Hi all,

I took apart an old USB headset of mine because the audio stopped working, but the mic was still working. I cut the mic out. It had two wires connecting it to the little circuit board, labeled M+ and M-.
What I want to do is solder this mic to an 3-pin AUX cable I have laying around so that I can plug it in to the AUX IN port of my laptop. I can't find any good information online as to how I should wire it. Should M+ be connected to the tip of the AUX, and M- connected to the base? Or maybe M- should be connected to the sleeve since there is no absolute ground?
Also, do I need some additional circuitry for Windows to recognize my DYI peripheral as a microphone? Am I oversimplifying this?

Thanks for any answers or help

 

These mics are usually electret types.
The mic will not work on the AUX socket. You need to use the Mic socket.
Have a look at..
https://www.hobby-hour.com/electronics/computer_microphone.php
If you need to use the AUX input for some reason, a suitable preamplifier will be needed. One that supplies the DC bias to the electret mic.

 

Ahhh that makes a lot of sense. I knew I was forgetting about something important (the bias in this case). I have some opamps laying around so I'll try that. Thank you for your insight, I'll also be reading your article

 

Ignore what I said before, I understand better after reading the article. I was using a MIC (not AUX as I previously stated) socket but I never tried wiring the tip and ring of the connector together. That's the issue. Thanks again for the help

 

Pleasure