Mauritz Jameson  <mjames2393@gmail.com> wrote:

>The HW audio codec is realtek rt5631.

Having some spare time on my hands, I checked on the Realtek websites
(both US and Taiwan) and one needs to register as a developer
to gain access to their specs.  (Why? Almost nobody else does this.)

In any case, you can almost certainly set the gain in the mic
signal path, to interface with most plausible microphones; the only
question is whether the noise (either internal to the Codec chip,
or picked up through the unshielded header and its wires) is
so large as to rule out less-sensitive microphones.

I also idly looked at the Sony website and as alluded to upstream,
electret microphones seems to be about 20 dB more sensitive than
dynamic mics.  (Of course this is because they contain an amplifier.)

The thing is, a dynamic microphone is more rugged, requires no power,
and were I fiddling with a setup over the course of days or weeks, I 
would prefer a more physically stable microphone.


Steve

The HW audio codec is realtek rt5631.

I updated my post here:

http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/233815/looking-for-a-compatible-microphone-need-advice

and included a specification of the electrical circuits including another 4-PIN header (next to the 10-pin header) which can supply power.

Please have a look :-)

Thank you.

Les Cargill  <lcargill99@comcast.com> wrote:

>There are small electret elements that can be battery powered that would 
>be good for this. Google "Electret Condenser Microphone
>Element" - the few I found had monstrous URLs.

>You can use a condenser mic with a case and an XLR connector but
>you'll nic a "microphone amplifier" or "mic preamp"* with phantom
>power and it gets more complicated fast, but you'll have better
>control over position.

In addition to battery-powered electrets and phantom-powered condensers, 
there are electrets powered from the 3.5 mm phone jack (5 volts).

Whether the OP's header includes this power is unknown, given
as there is no spec in evidence.

Steve

Mauritz Jameson wrote:
> I have bought a HIO EMB 1200 HW development board which runs Yocto Linux. I plan to do some audio processing on this board. For that reason, I also had to add the HIO 1240 IO module which provides the ability to hook up a microphone and a speaker via a 10-pin header.
>
> As far as I can tell, the header has the following layout:
>
> PIN 10: MIC IN
> PIN 8: MIC GND
> PIN 7: SPK GND
> PIN 8: SPK (RIGHT)
> PIN 5: SPK (LEFT)
>
> What would the easiest/fastest way be to get a microphone and a speaker to work with this board?
>

What I would want is a 5X2 dual-row header ( female ) on one end and a 
terminal strip on the other.

The 5X2 looks like:
http://www.amazon.com/2-54mm-Pitch-2x5Pin-Ribbon-12-inch/dp/B00NQ8BFF2
You'll need to verify the pitch of the pins. Im guessing from
your photo.

The terminal strip may look like this:

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/ter-104/4-position-pluggable-terminal-strip-and-header/1.html

That's not exactly a complete solution, although you can strip and 
solder the ribbon, it's not ideal for it. And you'll need more 
conductors unless you want to buss the grounds ( not recommended ).

Obviously, the speaker ground is common.

If you use ribbons like that grey flat one, buy two or three of them 
while you learn how to work with the insulation.

The headphone out @ 1W will drive a powered speaker or receiver and
speakers well.

There are small electret elements that can be battery powered that would 
be good for this. Google "Electret Condenser Microphone
Element" - the few I found had monstrous URLs.

You can use a condenser mic with a case and an XLR connector but
you'll nic a "microphone amplifier" or "mic preamp"* with phantom
power and it gets more complicated fast, but you'll have better
control over position.

*a very small mixer will also work:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer/XENYX-802-Mixer-1275776902518.gc

> Is there some "plug'n'play" kit out there which I can just buy and hook up?
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Pictures here ---> http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/233815/looking-for-a-compatible-microphone-need-advice
>

-- 
Les Cargill

<makolber@yahoo.com> wrote:

>It seems they expect a mic similar to a hobby mic that you would plug
>into any PC.
>That is a small electret type.
>A low z pro SM58 will probably not work well connected directly to that with 
>A preamp or at least a matching transformer.

Interesting, thanks.  

I know that a typical electret creates more signal than a typical
dynamic microphone, but had not known this was really factored into the
gain of a microphone input, to where a dynamic mike would not be
suitable.

So scratch the suggestion of an SM58.

Steve

It seems they expect a mic similar to a hobby mic that you would plug into any PC.
That is a small electret type.
A low z pro SM58 will probably not work well connected directly to that with 
A preamp or at least a matching transformer.
M

Steve Pope <spope33@speedymail.org> wrote:

>There doesn't seem to be any documentation for this board on 
>hioproject.org .  If you can identify which audio CODEC they
>are using, perhaps that is documented.
>
>Most of the time, a microphone input not otherwise specified
>expects a dynamic microphone (as opposed to a crystal microphone
>or a condensor microphone, although electret condensors have
>interfaces similar to that of a dynamic microphone).  
>
>For the speaker outputs, it's unclear whether the unit expects
>to drive a powered speaker, or a plain un-powered speaker.
>In either case it should be able to drive earbuds.

There is a little more information on 
http://hioproject.org/hio-basic-io-module/

The speaker outputs are stated to drive one watt.  There are
also line in and headphone out connections.

Since one watt isn't a lot of power you may be best off connecting
the headphone output to powered speakers (JBL, etc.)

Any dynamic or electret-condensor microphone should work.  Most
of the time it is worth paying for a reasonably good microphone
(e.g. Shure SM58, etc.)

Good luck.

Steve

Mauritz Jameson  <mjames2393@gmail.com> wrote:

>> Have you googled on something like "header pin test leads"?

>Yes. I've googled for that as well, but I am not looking for guidance on
>wire-selection. I am looking for guidance regarding microphone+speaker
>selection.

There doesn't seem to be any documentation for this board on 
hioproject.org .  If you can identify which audio CODEC they
are using, perhaps that is documented.

Most of the time, a microphone input not otherwise specified
expects a dynamic microphone (as opposed to a crystal microphone
or a condensor microphone, although electret condensors have
interfaces similar to that of a dynamic microphone).  

For the speaker outputs, it's unclear whether the unit expects
to drive a powered speaker, or a plain un-powered speaker.
In either case it should be able to drive earbuds.

I think a bit of trial and error will tell you most of what
you need to know.

Steve