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Why does my Rode Videomic ONLY work on my camera?

I have a Rode Videomic (non pro). When I plug it into my 7D MkII it works perfectly fine but if I plug it into my PC, my mix board or my Atmos Ninja the volume is unusably low.

 

I'm trying to set up a rig with the Ninja and the Rode but even after jacking the Ninja's audio settings to the max I still only get very faint sound from the mic. I had assumed that the mic had a pre-amp built in since it's powered but maybe not?

 

Even if that's the case why would ONLY my camera have a good enough pre-amp to be able to use it?

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3 hours ago, DCWalt said:

I have a Rode Videomic (non pro). When I plug it into my 7D MkII it works perfectly fine but if I plug it into my PC, my mix board or my Atmos Ninja the volume is unusably low.

 

I'm trying to set up a rig with the Ninja and the Rode but even after jacking the Ninja's audio settings to the max I still only get very faint sound from the mic. I had assumed that the mic had a pre-amp built in since it's powered but maybe not?

 

Even if that's the case why would ONLY my camera have a good enough pre-amp to be able to use it?

Its possible that its due to the connector on the rode video mic being different from your computer. Im a little foggy but I believe TRRS is generally the standard for microphones and the plugin on your computer would be TRS or vise versa again foggy.

Why do you always die right after I fix you?

 

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11 minutes ago, RainColt said:

Its possible that its due to the connector on the rode video mic being different from your computer. Im a little foggy but I believe TRRS is generally the standard for microphones and the plugin on your computer would be TRS or vise versa again foggy.

That's a problem I've literally never had with any of the microphones I've used and I've used a lot.

 

Why would the microphone jack on my camera be wired differently from every other device?

Even if it where wouldn't that mean I would get NO signal on other devices instead of a low signal?

Wouldn't that also mean other microphones that work with my other devices wouldn't work on my camera?

 

It's just a standard 3.5mm mic jack. It should work on anything that has an audio input.

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5 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

That's a problem I've literally never had with any of the microphones I've used and I've used a lot.

 

Why would the microphone jack on my camera be wired differently from every other device?

Even if it where wouldn't that mean I would get NO signal on other devices instead of a low signal?

Wouldn't that also mean other microphones that work with my other devices wouldn't work on my camera?

 

It's just a standard 3.5mm mic jack. It should work on anything that has an audio input.

Yeah, I'm wrong on this one, it's mobile devices that use the trrs plug

Why do you always die right after I fix you?

 

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Have you tried plugging it into the camera without having it actually attached?  My guess is it needs that connection for some reason, whether it's as simple as it detecting that it should turn on, or something more. 

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1 hour ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Have you tried plugging it into the camera without having it actually attached?  My guess is it needs that connection for some reason, whether it's as simple as it detecting that it should turn on, or something more. 

It's just a cold shoe on the shock mount. There's no wire running from it to the actual mic. You turn it on manually via a switch on the back. nothing needs detected and yes it works without attaching it.

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11 hours ago, DCWalt said:

I have a Rode Videomic (non pro). When I plug it into my 7D MkII it works perfectly fine but if I plug it into my PC, my mix board or my Atmos Ninja the volume is unusably low.

 

I'm trying to set up a rig with the Ninja and the Rode but even after jacking the Ninja's audio settings to the max I still only get very faint sound from the mic. I had assumed that the mic had a pre-amp built in since it's powered but maybe not?

 

Even if that's the case why would ONLY my camera have a good enough pre-amp to be able to use it?

Have you tried switching the PAD levels using the switch within the battery compartment?

It could be that the battery is there only to provide power to the mic and that the mic doesn't have a preamp inside... I don't have a RodeVideoMic anymore so can't test it on a computer.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.  And with strange aeons even death may die. - The Call of Cthulhu

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In my experience the Videomic Pro is much much better than the non pro. It has a +20db and sound better :)

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. 
It matters that you don't just give up.”

-Stephen Hawking

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6 hours ago, Mihle said:

In my experience the Videomic Pro is much much better than the non pro. It has a +20db and sound better :)

not particularly helpful considering I don't have the pro or the money to buy it.

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8 hours ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Have you tried switching the PAD levels using the switch within the battery compartment?

It could be that the battery is there only to provide power to the mic and that the mic doesn't have a preamp inside... I don't have a RodeVideoMic anymore so can't test it on a computer.

these are the settings:

 

0db

-10db

-20db

 

It's set to 0 right now. so i guess you're right about it not having a pre-amp but still... why is my camera the only thing on the planet that will boost it to a usable level? 

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6 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

these are the settings:

 

0db

-10db

-20db

 

It's set to 0 right now. so i guess you're right about it not having a pre-amp but still... why is my camera the only thing on the planet that will boost it to a usable level? 

Preamps inside the camera?  If you want to connect it to a computer you probably need an external amp box.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.  And with strange aeons even death may die. - The Call of Cthulhu

A university is not a "safe space". If you need a safe space, leave, go home, hug your teddy & suck your thumb until ready for university.  - Richard Dawkins

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1 hour ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Preamps inside the camera?  If you want to connect it to a computer you probably need an external amp box.

It just seems weird to me considering the mic is powered. This is a problem I would expect from a mic that needs phantom power. Not a powered consumer grade mic.

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14 minutes ago, DCWalt said:

It just seems weird to me considering the mic is powered. This is a problem I would expect from a mic that needs phantom power. Not a powered consumer grade mic.

Just because it’s powers does not mean it is able to send a strong enough signal.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.  And with strange aeons even death may die. - The Call of Cthulhu

A university is not a "safe space". If you need a safe space, leave, go home, hug your teddy & suck your thumb until ready for university.  - Richard Dawkins

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3 hours ago, Officer Beepsky said:

You might need a TRS to TRRS adapter then.

If you had read this thread you would have realized some one already brought that up and that cameras, computers and mix boards don't have TRRS jacks and thus nether do microphones designed to work with them. TRRS jacks are pretty much only on phones so they can add a microphone connection withing a standard headphone jack. The road video mic is in no way designed to work with a phone so why would it have a TRRS connector? And if it did I wouldn't be getting any sound from it at all, not low sound.

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https://www.amazon.com/Rode-VideoMic-Directional-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B00CAE8PM4

 

assuming this is the one you have since you mentioned it's the non pro, and powered by a 9v battery, this is the only one i could find.

 

" Compact TRRS cardioid microphone designed for iOS devices and smartphones "

 

so apologies, got it backwards, TRRS to TRS.

 

If it has two rings on the plug, it's TRRS. (Tip, Ring, Ring, Sleeve)

 

Motherboards use TRS, (Tip, Ring, Sleeve)

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5 hours ago, Officer Beepsky said:

https://www.amazon.com/Rode-VideoMic-Directional-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B00CAE8PM4

 

assuming this is the one you have since you mentioned it's the non pro, and powered by a 9v battery, this is the only one i could find.

 

" Compact TRRS cardioid microphone designed for iOS devices and smartphones "

 

so apologies, got it backwards, TRRS to TRS.

 

If it has two rings on the plug, it's TRRS. (Tip, Ring, Ring, Sleeve)

 

Motherboards use TRS, (Tip, Ring, Sleeve)

That's fascinating that it actually does say that but it's incorrect. all you have to do is scroll down and look at the pictures or go to Rode's website. it's clearly designed for use with SLRs not phones. if you realized how big the thing is you would think it's ridiculous to use it with a phone as well. but yes, that is my mic.

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17 hours ago, DCWalt said:

That's fascinating that it actually does say that but it's incorrect. all you have to do is scroll down and look at the pictures or go to Rode's website. it's clearly designed for use with SLRs not phones. if you realized how big the thing is you would think it's ridiculous to use it with a phone as well. but yes, that is my mic.

okay, so it has a TRRS plug and you need a TRRS to TRS adapter to use it with your computer.

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2 hours ago, Officer Beepsky said:

okay, so it has a TRRS plug and you need a TRRS to TRS adapter to use it with your computer.

For the last time, that is NOT a TRRS jack. You are completely unhelpful. Please stop

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

so does it have the gain settings if yes and there is a + (plus) gain setting then try switching to that or if you have windows 10 then go to microphone settings and press get started unf=der the title microphone in bold with these words: set up your mic for speech recognition the follow those steps thats what I did with my very cheap mic:  shenggu sg-108

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  • 1 year later...

@DCWalt Hey, sorry to bug you, but did you ever figure out a solve for this? I'm in the same boat and can't find much online. 

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Its a soft mic level and your other devices need something closer to line level.  The battery is only to provide phantom power and not amplifi the mic.

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