DS With Broken Mic

[Blaine]

My DS Fat has had mic troubles for a few months now. It doesn't work at all (as best I can tell from games that allow you to record and playback such as Electroplankton).

I've shorted out the Mic port for some games (Survival Kids) to simulate blowing in the mic but this is a really shitty solution.

I've disassembled the DS and all that seemed out of the norm was some discoloration and residue around the solder spots (backside) for the Mic itself.

Anyone know if any-

1) Common fixes, is this a known problem?
2) Places to source a replacement mic?
3) Barring an exact replacement, anything I should know about Microphones in general before trying to replace it with a completely different mic? (after my education in Analog sticks, I'm taking nothing for granted from now on).

My warranty is already expired (I bought it on launch day) and Nintendo wants something like $80 to fix it - If I had $80 to spare I'd buy a DS Lite.

Thanks.

[viletim!]

I'd say it's either the mic or the cable....there's not much else too it is there?

If you think it might be the mic then you should be able to buy one  from any electronic component shop for a few dolars.

[Blaine]

That's it? Any Mic will fit the bill?

[kendrick]

My expertise is all second-hand, but I think the DS microphone is what's called a piezo disc-type transducer type. This is as opposed to a ribbon or condenser type, which need more power and more room to vibrate around. You might actually be able to get away with transplanting a microphone from a dead cell phone, assuming that there's enough slop in the specification that the DS won't complain about a different resistance value.

You're in uncharted waters there, Blaine. Now I'm tempted to pick up a dead DS just to see if I can get some measurements on those components.

-KKC, who can't get his Xbox to see his CD tower. Dammit.

[viletim!]

Usualy whenever I see a microphone in something (tape recorder, monitor, computer mic, etc) it's the same type. It looks like a small silver can (like the kind old transistors come in) with some black filter material stuck over the front. On the back are two solder points (one is connected to the case) to connect to the rest of the circuit. I had a look through the catalog of a local shop, it calls them electret microphones and they sell two sizes - standard and mini.