Yep, that sounds like the problem, then...but using the Ears to preamp the contact mic should work to send the signal on to a Time Bandit, which then outputs a trigger pulse that'll work most anywhere. I also remembered that Bastl makes a similar device (the KLIK), but it's solely a click-to-trig converter, whereas the Truetone Time Bandit can also function as a stand-alone clock source.