Microphones

[kd1na]

I know that there has been lots of responses to the microphone compatibility on this forum but let me comment on this subject on a different light.

When I first became licensed back in 1957 we were expected to, at the very least, be able to read and interpret schematics, wire up our own rig interconnections, and in a lot of cases build our own equipment.
Now days that is not necessarily true for quite a few of our fellow radio amateurs.

Because of the above, it can be quite a challenge for some of us to perform the necessary research and rewire our mike connectors for the Elecraft K2/K3 rigs.

Many of us would have no problem doing this but we can easily forget that there are those who are dependent on getting the correct mike for the rig or have help in changing their connector's wiring to match a rig.

Manufactures are little help as they wire their mic jacks to what pleases them and it is their right to do so.

The bottom line is lets help those who need it and not criticize them. and for those who need help get it here or ask a fellow ham.

73
Dave KD1NA

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[Jerry Keller (K3BZ)]

KD1NA.... We need more of your kind of attitude and true ham spirit.
73, Jerry K3BZ

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Robertson" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 8:32 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Microphones


I know that there has been lots of responses to the microphone compatibility
on this forum but let me comment on this subject on a different light.

When I first became licensed back in 1957 we were expected to, at the very
least, be able to read and interpret schematics, wire up our own rig
interconnections, and in a lot of cases build our own equipment.
Now days that is not necessarily true for quite a few of our fellow radio
amateurs.

Because of the above, it can be quite a challenge for some of us to perform
the necessary research and rewire our mike connectors for the Elecraft K2/K3
rigs.

Many of us would have no problem doing this but we can easily forget that
there are those who are dependent on getting the correct mike for the rig or
have help in changing their connector's wiring to match a rig.

Manufactures are little help as they wire their mic jacks to what pleases
them and it is their right to do so.

The bottom line is lets help those who need it and not criticize them. and
for those who need help get it here or ask a fellow ham.

73
Dave KD1NA

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[Mike F.]

I very seldom post to this list - taking up even more bandwidth doesn't seem to be what the list needs lately Hi, but this thread sparked a response so I thought I'd share it.

Although I was into CB in a big way "back in the day" (when it was as polite and compliant as we sometimes wish amateur radio was today), college, career, and family intervened until 2006 when I finally became licensed at age 44 (passed my General in 2007, shortly after rushing to pass the code before the requirement was eliminated).  At that time I was one of those "interested in operating with the best equipment my budget could allow," but I had/have no real electronics experience, other than doing all my own soldering when needed and one summer as a teenager when I worked for a neighbor who was in the process of inventing the first automated wire-wrap assembly line jig.  I still remember him trying to beat Ohm's Law into me, without much success.

Since becoming licensed, I actually find the pursuit of learning electronics more attractive than operating, most of the time.  I seem to be in love with QRP, mostly because of all the opportunities to build.  I still don't know what I'm building, but I'm doing everything I can to read, question, and study, and hoping that repetition will help!  Currently awaiting my attention at the bench are a Pixie II, a Norcal SMT dummy load, one of each of everything Hamgadgets sells, and a BLT tuner.  My goal is to use each as a learning project, taking my time with each one and understanding the purpose each component serves before moving on to the next.  The recent QST article "Building to Learn" couldn't have been more timely.  I couldn't wait to build my KX-1 last year, and it turned out great (with some help from Don on the 3080 board!), but I have to admit that my approach did not make it a learning experience.

The hurdles these days are time, and access to a willing Elmer who doesn't mind teaching stuff that he's known for 50 or more years to someone new.

--
73,
de Mike, KC0KBC

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <[hidden email]>
> Agreed Dave!
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[David Woolley (E.L)]

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> Agreed Dave! Hams are not necessarily electronics technicians or engineers.
> Many simply want to operate with what they feel is the best commercial gear
> their budget will allow.

However, very few hams have their installations professionally installed
and monitored, so hams do have to be technicians to at least a small
extent, unless they want to be limited in the same way as legally
operated CB stations.  The very minimum they need is to be able to
recognize when a system exceeds their ability to evaluate its
interference potential and safety risks, and install it properly, so
higher powers need more technical skills.  It's also been the case that
people have argued, on this list, that type approval should be abandoned
for commercial amateur radio equipment on the basis that all hams are
trained technicians, not that I agree with that.

(Low power users need technical skills in order to get the best of their
limited equipment, rather than for safety reasons.)

> We've always had that disparity among Hams. Decades ago, before
> "radiosporting" was popular, those operators were largely traffic-handlers
> in the days when a telephone call to a city 100 miles away was both
> expensive and difficult. Hams offered an excellent way for people to pass

In the UK, and I suspect most countries, such traffic handling was
illegal (recently there are some relaxations) on the basis that it
undermined the businesses of the telephone companies and commercial
users of radio. The current relaxations are probably more to do with
stopping the reduction in the number of amateurs self training than in
reduced threat to businesses, although the reduced cost of commercial
communication channels would be a factor, too.

The reason that the radio regulations have special provisions for
disaster relief are to override the ban on third party traffic in a case
  where public policy considers that commercial considerations should be
overridden.  On the other hand, spectrum pricing (creating a market for
radio spectrum) actually means that governments would prefer that
services not be provided for free on the basis of cheap amateur radio
licences.

--
David Woolley
"The Elecraft list is a forum for the discussion of topics related to
Elecraft products and more general topics related ham radio"
List Guidelines <http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_list_guidelines.htm>
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