Hi all, i really hope someone can help me with this, would be great if you could. I have a sony ecm F8 microphone. It is meant to pick up sounds for longer distances. This is why i bought it, because my last microphone required you to be only a few inches away to pick up the voice at a reasonable volume. This one is pretty much the same, despite being 4 times the price. It is plugged straight into the back of my PC into the correct microphone socket using a standard jack. I have AC97 sound facilities on my computer and when trying to record or use this microphone for internet communication (even when mic volume is at full) it does not pick up my voice unless i am up close within a few cm's/inches range. Is there anything i can do to fix this? Thanks in advance.