Bringing In a Telephone Call w/ RCA Cables

[thatgirljonnie]

A while ago in episode 148 Cliff talked about how he recorded a telephone call from Stephanie's iphone using his mixer.

I was trying to grasp the concept of how to do just that but I'm not sure what to do after I insert the 1/4" adapter into my cellular. I also need to know how is the person on the phone is going to hear me...is it similar to the "mix minus" concept? I thought I remembered Cliff saying something about a headphones microphone. (maybe I need to re-listen to that episode.)

I could use a little help as the concept for my podcast depends on phone/skype interviews and so far it looks like I'll be relying on Talkshoe or a similar service to achieve phone interviews.

It might be helpful to know that I have a 10 channel mixer and I'm recording to my computer (Adobe Audition). Also I'm not using an iphone, I'm using a Palm Centro.

Thanks in Advance!

[the Ramen Noodle]

I had discovered this little trick late last year. First, you have to have the right cable. I used this iPod AV cable on my BlackBerry Curve. The theory is that it's the same thing as a stereo headset with mic that you would normally plug into your phone for wired hands-free talking.

Which mixer do you have? I have a Behinger 1204. To connect my phone, I plug red and white into my mixer's stereo Aux Receive jacks, and yellow into the Aux Send. You could also plug red and white into a channel on your mixer.

Your phone may vary with what channel comes through what color, but it's mostly likely that the yellow is the "mic" channel.

After that, just setup the mix-minus and you're good to go. Test your sending levels first. I found that my mixer sent extremely loud audio for my BlackBerry, so I'm a notch or two above silent.

[thatgirljonnie]

First of all, THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR REPLY^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Okay, so I re-listened to the episode again. Cliff was using a male to male 1/8'' stereo cable.
Others were using the RCA cables.

I am using a Behringer mxb 1002 mixer
(http://www.major-musik.ru/uploads/posts/2008-09/1222361192_mxb-1002-large.jpg)
I don't think my mixer will accommodate  the set-up that you use Ramon Noodle because I don't have as many inputs to work with as you.
 Tell me if I have this straight: the aux receive jacks are the inputs on channel 5/6 that are at the very top of your board?
http://www.copystars.com/images_products/behringer_eurorack_ub1204fx_pro_s16439.jpg

Maybe I should try using the male to male stereo cable straight from my phone to my computer and record the call using Audition and see how that works.

[the Ramen Noodle]

The problem with a plan male-to-male cable is that your caller will hear only what the phone's mic can hear and that not even very well. This means the won't hear your cohost as well, or sound effects, or music, or anything that goes through your mixer. That's why I experimented and discovered this simple cable hack.

For your mixer, I suggest plugging red and white into your 5/6, and plug yellow into FX Send (which will give them audio after your faders, so they hear things like you do). Then turn the FX knob for 5/6 all the way down so the caller won't hear themselves.

[thatgirljonnie]

Thanks so much for your suggestions!

I can't wait to try this!  


UPDATE 07.01.10 - I tried this my with my cellular (Palm Centro) and I just couldn't send the audio from my phone through my board. Go figure!

Maybe its just my cellphone...maybe its a "driver" error.

Either way, thanks for your help Ramon Noodle!


UPDATE!!!!!!!! - 07.06.10
I got it work!

I'm such a dummy. I'm too embarrassed to explain what I was doing wrong. Anyway, using the RCA cables as prescribed DOES work.

Thanks for your help!

I'm off to schedule a phone interview!

[Cliff Ravenscraft]

Sorry, been away from the forums for the holiday..  So awesome to see the community in action.

[GeekGirl]

I had discovered this little trick late last year. First, you have to have the right cable. I used this iPod AV cable on my BlackBerry Curve. The theory is that it's the same thing as a stereo headset with mic that you would normally plug into your phone for wired hands-free talking.

I looked at this cable on Amazon and it says it's not for iPhones [ i.e., "Does not support newer-generation MP3 players, including Zune, iPod classic 6G, iPod nano 3G, iPod touch, or iPhone." ] What cable are people using for a 3G iPhone to do this? 

Thanks,
-Karin

[thatgirljonnie]

I'm not sure what folks are using with their 3G iphone because I don't have one

BUT

I think you could probably use these cables or a standard RCA cable if you are using this for your mixer to get audio only.

I came to this conclusion because I used a set of cables that were intended for an older model ipod with a newer (Samsung) touch screen phone and I got audio from my phone to come through my mixer with no problem.

In my earlier post I was using some old RCA cables that I think came from a toy videio player with my Palm Centro Smart Phone with no problem.

On Amazon.com I think most of the folks that said these cables didn't work with ipod touch were talking to the video output. I don't recall seeing a review that complained about the audio not working.

If you have a spare set of RCA cables laying around maybe you should try it and see what happens. Or maybe buy a set from walmart for about $4.

Hope that helps.

[the Ramen Noodle]

What the description says about working with newer models is relevant only to the video aspect of the cable. But that's now how we're using it.

What makes this work is that most modern phones support stereo handphones through the same port that allows a wired hands-free headset. The mic portion of this plug can only work if you connect a cable with four connection points (a standard stereo line has three: left, right, and ground). We're not plugging in this cable and hoping for audio and video, we want just incoming and outgoing audio, which it will do for most newer phones.