Fancy Feast® Crystal Microphone -- from a can of cat food!

[raindogred]

Darn it - Looks like I won't be able to make one. I only have Cocatiels as pets?? Know anything I can make outta old seed boxes?

[clydesight]

@raindogred Oh, dear... well, you might get some small canned tuna or chicken (human food and try that (both the food and the can). Or, maybe a Pringles can? Apparently, people are using them for speakers!

[twitchster77]

I love your kitty! lol reminds me of a big boy I had growing up.

[clydesight]

@twitchster77 Thanks for your kind comment!

[funnyman540]

i made one and its awesome thanks a lot and ill reply to your vid with a response asap in the mean time read this comment :D

[clydesight]

@funnyman540

Thanks, let me know when you post your video, I'd like to see what you develop!

[andrewenson]

YOUR CAT IS SO CUTE! AND FRIGGIN HUGE!

[clydesight]

@andrewenson

Thanks, Eddie is a big cat. He could probably play football!

[watercharmer13]

That is so cool.How did you think of that?

[clydesight]

Thanks! I bought a "two pack" of crystal mike elements from E-Bay. I used one in an old Webcor tape recorder to replace the one that was in there and had fried (it turned to ashes) and I had this one left over. Then I was feeding the cat and thought, hmmm, that can looks like it might be just the right size for a microphone. So, it's all my cats fault.

[coolbluelights]

Wow eddie is a biiiiig boy! :D he must weigh about 15 pounds^^ that microphone is really cool and vintage sounding!

[clydesight]

Thanks! You guessed right, Eddie is 15 pounds, so I guess we wouldn't call him exactly "portable". He likes his food, he likes his sister's food, he likes MY food. Hmmmm.... I think I see a pattern emerging here.... must check that out in more detail.

[CassetteMaster]

MEOW!!! MEOW!!! Kitty and the Cat! That was a really nice project you did, it looks really cool! I've got some Fancy Feasts at home, but rarely does my mom use them for the cat, we normally feed Wampus III dry brown "X" shaped food. Now would a piezo one work on this project good? Cause I have some piezo types like CoolDudeClem used. Did you crystal mic have a metal diaphragm?

[clydesight]

I don't know. I haven't got any piezo types of mics. The crytal mics do have metal diaphragms.

[CoolDudeClem]

Pretty neat, it almost puts my cardboard one I made to shame. I didn't know crystal elements were still available. Gertrude burping at the end as funny.

[Doinkblink]

I hear a good crystal mic is great for recording acoustic guitar. But high impedence can be suseptical to hum, and many modern PA amps use LOW Z. Guitar amps and mag phono are HIGH Z like the old RtR recorders.

[clydesight]

Thanks for the info! I've tested this crystal element (I got two of them) with a Webcor RtR (big old clunker from 1950's) and it works very well. The original mike element turned to ASHES (how could THAT happen?) so I had to replace it.

This project works very well with little crappy rim drive machines from the 1960's that like crystal mikes. Often these machines don't have their mikes any more. Dynamic mikes sound muffled on these machines.

[CassetteMaster]

OH! I've gotta see a video of your 1950s Webcor!!

[thecrystalcauldron]

Wow! How clever was that.Eddie and Gertrude are real stars. A unique, enjoyable and brilliant video. Well done!

[oviwolf]

and it sound good too!

[oviwolf]

thanks for the video!you are so ingenious!i didn't know that you can make a mic from cat food can!5 STARS!