First of all, a liitle 101 on microphones: there are 2 kinds:

Dynamic - They are somewhat the opposite of speakers (sound waves move a coil in a magnet), are extremely directional (they have a "cardioid" response in horizontal level) and are typically used in drum sets and some high end models as cheap alternatives in various applications where good performance is required (community radio would be a good example). They don't need to be supplied with power and they don't come in small sizes.

Condenser - They are in essence a capacitor, as the diaphragm is placed over a back plate and as the diaphragm vibrates to sound waves the capacitance between the two changes. For them to work the diaphragm must be polarized, hence the need for power. Condenser mics are omni-directional (when you see a mic on a round table or the mics worn on clothes in TV you can safely bet it's a condenser one although there are exceptions), have generally better frequency response than dynamic ones but are susceptible to room volume and ambient noises.

Now to the point:

The schematic you have is obviously wrong since the way it is drawn it clearly indicates a short between power and ground (1 and 3). I think the black dot was intended to go after the triangle. That also explains the "optional coupling capacitor" that is there to cut off DC and let just the signal go through (and I think that may be why you are having poor performance with yours).

This is all more thoroughly explained here from where I'm copying the following:
Code:

       vcc
        O
        |
        /
        \
        /
        \  EQUAL TO REQUIRED IMPEDANCE
        /  EX.= 1000 Ohm
        \
        |
        |     CAPACITOR MOST ANY VALUE 10uF 16v
|---|   |  + | /
|   |---0----| |-------   AUDIO OUT
|   |        | \
|   |----O--------------
|---|    |
         |
       -----
        ---
         -



Now what made me wonder is John Graley's post where he claims "Both Radio Shack microphones are condensor types and will be compatible with the car player's input (I think the phantom power supply is about 3V in a car player)."

Now I did measure with my multimeter and tada, there IS an aprox. 4.5V power supply on the mic connector, so I guess you can just plug wires 2 on the tip and 3 on the ring of the empeg connector and it should work ( i.e. the coupling capacitor should be inside the empeg somewhere and the mic will "feed" by power provided from the unit). Or perhaps you might need to connect 1 and 2 together on the tip if the mic refuses to work out of the white wire.

Sorry for the length and hope this helps.


Dimitris Zarafonitis.