DIY Harp Mic.

Recently I started some sort of cleaning in my basement.
I have collected too many electronic devices which are obsolete. Telephones, CD players etc.
And TONS of power supplies!
Much more then the devices. Because when some device gets broken and I just put it into recycling bin. But I ALWAYS keep the power supply having the idea it might be re-used with any other device or somehow… That never had happened.
Until now.
Now I’ve find some parts of the power supplies can be re-used. The coils of wire inside the transformers can be very good for the magnetic pickups.
But that’s another story.
As for now, I want to share my another invention. DIY Harp Mic.
I often see the harp players with those “green, blue etc. bullets”.
They (bullets microphones of course) look really antique. Despite the fact it’s just a re-build.
So I started thinking about making something similar but from the stuff which collects the dust in my basement.

Long story short.
When I was about to throw away the old wire telephone set I just dismantle the hand set.
And I’ve found the nice small round earpiece inside. Wait this detail is for listening and not for talking, right?
Never mind, I tried it and it worked as a microphone as well! No wonder for me because as a mic so the earphone have similar construction: wire coil, magnet and membrane. The difference lies mostly in the direction of the use.
Note that I’m not talking about quality of the sound regarding this exercise.

So I used:
– plastic prescription pills bottle as a body;
– telephone earpiece element;
– 1/4″ jack.

I was about to add the potentiometer for the volume control.
( you can see it in the image.
But this pills bottle is way to small for that.
It’s actually quite comfortable in the hand along with the harp.
But only without the volume button.

As a result I’ve got a very compact DIY Harp Mic which you can carry in your pocket without any complication.
Here it is: