Panasonic Cordless phone mic problem

[MJ]

My Panasonic cordless phone KX-TG2553B used to work fine. Now people I call complain
(and I have verified) that the handset mic volume is extremely low. Changing the phone
volume has no effect. Don't know if the handset was dropped -certainly possible though.
Do these mics ever go bad? I took it apart and found nothing obvious. It cost $125 bucks
in '02 and has been a great phone. TIA

 

[Franc Zabkar]

My Panasonic cordless phone KX-TG2553B used to work fine. Now people I call complain
(and I have verified) that the handset mic volume is extremely low. Changing the phone
volume has no effect. Don't know if the handset was dropped -certainly possible though.
Do these mics ever go bad? I took it apart and found nothing obvious. It cost $125 bucks
in '02 and has been a great phone. TIA

Have you recently switched to DSL? Panasonic phones have a known issue
with some filters.

-- Franc Zabkar

Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

 

[Skype_man]

2.4 ghz cordless phones really perform badly near any microwave
oven, when cooking. Having said that, may just be a bad mic, or
some debri in the hole for the mic. Sky.

 

[Michael Kennedy]

I have found this to be a common problem with panasonic phones. I don't know
the cause but mine has the same problem as well as my friends's panasonic
phone.

 

[MJ]

I did some internet searching but couldn't find much on Panasonic low volume problems.
I'm going to try plugging in a headset into the handset and see if that bypasses the
problem. A friend has this identical phone which I tried in my base unit and it works
fine - so I know the trouble is with my handset itself. I'd swap out the mic if I knew
where to find a replacement.

 

[Skype_man]

You MAY find a mic that will work, & fit from a
ghetto blaster, or tape recorder. Sky.

 

[Michael Kennedy]

You could always try radio shack.

 

[Dana]

Changing the phone volume doesn't usually have an effect on the outgoing
talk, just what you hear.

 

[jango2]

Electret condensor mic probably, they're so easy to get, i'd buy 4
options just in case parameters don't match. Prolly answered the phone
with wet hands. 1 word of caution when u open the handset up, watch out
for the gooey keypad , they're oh so icky, sweaty and toxic.
Jango

 

[MJ]

I've found that using a headset circumvents the low volume mic issue, which implicates
the mic itself, in my way of thinking. Anyone know how to get a schematic for a
Panasonic cordless phone on the web? TIA

 

[MJ]

Ok, I pulled the mic off the board and it says C10 on it. I'll try the local Shack.

 

[MJ]

I remembered I had an older Panasonic cordless phone handset that went through my
clothes washer (full cycle - no kidding). I pulled it's mic, popped it in, and my phone
is back working great. YEAH! Thanks to all responders in this thread.

 

[MJ]

One more thing - that tells me that water (and suds and lots of agitation) is NOT what
killed the mic in the first place. Maybe static electricity?