Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

Considering the expense of many lavalier microphones, this is a good starter for most users. It's acceptable for school projects and for production hobbyists.

However there are some important points to be aware of. First, this is a mono microphone, so it records to only one audio channel. To avoid this problem, get an 1/8" Stereo Male to 1/8" Mono Female Adapter (Radio Shack #274-374). This will send the signal to both channels of a stereo digital recorder. Second, the input signal is weak, so the input volume on the recorder may need to be increased. The microphone will need to be placed as close to the user as possible. Third, to minimize wind noise, add a foam wind screen (Radio Shack #33-4006). Finally, check the battery and replace with a new one if needed. These tips should improve the audio quality for most users.

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

AmateurLogic.TV has used three of these mics for 7 years. They still sound great. Much better frequency response than you would expect from such a cheap mic. Low noise too with a good battery. The only problems we have had is when the battery clips get dirty they will make noise if you bump them. Clean the clips and you are back to normal.
I'm a professional broadcast engineer with years of experience. I might not use these on a TV news set, but for podcasting or anywhere the product is recorded, they are amazing for the price.

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

Purchased to connect to my camcorder as I have a new YouTube channel. What a disappointment! The quality of sound isn't that great and there is a "fluttering" with the audio. In the hearing aid business we used to call it "motor-boating" effect. Am told to send to manufacturer, AS IF I HAVE THE TIME. I NEED IT NOW!

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

this microphone is used for recording sermons and lectures.for some strange reason the clip got misplaced,which was very easy because it was easy to fall off the mike:it would be nice if there is a replacement clip available from radio shack.

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

They're not great mics, but no one else seems to make a better option. The microphone tends to pull away from the cable after long use, the ground wire sheathing frays, and you either have to cut off the end of the cable and reattach the mic or go buy a new mic. It would also be great if there was an option for a BNC instead of 3.5 mm connection. Using adapters is OK, but any adapter you use just adds more noise. Also, the battery life is relatively short, and the batteries aren't cheap.

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

Terrible white noise / background noise / static... can barely hear the voice it's recording. Very poor quality, coming from a professional. Not worth the money at all. Bought today, Will be returning tomorrow.

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

The newer style of this microphone (same part number but with a rounded battery holder/on off switch) has corrected the on/off confusion. Now if ON is showing, the microphone is ON. Sound quality if great and so is the battery life. Great buy.

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

Radio Shack should listen to the other complaints about the off/on switch being backwards because they are right! it is backwards, you must turn off to turn on and turn on to turn off. This is counter intuitive and by habit people will turn the switch to off when finished and drain their battery. I find it in-excusable to continue producing a defective device when you have been told by several peoples reviews that the switch is wrong. Will Radio Shack reinburse us for the wasted batteries and frustration of trying to figure this thing out? I think not. Wake up Radio Shack!

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

I use this mic with a Kodak Zi8, Olympus WS-500m, and with my PC to make training videos. It does a great job and sounds good. I have a number of much more expensive lav mics, studio grade mics, and wireless mics, and this one does the job just fine. The only issue is that the on/off switch is mislabeled. This is probably the reason for the reviews that the battery doesn't last. The battery is good for a few hundred hours of work, so if you put the switch in the 'off' position, it will kill the battery in a week. It took me a few batteries to figure this out.

Comments about RadioShack Hands-Free Tie-Clip Omnidirectional Electret:

This is an OK lav mic. Nothing special, seems to work ok. I haven't used it much, so I dunno how long the battery lasts.

I will start by saying, the on/off switch is backwards. When you switch the mic to expose the ON lettering, it is Off. When you expose the Off Lettering, it is on. Most things would set to what the lettering shows. So if I set the switch to show the OFF text, it would be off.

The Mono is not a plus, but I won't give it a minus for that either, as you can fix it with an additional adapter.

As for as the sound, its ok. To be honest, it doesn't sound too much difference from my on board mic. If I dare say, it picks up TOO well. I can hear the surroundings almost as well as I can without the mic at all. Quality seems about the same as my onboard, but I haven't listened to it through my studio headphones yet.

All in all, its a decent cheap lav. For what it is, it might be a bit over priced to me, but still. If you where doing a local interview, or a youtube show, this should be fine. Just have to make sure things are quite in the area, or it will pick it up just like your onboard. Someone more serious might better from a cheap shotgun mic instead.