Shure WH20XLR to RTS 5 pin XLR

[hosko]

I'm trying to use a Shure WH20XLR as a microphone using an RTS KP-32. I'm planning on using a female 3 pin XLR to male 5pin XLR, however I've seemed to have mucked up the pin connections. On a KP-32 the headset connector is:

Pin 1: Mic low;
Pin 2: Mic high;
Pin 3: Common;
Pin 4: Head-phone left high;
Pin 5: Head-phone right high

With a microphone XLR being:

Pin 1: Ground
Pin 2: Hot
Pin 3: Cold

So I have connected:

3 Pin XLR - 5 Pin XLR
Pin 1 - Pin 1
Pin 2 - Pin 2

However that didn't work. Any ideas?

 

[Chris15]

That RTS pinout seems wrong... Normally 5 pin XLR for headsets would be wired:
1 Mic GND
2 Mic Hot
3 Ears Common
4 Ear Left
5 Ear Right

But we all know there are many, many standards one may choose from.

So based on the pinout you've listed;
XLR3- XLR5
1 - 3
2 - 2
3 - 1

For the mic side of things...

 

[hosko]

That RTS pinout seems wrong... Normally 5 pin XLR for headsets would be wired:
1 Mic GND
2 Mic Hot
3 Ears Common
4 Ear Left
5 Ear Right

But we all know there are many, many standards one may choose from.

So based on the pinout you've listed;
XLR3- XLR5
1 - 3
2 - 2
3 - 1

For the mic side of things...

But if I only will be using a mic shouldn't pin 3 on the RTS have nothing as its the ground for a headphone?

 

[Chris15]

It's Common - not Headphone Common, so it's ground for both ears and mic...

 

[hosko]

Now I'm confused because on here someone has listed the 5 Pin Telex as:

Pin 1: Microphone Common
Pin 2: Microphone "Hot"
Pin 3: Headphone Common
Pin 4: Left Headphone "Hot"
Pin 5: Right Headphone "Hot"

which meant my original wiring should have worked

 

[Chris15]

Have a look at the manual for the WH20 here [pdf] http://cdn.shure.com/user_guide/upload/1878/us_pro_wh20_en_ug.pdf
The wiring diagram is on page 9.

As you see, with this being a balanced microphone, the diaphragm is connected between pins 2 and 3 only, there is no connection to pin 1. So when you originally connected pins 1 and 2 straight through, you only had half the diaphragm connected and so no circuit to pass the audio...

If you need to connect the mic to an unbalanced input, you'll need to connect mic cold to mic common...

 

[hosko]

As you see, with this being a balanced microphone, the diaphragm is connected between pins 2 and 3 only, there is no connection to pin 1. So when you originally connected pins 1 and 2 straight through, you only had half the diaphragm connected and so no circuit to pass the audio...

If you need to connect the mic to an unbalanced input, you'll need to connect mic cold to mic common...

Chris you are a deadset legend.

3 Pin XLR - 5 Pin XLR
Pin 3 - Pin 1
Pin 2 - Pin 2
Pin 1 - Shield Pin?

 

[Chris15]

Where to connect XLR3 #1 depends on what the actual pinout on the RTS is...
If it is actually common, connect to pin 3
If not, connect to pin 1 with XLR3 #3. This will work for both the pinouts that have been discussed...