Technical Help, Pleeeaaase???

Greetings!

I have purchased Eurorack UB1202 so that my sister and I can both have mics for our podcast and the ability to add "guests"....I have been to Radio Shack a few times and picked up my cables and adapters but I am having ZERO luck.

I've plugged in a cable from my soundcard to the "tape outputs" and then plugged in my microphone into the first mic (using XLR)....but I can hardly hear myself ....I mean it sounds like a lot of static or something....it's not as clear as when I plug my microphone directly into my laptop (which is crystal clear)...not even close. Would any of you geniuses know what may be causing my problems??? Would it be my cables or maybe my microphone...I'm using one of those headsets with the headphones and mics that sit in front of your mouth? It seems that the virtual world can only answer my questions about podcasting....because others I talk to don't know what to do....

My SINCERE THANKS to anybody who can help me out....I'm anxious to get started!

First off, make sure you have phantom power turned off. Above the meters, you'll see a red Le.d that says +48V. If that's lit, it's on. Phantom power provides a voltage to certain types of mic's, alternatively, if you have a phantom powered mic, turn it on (although i doubt a headset mic would require that).

Second, you might need to crank up the input gain of the mic channels. Also, check that you're going from the tape out of the mixer to the line in of your soundcard.