My GoPro HD Hero2 Microphone/Audio Setup

CVD · 03-31-2012

I'm cross-posting my thread from evomn because I know there's a lot of GoPro'ers on here that might benefit from this
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So after much screwing around I finally have a microphone setup I'm happy with. I'll save you all the play by play of the trial and error of using a mono mic and trying to set up dual mics. Suffice it to say it was a pain.

On to the good stuff, my materials:
GoPro HD Hero2 with skeleton housing, of course
2 mono mics with inline battery from Radio Shack (I've heard the GoPro mic input is powered, not powered and everything in between. At low volume my non-battery mics sounded fine but I never put them on the car because they suck)
A "Y" splitter with two female stereo inputs to one male stereo out
A mono in to stereo out converter plug ($2.60 at radio shack, yes you need this if you are running mono mics unless you want to fuck around with expensive editing software)
Foam bits torn off a mattress pad. I wrapped these around the mics to cut wind/road noise
Painters tape for securing the mics to the car

And for the results. I made 3 videos each with a different setup. SEE THE VIDEO DESCRIPTION TO SKIP ALL THE DRIVING AROUND. I didn't feel like editing them because they are just test videos so I put times in the description to skip to the WOT pulls etc.

First video is with one mic, this one is taped to the top of the airbox.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMktU-U5i8k

Second video also one mic. This one is taped just above the exhaust. It distorts quite a bit, I think it was too close (~10 inches from the tip). Next time I'll move it up a bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qFDv-vD4eY

Last video is my dual mic setup. I used the "Y" splitter to combine the audio from both mics. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5o2HYnQvng

Comments, suggestions and criticism all welcome. For me car videos are nothing without good audio. I hope this inspires others to go that extra mile with the GoPro, external mics are worth the trouble!

Feel free to tell me which audio setup you like best.

niterydr · 04-02-2012

Cool stuff CVD. I don't get how any of the GoPro stuff works to be honest, but it is cool and something I want to get into this year!

The dual mic setup was nice, it would be interesting to see if you can edit input volumes, at some spots I think the engine bay noise was overpowering the exhaust note.

CVD · 04-02-2012

I actually just got a mini mixer with 2 mono in and a stereo out. I can adjust volume with it and have left and right channel sound, with sound from one mic going to each speaker. I'm going to test that next.

**Tachyon** · 04-02-2012

Good work, that sounds so much better than the GoPro's internal signature tinny sound!

I really enjoy mixing multiple sources for car footage, it gives a much richer experience to the videos. Do you have any photos of your rear mic setup?

CVD · 04-03-2012

I don't but I can take some next time I set it up. For testing purposes I literally ran the wire in through the front passenger window, out through the back passenger window and into the trunk. Then out of the trunk to the mic, which was simply taped to the bumper with painters tape.

Irych · 01-10-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by CVD

I'm cross-posting my thread from evomn because I know there's a lot of GoPro'ers on here that might benefit from this
--------------------------

So after much screwing around I finally have a microphone setup I'm happy with. I'll save you all the play by play of the trial and error of using a mono mic and trying to set up dual mics. Suffice it to say it was a pain.

On to the good stuff, my materials:
GoPro HD Hero2 with skeleton housing, of course
2 mono mics with inline battery from car dvd players Shack (I've heard the GoPro mic input is powered, not powered and everything in between. At low volume my non-battery mics sounded fine but I never put them on the car because they suck)
A "Y" splitter with two female stereo inputs to one male stereo out
A mono in to stereo out converter plug ($2.60 at radio shack, yes you need this if you are running mono mics unless you want to fuck around with expensive editing software)
Foam bits torn off a mattress pad. I wrapped these around the mics to cut wind/road noise
Painters tape for securing the mics to the car

And for the results. I made 3 videos each with a different setup. SEE THE VIDEO DESCRIPTION TO SKIP ALL THE DRIVING AROUND. I didn't feel like editing them because they are just test videos so I put times in the description to skip to the WOT pulls etc.

First video is with one mic, this one is taped to the top of the airbox.

Second video also one mic. This one is taped just above the exhaust. It distorts quite a bit, I think it was too close (~10 inches from the tip). Next time I'll move it up a bit.

Last video is my dual mic setup. I used the "Y" splitter to combine the audio from both mics. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Comments, suggestions and criticism all welcome. For me car videos are nothing without good audio. I hope this inspires others to go that extra mile with the GoPro, external mics are worth the trouble!

Feel free to tell me which audio setup you like best.

Have you got the right combination for your stereo? I recently purchased an audio system from ebay and it is working fine for me. if you need some help you can contact me

CVD · 01-30-2013

^ This guy seems legit...

Anyway the reason I'm bringing this thread back from the dead is I had a guy PM me some questions about my setup so I thought it would be easier to post these pics here rather than email or text them.

Pic descriptions as follows:
1. This is the whole setup plugged in. Obviously.

2. The mono mic I got from radio shack. Sounds pretty decent, runs on a watch battery. Only downside is that you have NO IDEA that your battery is dead until you play back the video and there's no audio. I buy cheap batteries and replace them often.

3. This is my splitter. Two 3.5mm inputs and one 3.5mm output. Simple, effective. I got it either at radio shack or guitar center. I forget which.

4. The adapter. Important. This is where the magic happens, combining audio from both mics and delivering them from both speakers. Finding this was a huge achievement.

5. This is the new mixer, it replaces the Y splitter and has individual volume control. Fancy. I don't recall if it eliminates the need for the adapter though, it's been a while since I've used my GoPro. Apologies for it being upside down. No I'm not going to fix it.