UNIT I

LOUDSPEAKERS AND MICROPHONES

Loudspeakers Microphones
and
Crystal Loudspeaker, Dynamic Loudspeaker, Electrostatic loudspeaker, Permanent Magnet and
Loudspeaker, Woofers Tweeters - Microphone Characteristics, Crystal Microphone, Dynamic
Carbon Microphones, Microphones and Wireless Microphones.

1.1 LOUDSPEAKERS

 A loudspeaker is a transducer which converts electrical signals of audio frequency into

sound waves of the same frequency. It is also called as output transducer or reverse
transducer.

 A loud speaker's performance is determined by the following characteristics:

1.2 CHARACTERISTICS

Efficiency:

 It is defined as the ratio of output sound power to the input audio (electrical power).

 Its value depends on proper matching of the mechanical impedance with acoustical
impedance of the air volume being disturbed. (Some manufacturers quote the efficiency
in terms of sensitivity which is defined to be the input signal required to give a sound
pressure level of 0.1 Pa or 1 microbar at a distance of 1 metre from the loudspeaker.)

Noise:

 The unwanted sound, not contained in the input signal but present in the output of a
loudspeaker is called noise produced by the loudspeaker (the mechanical parts may
vibrate at some resonant frequency, causing noise).

 Signal-to-noise ratio or SNR of the system which is de- fined as ratio of signal output' to
the `output of noise in the absence of signal'.

Frequency Response:

 It indicates the loudspeaker's response for the audible frequency range of sound. Ideally,
the response of a loudspeaker should be flat within ± 1 dB for the frequency range of 16
Hz to 20 kHz.

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  The mass of the diaphragm assembly have high frequencies which are attenuated; and
due to series compliance, low frequencies are attenuated. Moreover, the movable
system may have some natural resonant frequency within the audible range and the
output at that frequency will be emphasized.

Distortion:

 Any change in frequency, phase and amplitude complexion of the output sound as
compared to the input audio signal is called distortion.

 Frequency and phase distortions may result due to mass and compliance effect.
Amplitude or non-linear distortion will result due to non-uniformity in the magnetic field in
which the coil moves.

Directivity:

 It is the ratio of actual sound intensity at a point (in the direction of maximum intensity) to
the sound intensity that would have been available there, had the loudspeaker been
omnidirectional.

Power :

 It is the maximum audio power (indicated in watts) for which it is designed. Power more
than the maximum will damage the speaker.

Impedance :

 The input impedance of the loudspeaker is represented in ohms and is an important

parameter, as its matching with the impedance of source amplifier is necessary for the
optimum efficiency.

1.3 CRYSTAL LOUDSPEAKER

Fig 1.1 Crystal type speakers

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  Rochelle-salt crystals have the property of becoming physically distorted when a voltage
is applied across two of their surfaces.

 This property is the basis of the crystal type of speaker driver.

 The crystal is clamped between two electrodes across which the audio frequency output
voltage is applied.

 The crystal is also mechanically connected to a diaphragm. The deformations of the

crystal caused by the audio frequency signal across the electrodes cause the diaphragm
to vibrate and thus to produce sound output.

 Crystal speakers have been impractical for reproduction of the full audio-frequency
range because the input impedance is almost completely capacitive. Thus it is difficult to
couple Power into them.

 At high audio frequencies, the reactance becomes lower and the relative amount of
power smaller.

 In the base range, stresses on the crystals are very great, and the crystals have been
known to crack under stresses.

1.4 DYNAMIC LOUDSPEAKER

 To provide very strong magnetic field for high wattage speakers, an electromagnet is
used instead of a permanent magnet. . Its construction is shown in Fig. 1.2.

Fig. 1.2 Dynamic Loudspeaker

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  Loudspeakers of more than 25 watts and up to a few hundred watts are of the
electrodynamic type.

 The strong and steady magnetic field is produced by a large field coil wrapped around a
core.

 The shape of the magnet is pot type with the south pole in the centre and the north pole
in the periphery.

 The special shape of the core allows magnetic flux to remain concentrated in the annular
gap between pole pieces.

 The voice coil is wound on fibre or aluminium (to keep it light in weight). It is placed in
the annular gap.

 The audio signal from the amplifier's output transformer is applied to the voice coil. This
signal causes a varying magnetic field.

 The resultant interaction between the magnetic fields (one due to electromagnet and the
other due to audio current in the voice coil) produces mechanical vibrations (motor
action) in the coil assembly , which correspond to the audio signals.

 The vibrations of the coil are transmitted to the attached cone which create sound waves
in the air in the listeners' area, and hence radiate sound energy directly.

Advantages

 Higher power can be obtained

 Frequency response is better (40 Hz to 5000 Hz) Disadvantages

 Power supply needed for field coil

 Heavier weight for the same amount of magnetic field

1.5 ELECTROSTATIC {CONDENSER/CAPACITOR) LOUDSPEAKERS

 This type of speaker operates on the principle that a dc voltage between two parallel
metal plates causes these plates to attract or repel each other.

 The amount of attraction or repulsion depends on the applied voltage l f one of the plates
is a flexible metal, it will bend.

 But the amount of attraction and repulsion is not directly proportional to the voltage
applied

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 For example, considering the movable and fixed plates of Fig1.3 with no voltage applied.
Now suppose we apply a slowly varying ac voltage to both plates.

 As the voltage increases from zero the potential difference between the two plates also
increases.

 Which in turn produces an increasing force of attraction between the plates, so that the
movable plate tends towards the fixed plate.

 As the ac voltage decreases once more to zero, the attractive force decreases, and the
movable plate moves back to its original position.

 But, the second half of the ac cycle, in the negative direction. All that this means to the
metal plate is that the positive and negative voltages have switched plates.

 The attractive farce is still there, and it is still the same. So, we get another bend in the
movable plate on the negative half of the ac cycle.

 Thus, for one full cycle of ac we have two bends in the movable plate, in effect a.
frequency doubling_ A 2 kHz signal would giant: us a 4 kHz note.

Fig. 1.3 Frequency doubling of an unpolarised loudspeaker

 To overcome, frequency doubling, we polarise the speaker, that we apply a high voltage
(1,000 volts or so) as a son of de bias, (Fig. 1.4).

 The voltage exerts a stead' attraction between the two plates, so that now-with no signal-
the movable plate is bent slightly toward the fixed plate.

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 If 400 V audio signal is applied to the speaker then the positive half cycle of the signal
increases from zero the voltage between the plates rises from 1,000 V toward 1,400 V
and the movable plate bends from its original position toward the fixed plate.

 As the ac passes its peak and returns to zero, the voltage between the plates drop, from
1,000 V to 600 V. Instead of moving again toward the fixed plate, the movable plate
moves farther away.

 The bending of the movable plate identical to the ac swing and there is no frequency
doubling.

Fig. 1.4 Frequency doubling eliminated by DC Polarization

 A detailed view of a modern electrostatic speaker is shown in Fig. 1.5.

 The practical speaker of today uses push-pull, with a built-in step-up transformer to work
from the ordinary 8 ohm amplifier output tap.

 The polarizing voltage is applied to the centre or movable plate through a resistor that
keeps the voltage stable during variations in the signal voltage.

 The signal voltage is applied to the m o outside plates. Because the diaphragm is
centered between the two plates that attract it equally, there is no bending when there is
no signal.

 Also, because of the push-pull action the diaphragm can move twice as for in response
to signal voltages for the same amount of compression of the dielectric material.

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 The major weakness of electrostatic speaker requires the DC bias is that 1i to be much
larger than the applied audio signal. In practical speakers, 1,000 to 1,200 volts may be
used.

 Further, when the bass frequency ranges, a great deal or power would he required to get
enough output.

 To produce such power, the speaker area would have to be very large. So, even though
full range electrostatic speakers have been constructed.

 In practical use electrostatic speakers have been mostly confined to frequencies above
1,000 Hz.

Fig. 1.5 Electrostatic Loudspeaker

 The step-up transformer and the high voltage polarizing supply is usually built right into
the modem electrostatic.

 Often the electrostatic unit and its matching woofer are sold together as a complete
system.

 Some high class systems use electrostatics to reproduce the high frequencies. Koss
uses electrostatics on some of their stereo headphones.

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1.6 PERMENANT MAGNET LOUDSPEAKER

1.6.1 Principle:

 The moving-coil loudspeaker works on the principle of interaction between a magnetic

field and current in the same way as an ac motor works.

 A coil, called voice coil, is placed in a uniform magnetic field.

 When the audio current passes through the voice coil, there is an interaction between
the magnetic field and the current, resulting in a force working on the movable coil.

 This force is proportional to the audio current, and hence causes vibrator motion (moor
like action) in the coil, which makes a conical paper diaphragm to vibrate and produce
pressure variations in air, resulting in sound waves.

 The force on the coil due to interaction between the current through coil and the

magnetic field is given as eqn 1 and 2

 The required stiffness to restrain the motion. The spiders also keep the coil centered, so
that the cone moves forward and backward only.

 Leads from the voice coil are cemented to the cone surface. From there, It is brought to
the terminals mounted on the metal frame or basket.

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 Fig. 1.6 Permanent Magnet Loudspeaker

1.6.2 Functioning:

 When audio current flows through the voice coil placed in a magnetic field, a force equal
to newtons act on the coil and moves it to and fro.

 The paper cone attached to the coil also moves and causes compression and
rarefaction cycles in the air.

 Thus, audio current is converted into sound waves. The equivalent circuit of the cone
speaker is shown in Fig. 1.7.

 There are two transformations. One is electromechanical and the other is mechano-
acoustical.

 The electromechanical transfer, represented by transformer Tm, transfers force

(produced by the source current in inductance L of the voice coil and the associated
resistance R to the movable mechanical parts (voice coil, diaphragm, springs and core).

 Mass, compliance and friction of the moving parts are represented by Lm, Cm and Rm
which are analogous to inductance, capacitance and resistance, respectively.

 At low audio frequencies, Lm is negligible and the output depends on the compliance,
Cm .

 At high audio frequencies, Cm is negligible and the output depends on Lm. So the high-
frequency speakers (tweeters) are of low mass, and the low-frequency speakers
(woofers) arc of high compliance (large size).

 Typical frequency response of a 20-cm sized cone-type loudspeaker is shown in Fig.

1.8.

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 

Fig. 1.7Equivalent circuit for cone type speaker

Fig. 1.8 Frequency response of 20 cm sized cone-type loudspeaker

1.6.3 Direct Radiating Type:

 The whole paper in a cone-type loudspeaker acts as a diaphragm and causes pressure
variations direct in the listeners' area. Hence it is called `direct radiating type loudspeaker'.

1.6.4 Characteristics of the Cone-type Speaker:

 Efficiency is quite low, about 5 percent only.

 The poor efficiency is due to the fact that it acts as a direct radiator, and so there is complete
mismatch between the low acoustic load presented by the large volume of air and the high
mechanical load presented by the voice coil and cone assembly,Signal to noise Ratio .

 It is 30 dB or better.Frequency Response It is restricted to mid-frequencies only.

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  Frequency response drops at low and high audio frequencies for a typical loudspeaker.
However a massive loudspeaker (called woofer) for low frequencies and small size speaker
(called tweeter) for high frequencies can be designed.

 3 dB frequency response of a typical speaker is from 60 Hz to 2000 Hz. Low-frequency woofer

speakers with baffles will give frequency response up to 30 Hz, High-frequency tweeters extend
the higher frequency response to 10 kHz or even higher.

 Distortion Non-linearity due to non-uniformity in the magnetic flux density causes severe non
linear or amplitude distortion (up to about 10%).

 Directivity Basically, the loudspeaker is Omni-directional. But baffles and enclosures modify the
directivity so that most of the power is in the front.

 High audio frequencies are concentrated in a narrow cone about the axis of the radiator.

 Impedance The effective impedance taking into account the mechanical and acoustical loads
varies from 2Ω to 32Ω .

 The common impedances in commercial speakers are 4, 8 or 16Ω (200 to 300Ω impedances
are obtained in an electrodynamic type cone speaker).

 Power handling Capacity Power range of speakers lies between a few milliwatts (for 2 cm
speaker) to about 25 watt for large size speakers. (Electrodynamic speakers can withstand a
few hundred watts of input power)

1.6.5 Advantages:

 Small size

 Low cost

 Satisfactory frequency response

1.5.6 Disadvantages:

 Poor efficiency

 Very low and high frequencies are attenuated

1.5.7 Applications:

 Radio receivers

 TV receivers

1.7 WOOFERS

 There are two types of low-frequency speaker, the commonly known woofer, and the
more recent addition the sub roofer.

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 The latter is used for the reproduction of frequencies below those produced by the
woofer, and it is generally purchased as an odd on to an existing system,

 The low-frequency speaker provides the bass of any hi-fi system.

 Its sole purpose is to reproduce the low-frequency notes of the program source.

 The prime requisite for low-frequency reproduction is a large diaphragm, the larger the
better.

 The smallest diaphragm for any halfway decent woofer is 8 inches; for a subwoofer it is
12 inches.

 In addition to large size, the diaphragm must be of fairly heavy construction. Light
diaphragms just can’t hold up under the vibrations encountered under the lower audio
ranges.

 A woofer must be able to vibrate back and forth very easily. (i.e.) have high compliance.
One way to accomplish this is to have the diaphragm loosely connected to the frame.

 The gasketing that holds the periphery of diaphragm to the frame/basket is fastened so
that it barely keeps the diaphragm from slipping loose, but no more shown in Fig. 1.9.
With this construction it takes less force to move the diaphragm any circular distances.

 Rather than the loose suspension system, the cone is supported by a very flexible
material so that it can be moved very easily by the voice coil.

 The suspension is tight but the sine wave at the diaphragm edge is made very flexible.

Fig. 1.9 Woofer

 A woofer must also have a large voice coil to handle considerable heat.

 The larger the voice coil, the more the current produced by the amplifier output circuit
and, therefore, the more the power the woofer can handle.

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  Finally, a strong magnet can be of great help to move the heavy voice coil and cone
assembly too well. The better the woofer, the heavier the magnet assembly.

 To sum up, a good woofer must have a large, heavy diaphragm, a strong magnet, high
compliance and a large voice coil.

1.8 TWEETERS

 There are two main types of high frequency speakers; the well-known sweeter and the more
recent supertweeter. Supertweeters can be add-ons or they can be integral with the system.

 Six basic high-frequency speakers (tweeter) exists

 The cone is a physically disincentive version of the woofer.

 The dome, so called because of its dome-shaped diaphragm.

 The horn, so named because it is a horn.

 The Heil air-motion transformer which uses the principle of lever in its operation, named aid r its
inventor, Dr. Oskar Heil.

 High polymer molecular film tweeter, uses the piezoelectric effect for its principle of operation
(used exclusively by Pioneer)-

 The electrostatic tweeter works on the principle of attraction or repulsion between two metal
plates.

1.8.1 CONE TYPE TWEETERS

 Since tweeters must reproduce high-frequency notes, they roust resonate at high frequencies.

 High resonant frequencies are obtained with light weight, stiffly supported mechanisms.

 To make the diaphragm of a con type tweeter light, it must be small.

 When the size and weight is reduced the diaphragm in turn, reduce the size of the ice coil also.

Luckily, high frequencies card only a comparatively small amount of electric power, therefore, the
small voice coil is not subjected to electrical overload.

 Without exception, it is wound with light weight wire such as aluminium wire or ribbon.

The lightness of the moving system provided by aluminium makes the high frequency response
much better than if copper were used.

Cone type radiators tend to concentrate radiation of the high frequency components of a sound
in a narrow cone about the axis of the radiator.

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 The degree of directivity of speaker is indicated by a directivity pattern in Fig.1.9. The axis of the
radiator is considered the reference line with an angle of zero degrees, Directivity pattern are
normally shown as a top view in the horizontal plane through the radiator axis.

 A cone in free space should have the same pattern in a vertical plane,.

 The line OA in Fig. 1.10 indicates by its length that the sound radiated along it is a maximum to
comparison to that in any other direction.

 At an angle 450, the line OB is a measure of the relative sound intensity in that direction- Since
OR is only half as long as a listener along OB would listen only about half the volume compared
to what a person along OA. At angles near 900, the pattern indicates minimum (zero) radiation.

 In any practical setup, such a zero area would not exist cause sound waves reach there by
reflection.

Fig. 1.10 Radiation pattern for a typical cone at one frequency

 Because, directivity normally varies considerably with frequency, a complete diagram (Fig. 1.11)
must show separate patterns for each of at least several frequencies.

 Fig.1.11 depicts variation of directivity with frequency for a 12-inch cone, assuming that the
speaker is mounted in an infinite baffle. The radiation pattern will be narrow at highs than at
lows.

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 Fig. 1.11 Variation of directivity with frequency for a typical cone radiator

 A single cone-type tweeter distributes high-Frequency sounds unevenly. It lobes the

higher frequencies directly out in front and tends to cause a drop of at the sides.

 This effect can be overcome by arranging two or more cone tweeters as shown in
Fig.1.11. In this way, overlapping individual lobes from separate speakers cover the
listening area.

Fig. 1.12 Sound distribution of two tweeter array. Highs can be spread out by angling the speakers

1.8.2 DOME TYPE TWEETERS

 Uniformly dispersed flat energy response begins with a speaker system's ability to rd i
ate sound at ail frequencies evenly in all directions.

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  Even dispersion of sound energy means that the sound emanating from the program
source will be heard same by listeners in all parts of the room.

 For low frequency sounds this problem of dispersion is not of practical consequence,
since they are very nearly omnidirectional.

 The limiting factor for high-frequency sounds is that a speaker will begin to directional
when its circumference equals the wavelength of the frequency being reproduced.

 Directionality increases the wavelength decreases with respect to the speaker’s

dimensions,

 The laws of physics dictate the most direct approach to the problem of even dispersion
of high-frequency energy; the rivers used must he as small as possible.

 Dome tweeters, Fig.1.13 are designed according to this principle in order to use these

physical laws to the listener's advantage.

Fig. 1.13 Dome type tweeter

1.8.3 HORN TYPE TWEETER

 To obtain reasonable output from a loudspeaker, we must vibrate large amounts of air.

 For this, usually a fairly large vibrating surfaces, such as the cones in woofers.

 The larger the cone surface, the greater the output.But the tweeter's cone (diaphragm)
must be small to attain its high-frequency response.

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 Thus only a small amount of air can be moved, reducing the output power.

 The increase in acoustic output from any type of diaphragm , couples directly to a horn,
converting the system to a horn loaded one. Fig. 1.13 shows the relative difference in
size between the diaphragms of a cone-type tweeter and a horn-loaded one.

 The driving force of the voice coil of the latter is distributed between the small mass of
the diaphragm and the mass of air in the horn.

 Since air weights much less than paper or metal the overall load on the voice coil for the
same acoustic output as that of the cone type tweeter, can be greatly reduced, Also, for
the same electrical input, the output of the horn loaded system is greater.

 A horn is a tube so flared (tapered) that the diameter incases from a small value at one
end called the throat to a large value at the other end called the mouth.

 Horns, Fig. 1.14 have been used for centuries for increasing the radiation of the human
voice and musical instruments.

 The horn does acoustically what the cone does mechanically. It couples the small voice
coil area to a large area or air.

 In this way, the horn acts as an acoustic transformer and converts the relatively high
impedance at the throat and driver.

Fig. 1.14 Horn Type tweeters

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  The horn is a fixed physical boundary for its enclosed column of air and does not vibrate
itself.

 Acoustic energy fed to its throat must therefore be obtained from a vibrating diaphragm
which converts mechanical motion from the driver voice coil to acoustic energy.

 Although the cone type radiator acts as both diaphragm and radiator and transducer,
from mechanical to acoustic energy, the horn acts only as a radiator, with both input and
output energy being acoustic.

MICROPHONES

 Microphone is a transducer which converts sound pressure variations into electrical

signals of the same frequency and phase and of amplitudes in the same proportion as in
pressure variations.

 The electrical signals in the audible range are called audio signals.(Microphone , in
short, is sometimes written as mic or mike).

 A microphone is the first 1 ink in sound recording and systems. Audio signals can be
used to cross the barrier of time (by recording) and the barrier of distance (by radio
transmission)

1.9 CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROPHONE

The quality of a microphone is determined by the following characteristics:

 Sensitivity

 Signal--to-noise ratio

 Frequency response

 Distortion

 Directivity

 Output impedance

These characteristics are defined as under:

Sensitivity:

 It is defined as output in millivolts (or in dB below 1 volt) for the sound pressure of 1 Pa
(or ID microbars at 1000 Hz.

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  As the norm al level of speech provides a sound pressure of l microbar (or 0.1 Pa), the
sensitivity based on this criteria for 1 microbar pressure (or 0.1 Pa) level would be one-
tenth the value for 1 Pa pressure. (Some Manufacturers quote the sensitivity in terms of
dBm, i.e., power output in dB below 1 milliwatt.)

Signal-to-noise Ratio:

 Some noise (called self-noise or thermal noise) is generated inside the microphone due
to resistance of the circuit, built-in transformer, etc.

 It is represented in terms of the sound pressure level (SPL.) that would give the same
output as the noise output.

 The output is measured by passing it through a weighting filter which accounts for the
reduced sensitivity of the ear at high and low audio frequencies. The acoustically
weighted output is represented i

 Distortion Besides frequency distortion (uneven frequency response) described above,

there are two types of distortions in microphones, namely, non-linear distortion, and
phase distortion.

Non-linear Distortion:

 This disorts the amplitude of the audio signal, which retilts iii production of such harmonics in
the output that are not present in the input sound.

 For quality microphones. such distortion should be less the 5%. For high-fidelity sound systems,
distortion should not be more than 1%.

Phase Distortion:

This may cause change of phase relationship between different components of a complex sound
wave.

 Phase distortion occurs when multiple microphones are used causing relative path difference
from the source of sound.

Directivity:

 The directivity of a microphone is defined with the help of a polar diagram.

 The angle for half-power points in a polar diagram represents directivity of a microphone, as
shown in Fig. 1.15.

 Maximum power is in the axial direction of the microphone t wards source of sound. When the
microphone's axis deflects away from the source of sound, power output is reduced.

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1.10 CRYSTAL MICROPHONE

Fig 1.16 Crystal Microphone

 Certain crystals such as rochelle salt and quartz possess the property of generating
small emf when subject to stress or strain.

 This effect is utilised in what is known as the crystal microphone.

 A thin finger shaped slice of crystal is secured at one end by means of a compliant
clamp, and the apex of a cone is made to bear against the other.Sound pressure waves
causes the cone to alternately, press against and bend the crystal slice and release it.

 Thus the corresponding voltages are generated across the slice.A pair of contacts is
fixed to opposite surfaces to take off the signal.

 An improvement is obtained if the single slice of crystal is replaced by two slices

cemented together.

 Then, when the pressure is exerted, one slice is compressed and other is strecthed.

 Thus equal and opposite voltages are produced which, being in series like the cells of a
car battery, give double the output.

 Any nonlinearity which may arise due to different mechanical strains between pressure
and release is also thereby compensated. The double crystal unit is termed as bimorph.

 With some of the better microphones the cone does not actuate the crystal directly but
through cantilever.

 Another type of construction is the sound cell where several crystal elements are sealed
together, this also termed as multimorph.

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  The crystal microphone is the type most widely used in lower cost installations.

 The crystal microphone is normally non-directional although a pressure-gradient crystal

microphone which gives unidirectional response pattern is also being marketed.

1.11 CARBON MICROPHONE

1.11.1 Principle

 When fine carbon granules enclosed in a ease are subjected to variations of pressure,
the resistance of the granules changes, When such a device of carbon granules is
connected in wiles with a load through a do supply.

 The current through the load will vary in accordance with pressure variations on the
carbon granules.

Fig.1.17 Carbon microphone

.11.2 Construction

 The construction of a carbon microphone is shown in Fig.1.20. Fine carbon granules are
enclosed between two metal plates.

 The upper plate called diaphragm, is attached to a movable metal plate through a metal piston
or plunger.

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  The lower metal plate is fixed and is insulated from the diaphragm. A protective cover with holes
is used to prefect the unit.

 A battery is connected between two m Metal plates. When the load is connected, current flows
through the carbon granules and the load.

 Path of the current passes from the +ve battery terminal through the fixed lower plate, the
resistance of carbon granules, movable metal plate, metal casing, rind output transformer, as
shown in Fig.

 The purpose of the output transformer is to eliminate content of the microphone.

1.11.3 Functioning:

 When sound waves strike the diaphragm, it moves to and fro.

 During compression condition, it presses the carbon granules and during rarefaction, it
loosens them, when carbon granules are pressed, the resistance decreases and hence
the current through the circuit increases.

 When carbon granules loosen, the resistance increases, decreasing the current through
the circuit. In the absence of sound, a steady current flows. Thus, sound waves
superimpose a varying current, or audio current on the steady dc current.

The net resistance of the carbon granules is given by Eq. 1.4.

where,

r - Net resistance in ohms. -

R0 - Steady resistance in ohms for no sound

δr - Variation of resistance due to sound pressure (it will have positive as well as negative value)

The development of a voltage V across a load resistance RL is illustrated in Fig. 1.21.

Fig.1.18 Equivalent circuit of carbon microphone

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 If E is the battery voltage, RL – load resistance, R0+RL= constant for constant load say R, and
steady current I0 is the sound pressure variations .When sound-pressure variations cause a
change in resistance R and δr/ - them the instantaneous current, I is given by Eq. 1.5.

 Equation (1.6), shows that the change in current, and hence the change in voltage across the
load is proportional to the change in resistance r) of the carbon granules, and hence
proportional to the pressure variations due to sound.

 When pressure increases, δr decreases and so I increases and the output voltage across the
load increases,

1.11.4 Characteristics of a Carbon Microphone

 The Sensitivity will be Very high.

 The output of a carbon microphone is about 20 dB below 1V i.e., about 100 mV).

 Signal-to-noise Ratio Poor random variation of resistance of carbon granules generates a

continuous hiss.

 Frequency Response Carbon microphones have a frequency response of 200 to 5000 Hz, and
therefore are unsuitable for high fidelity work.

 The resonance peak is at 2000 Hz and overall frequency bandwidth is usually tip to 5 kHz.

 Distortion is high. The content is rich in harmonics unless variation in resistance (δr) is a very
small percentage of steady resistance R. Distort ion is of the order of 10%. Also, carbon
granules have a tendency to stick to each other which further increases the distortion.

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  Directivity of carbon microphone is substantially omnidirectional. However, high frequency
response over 300 Hz falls beyond an angle of 400 from the front of the microphone. Output
Impedance It is about 100Ω

1.11.5 Other Features

 It is mechanically very rigid

 It is prone to moisture and heat

 It is small in dimensions

 Cost of the microphone is the lowest of all other microphones

1.11.6 Advantages

 Very rugged

 Small size

 Very cheap

 Good sensitivity

1.11.7 Disadvantages

 High distortion

 Limited frequency response

 Not suitable for high fidelity

work 1.11.8 Applications

 Due to limited frequency range, it is useful only in telephones. It is also sometimes

used in portable radio communication sets.

1.12 DYNAMIC (MOVING-COIL) MICROPHONE

1.12.1 Basics:

 The moving-coil microphone (also called dynamic microphone) uses the principle of
electromagnetic induction.

 When sound pressure variations move a coil placed in a magnetic field, there is a
change of magnetic flux passing through the coil.

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  An emf is, therefore, induced in the coil and this emf forms output of the microphone,
(Due to similarity in construction, a moving coil loudspeaker can also work as a moving-
coil microphone. The same unit is often used both as microphone and loudspeaker in
office intercom systems.)

1.12.2 Construction:

 The main components of a moving-coil microphone are a magnet, diaphragm and coil.

 These are shown in Fig. 1.19. The magnet is a permanent magnet of pot type with a central
pole piece (south pole) and the peripheral pole piece (north pole).

 This type of magnet gives a uniform magnetic field in the gap between the pole pieces.

 The diaphragm is a thin circular sheet of non-magnetic material and is of' light weight.

 It is slightly domed for extra rigidity. It is fixed to the body of the magnet with the help of springs.

 The springs provide compliance (equivalent to electrical capacitance) to the motion of a

diaphragm. The mass of the diaphragm and coil assembly provide inductive effect.

 A protective cover (a metal grill) is used to save the delicate diaphragm and coil assembly from
being mishandled.

 A silk cloth partition is used to separate the upper chamber from the lower chamber. A small
tube is used in the lower chamber to give access to the free atmosphere.

Fig.1.19 Dynamic Microphone

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 Fig.1.20 Equivalent circuit for Dynamic microphone

 The mass of the diaphragm restricts the high audio frequency output, and the stiffness
(capacitive reactance) caused by the springs' compliance, restricts the low audio
frequency output.

 The electrical equivalent circuit for a morning coil microphone is shown in Fig.1.20

1.12.3 Principle of Working:

 When sound waves strike the diaphragm, it moves and hence, the coil moves in and out in the
magnetic field.

 This motion changes the flux through the coil, which results in an emf being induced in the coil
due to electromagnetic induction.

 The value of this emf depends on the rate of change of flux and hence on the motion of the coil.
The displacement of the coil depends on the pressure of sound waves on the diaphragm. Thus,
it is a pressure microphone,

 The induced voltage, e, across the coil of the microphone is given by Eq. 1.7.

 If B is the flux, density in tesla (or Weber/m2) 1, the length of the coil in metres, v, the velocity of
the diaphragm (and hence coil) in m/s then.

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  Thus, the induced ernf is directly proportional to velocity which, in turn, is proportional to
frequency of sound pressure variations.

1.12.4 Advantages

 Good frequency response

 Bidirectional behavior

 Good transient response

 It does not need any external bias for its working

1.12.5 Disadvantages

 It is a delicate and expensive microphone

 It can be easily damaged due to slight mishandling

 Its sensitivity is low

1.12.8 Applications

 Dramas

 Music

 Radio broadcast

 Public address system

1.13 WIRELESS MICROPHONE

 The ultimate in mobility is afforded by the wireless (radio microphone) because with this
there is no connecting cable and the user is free to move around over distance of
several hundred meters.

 There are two basic types, one where the radio transmitter is contained within the casing
of the actual microphone, and the other which takes the form of a slim pocket unit about
the size of a wallet into which an ordinary microphone can be plugged.

 The integral microphone/transmitter unit, Fig. 1.21 is rather larger than a normal gun
microphone as batteries must be accommodated as well as the transducer and
transmitter.

 In order to obtain sufficient power for the transmitter, the batteries are at least 9V, but the
size limits the capacity.

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 The average life is three to five hours, but rechargeable batteries are often fitted to make
the instrument more economic to run.

 With the separate pocket transmitter a lavalier or tie-clip microphone can be used to give
complete freedom to the user.

 The aerial takes the rum] of a short flexible lead which trails from the microphone. Usual
length is a quainter wavelength at the permitted frequencies of the carrier wave.

 There are fifteen frequencies allocated for wireless microphones and all units work on
any one of these interference is no problem because or the short range, it being unlikely
that another user will be operating on the same frequency within about half a kilometer.

 The frequencies are in four groups: firstly group with a wide bandwidth, 174.1, 174.5,
174.8 and 175.0 MHz.

 The second group is of narrow bandwidth, the frequencies being 174.6. 174.675.
174.77, 174.885, and 175.020 MHz.

 The third group is also or narrows bandwidth, being reserved for teaching deaf children
in schools: these are 173.4, 173.465, 173.545 and 173.64 MHz.

 In addition, in certain circumstances, the frequencies of 174.6 and 174.95 MHz are
allocated for communication on work sites. Ali ordinary E-M receiver will not pick up
wireless microphone transmissions.

Fig. 1.21 (a) VHF Wireless Microphone

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  The narrow bandwidth specification is for a deviation of +20 kHz and is suitable for most
speech applications.

 The wide bandwidth allocations Aim- a deviation of +75 kHz and give the better quality
reproduction required by stage and cabaret artists.

 The transmitter output power must not exceed 50 mW in the case of narrow band
transmitters and 10 mW with the wide band units.

 Certain specifications also apply to the receiver. Signal to noise ratio must be better than
30 dB and selectivity such that a signal with a deviation of + 10 kHz, 70 kHz away from
the wanted signal in the case of narrow bard receiver, and with a deviation of +2.5 kHz,
at 200 kHz away, from the wanted signal in the case of wide band receiver will not
produce an increase of noise plus unwanted signal of more than 3 dB in the output.

 An interfering signal of 3mV should not give a signal in the output greater than 10 dB
above noise level in the case of wideband receiver and 20 dB above with that of the
narrow hand grit.

 It is possible for any receiver to generate and radiate a signal from the local oscillator
which is part of the superheterodyne circuit universally used. The specification stipulates
that cm) such signal radiated from the receiver’s aerial should not exceed 2,5 µW at any
frequency.

29-Department of ECE, RGCET

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