| 3043 | KU-2A | Uni-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 3044 | KN-2A | Pressure |
| 3045 | KN-3A | Dialogue Ribbon |
| 4000 | PB-90 | Ribbon Velocity |
| 4001 | PB-115/30-A | Lapel Ribbon Velocity |
| 4002 | PB-111 | Magnetic |
| 4003 | PB-140 | Magnetic |
| 4010 | n/a | Junior Ribbon Velocity |
| 4017 | n/a | Talk Back |
| 4020 | UZ-4083 | Condenser Transmitter |
| 4025 | 44-A (Rev.) | Ribbon Velocity |
| 4026 | 44-B | Ribbon Velocity |
| 4027 | 44-B (Rev.) | Ribbon Velocity |
| 4027-G | 44-BX | Ribbon Velocity |
| 4030 | 50-A (Rev.) | Inductor |
| 4035 | 74-A | Junior Ribbon Velocity |
| 4036 | 74-B | Junior Ribbon Velocity |
| 4040 | 77-A | Uni-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 4042 | 77-B | Uni-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 4042A | 77-C | Three-Way Ribbon Velocity |
| 4043A | 77-B1 | Uni-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 4044B | 77-C1 | All Purpose Ribbon Velocity |
| 4045 | 77-D | Poly-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 4045-F | 77-DX | Poly-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 4048 | 88-A | Pressure |
| 4070 | n/a | Junior Ribbon Velocity (Suspension Mount) |
| 6202 | n/a | Crystal |
| 6203 | n/a | Varacoustic (Low-Z) |
| 6204 | n/a | Varacoustic (High-Z) |
| 6206 | n/a | Aeropressure |
| 6207-D | n/a | Speech |
| 6225 | RP-91 | Carbon |
| 6226 | n/a | Aerodynamic (Low-Z) |
| 6228 | n/a | Aerodynamic (High-Z) |
| 10001/MA-2320 | KU-3A | High-Output Unidirectional Ribbon Velocity |
| 10002 | n/a | Uni-Angular Electrostatic |
| 10006 | n/a | High Sensitivity Varidirectional |
| 11000 | KB-1A | High Fidelity Ribbon Velocity |
| 11001 | KB-2C | Bantam Ribbon Velocity |
| 11002 | KU-1A | Lightweight Unidirectional Ribbon Velocity |
| 11005 | BK-4 | Ribbon Pressure |
| 11006 | 77-DX (Rev.) | Poly-directional Ribbon Velocity |
| 11007 | BK-1 | Dynamic Pressure |
| 11010 | BK-5A | Unixaial |
| 11010A | BK-5B | Unixaial |
| 11013 | BK-6A | Miniature Dynamic |
| 11016 | BK-7A | Lapel |
| 11017 | BK-6B | Miniature Dynamic |
| 11018 | BK-10 | Ultra-directional Uniaxial |
| 11019 | BK-11 | Ribbon Velocity |
| 11024 | BK-12 | Subminiature Dynamic |
| 11030 | SK-30 | Low-Z Dynamic |
| 11031 | SK-31 | High-Z Dynamic |
| 11042 | BK-14 | Dynamic |
| 11048 | BK-16 | Dynamic |
| 12002 | KB-2A | Program Velocity |
| 12003 | KB-2B | Program Velocity |
| 12004/12081 | KN-1A | Announce |
| 12005 | KN-1B | Announce |
| 12006 | n/a | Aerocrystal |
| 12007 | KN-1C | Announce |
| 12008 | KN-1D | Announce |
| 12016 | n/a | Aerodynamic |
| 12017 | n/a | Aerodynamic |
| 12018 | n/a | Noise Canceling |
| 12020 | n/a | Hi-Fedelity Dynamic |
| 12021 | n/a | Super Dynamic |
| 12022 | n/a | Dynamic |
| 12034 | SK-50 | Varacoustic Ribbon |
| 12035 | SK-35 | Close Talking Velocity |
| 12039 | SK-39 | Aerodynamic (Low-Z) |
| 12040 | SK-40 | Aerodynamic (High-Z) |
| 12041 | SK-41 | Ceramic |
| 12045 | SK-45 | Announce Dynamic |
| 12046 | SK-46 | Bi-directional Velocity |
| 38005 | SK-5 | Miniature Dynamic (Low-Z) |
| 38006 | SK-6 | Miniature Dynamic (High-Z) |
| RCA MICROPHONE STANDS AND BOOMS | ||
| 4056 | AZ-4090 | Program Stand |
| n/a | AZ-4091 | 4-AA Announce Stand |
| 4058-A | AZ-4191 | 44-A Announce Stand |
| 4058-C | 91-A | 44-B/BX Announce Stand |
| 4068 | n/a | Floor Stand |
| 4074 | n/a | Program Stand for Aerodynamic |
| 4092 | 91-B | Desk Stand |
| 4093 | 59-B | Portable Stand |
| 4094 | KS-3A | Boom Stand |
| 4095 | n/a | Banquet Stand |
| 4096 | n/a | Announce Stand |
| 6208 | n/a | Three-Section Stand |
| 6227 | n/a | Desk Stand |
| 6427 | n/a | Pushmike Stand |
| 11008 | KS-11A | BK-1 Desk Stand |
| 11050 | 90-A | Program Stand |
| n/a | 90-B | Boom Stand |
| 11052 | KS-4A | "Magic Lock" Boom Stand |
| 11056 | KS-3B | Boom Stand |
| 12063 | n/a | Desk Stand |
| 12065 | KS-1A | Floor Stand |
| 12066 | KS-5A | KN-1/KB-2 Desk Stand |
| 13240 | n/a | Desk Stand |
| 26574 | n/a | Boom and Perambulator |
"MICOLOGY"As America entered the 1920's, the concept of over-the-air commercial broadcasting was starting to take root and the need for quality microphones and associated equipment was in increasing demand. By virtue of its experience in telephony and public address equipment as early as 1882, Western Electric was well qualified to be an industry leader in broadcast microphone engineering and development.
The list below is a historical summary of Western Electric broadcast and recording microphones (a/k/a transmitters) covering a period from approximately 1920 and ending in 1949, the year that Western Electric's Sound Products Division was acquired by Altec.
| Model Number | Description |
|---|---|
| 355W | Carbon transmitter (1920) |
| 370W | Condenser transmitter (1921) |
| 373W | Carbon transmitter |
387 | Carbon transmitter |
389 | Carbon transmitter |
| 389/1A | Carbon transmitter mounted in 1A Transmitter Desk Mount |
| 394 | Condenser transmitter (1926) |
394/47A | Condenser transmitter with 47A preamp (1927-28) |
| 394/47B | Condenser transmitter with 47B preamp |
| 394/48B | Condenser transmitter with 48B preamp |
| 394/53A | Condenser transmitter with 53A preamp |
394/7A | Condenser transmitter mounted in 7A Transmitter Desk Mount (1928) |
394/8A | Condenser transmitter mounted in 8A Transmitter Floor Stand Mount |
| 394/9A | Condenser transmitter mounted in 9A Transmitter Desk Mount |
394/10A | Condenser transmitter mounted in 10A Transmitter Floor Stand Mount |
| 600A | Carbon Transmitter |
618A | Moving Coil Dynamic (1931) |
| 618A/17-A-13 | Moving Coil Dynamic with 17-A-13 Suspension Mount |
| 618A/18-A-13 | Moving Coil Dynamic with 18-A-13 Desk Stand Mount |
| 618A/18-A-13 | Moving Coil Dynamic with 19-A-13 Floor Stand Mount |
618A/D-99098 | Moving Coil Dynamic with Acoustic Impedance Directional Element (1937) |
630A | Moving Coil Dynamic (1935) |
| 630A/7A | Moving Coil Dynamic with 7A Transmitter Attachment |
632 | Moving Coil Dynamic in Bell System Desk Stand Transmitter Mount |
632A | Moving Coil Dynamic |
633A | Moving Coil Dynamic (1936) |
| 633A/8B | Moving Coil Dynamic with 8B Acoustical Baffle |
639A < | Dual Moving Coil Dynamic and Ribbon Velocity (1938) |
| 639B | Dual Moving Coil Dynamic and Ribbon Velocity |
| 640A | Condenser Transmitter |
| 642A | Condenser Transmitter |
| RA-1142 | Dual Moving Coil Dynamic and Ribbon Velocity |
| 640AA | Condenser Transmitter |
640AA/RA-1095 | Condenser Transmitter mounted in RA-1095 Preamp (1939) |
FIRING UP A DOUBLE BUTTON CARBON MICROPHONE
Here's a simple microphone hook-up diagram for sounding most double button carbon microphones. Before applying power to the transmitter element, remove the microphone from any mounting and shake gently; first with an up and down motion; then from side to side. This action will serve to loosen the carbon granules inside the microphone which can become compacted due to both moisture and inactivity over time.
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