Hi there,

I've been working on a little project and have been using electret microphones and microswitches. It's easy to find these from online retailers.

However I've recently discovered there are much smaller components and was trying to identify what they're called so I could source some for myself.

For example, I took apart a pair of Samsung headphones with an inline switch - it has a small mic and some small (piezo?) buttons - see the attached photos below.

Is anyone able to tell me what these type of components are called and where I might get some?

Thanks in advance

A

 

I don't think those buttons are piezos. They look like the normal keypad dome tactile type, albeit small-scale.

 

I don't think those buttons are piezos. They look like the normal keypad dome tactile type, albeit small-scale.

Great, thanks for that - gives me a lead!

Now to track down the mic...

 

The round gold thing is the mic, but it might be a custom part whipped up for (or by) Sanyo. It doesn't look like a typical MEMS mic. If you search Digi-Key for electret microphones, there are some *very* small ones.

ak

 

The round gold thing is the mic, but it might be a custom part whipped up for (or by) Sanyo. It doesn't look like a typical MEMS mic. If you search Digi-Key for electret microphones, there are some *very* small ones.

ak

Great, thanks for the info - interesting site!

I managed to find some similar ones on Aliexpress too:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Con...20-42c3-acc6-3a5022b571d4&transAbTest=ae803_5

 

The very cheeeep Chinese microphones have no manufacture's name (no-name-brand) and absolutely no spec's except for the size and weight of the box they are shipped in. I would never buy them.

 

The very cheeeep Chinese microphones have no manufacture's name (no-name-brand) and absolutely no spec's except for the size and weight of the box they are shipped in. I would never buy them.

Ah, ok I see.

Actually that raises another point for me - what is a good brand of electret mic? How do I know who is a reliable manufacturer and who isn't? Same for other components.

Cheers

 

Hello,

A well kown brand for electret microphones is Panasonic.
In this article the brand is mentioned on the bottom:
http://sound.whsites.net/project93.htm

Bertus

 

Hello,

A well kown brand for electret microphones is Panasonic.
In this article the brand is mentioned on the bottom:
http://sound.whsites.net/project93.htm

Bertus

Great, thanks for the header!

 

I buy electronic parts from Digikey and Newark who do not sell cheeeep Chinese junk. They have hundreds of excellent electret mics in many sizes.

I used the electret mic from my daughter's very old first cell phone in my FM transmitter and it works great. I have an old electret mic from a child's toy in my sound level indicator.