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Why is the input signal taken from the -ve side of the capacitor? I do understand that the resistor has been added for voltage divider.

Is this actually for filtering purposes? Or is the capacitor there just to block the DC?

Circuit Diagram

JYelton
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Tashfi Nowroz
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    The resistor is **not** there to form a voltage divider. It is there to provide power to the tiny amplifier built in to the microphone. Even electret microphones with out the amplifier need the DC bias - electret microphones are little capacitors. Sound deforms them, which changes the capacitance, which changes the voltage level. But, most electrets do have an amplifier, so the DC bias does both jobs. – JRE Aug 08 '19 at 11:29

1 Answers1

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The capacitor is there to block the DC voltage from feeding into the A/D input of the microcontroller.

Inside the electret microphone there will be a FET that can conduct current to GND as sound impinges in the capacitive diaphram of the mic. The external resistor provides the bias current for the FET. Variation of the current flow in the FET is also seen as a variation of current in the resistor. This translates to a voltage variation across the resistor.

Michael Karas
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