I ordered a Vocopro Mark-CV1 from some outfit in New York; it will take a week to get here.
This is what I ordered:
http://www.savinglots.com/lotprod.asp?item=MarkCV1
Like Mark I ran over to Radio Shack and picked up one of their mics-just to see if it would work.
It didn't !
I'm not sure it is even a condenser type mic; it acts just like my Dynamic mic-and the package does not even say 'condenser' although it does require a battery and the guy in Radio Shack assured me that it was.
At any rate, when the Vocopro gets here next week, I'll try that one out.
I hope the problem is not the Soundblaster card.
However this plays out, I want to thank all of you guys for putting up with a relative novice and giving me the benefit of your advice and experience.
Al North