Using headset mic with mixer...

[unastrike]

The crew and I get together once or twice a week to work on our web site. Someone got the bright idea to start recording and presenting it in podcast format to our members.

Now there's a bunch of us... anywhere from 4-6 on average... makes for a hectic recording environment. Previously, I've been producing these in an extremely backwards way. I have each of us record directly into our laptops via Audacity. I take each mp3 afterwords and mix them together. Great idea in theory, however (I've learned the hard way) not all sound cards are created equal... and they frequently lose synch. Just a nightmare all around.

So we've plunked down the cash for a mixer and USB interface so we can all record as one source. Getting new mics for the lot of us are just not in the budget.

Here's our current setup:

TAPCO Mix.60
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Mix60/

Eridol UA-1EX: USB Audio Interface
http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=743&ParentId=114

Bunch of Logitech Headsets
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=103,CONTENTID=6339

and Various 1/8" -> 1/4" adapters... stereo->stereo, stereo->mono, etc, etc...

I knew that these mics needed power in order to run. Sound card usually handles that. But I heard that the mixer's phantom power would cover it.

Long story short, I'm still dead in the water. I cannot get these mics to work with this mixer at all.

As I mentioned before, new mics are pretty much out of the question... especially for that many people. What do I need to do to get this setup working? Can anyone help?

[revupreview]

I knew that these mics needed power in order to run. Sound card usually handles that. But I heard that the mixer's phantom power would cover it.
Are you connecting these into the Mic inputs on the mixer, or the Line inputs?

The Sweetwater page you link to describes the mixer as having 2 mono mic/line inputs, and if it's anything like my Behringer UB802 then you'll need to plug the mics into the XLR sockets in order to use the phantom power (assuming 48V won't damage mics that are specified as 3.0 V DC Microphone Bias Voltage).

If you're connecting the mics to the Line inputs on the mixer, their outputs will be too low.

[Saberj]

Those headsets aren't going to have XLR connectors. I'm kind of suprised that the line-ins don't have some power as well. What is the point of having a non-powered line-in for Mics?

[revupreview]

What is the point of having a non-powered line-in for Mics?
Line-in isn't intended for mics, it's for higher level signals, such as the output of a minidisc, or a CD player, or even the line-output of your computer. Mic inputs, on the other hand, are for the much lower-level signals output from microphones. Mic inputs have preamplifiers to raise those low signals to match the levels provided by line-level audio devices (such as minidiscs, CD players, etc). Only the mic inputs have phantom power, because mics will be connected only to the mic inputs, not the line inputs.

Even if the mixer has line jacks on the same channels as the mics, those jacks will bypass the mic preamps (and the phantom power). At least that's how it is on the UB802, according to the schematic.