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Replacement Hand Microphone

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rmcculla

Replacement Hand Microphone

Hi Everybody! My MH2 Mic is missing in action. I'm sure that whoever has
it now needs it much more than I do. What is the hand Mic of choice
amongst this august group? Any suggestions are most welcome.
Best Regards, Bob K7HBG

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John Huffman-2

Re: Replacement Hand Microphone

> What is the hand Mic of choice
> amongst this august group? Any suggestions are most
> welcome.
> Best Regards, Bob K7HBG

Bob -

I was making an adapter to use my MD2 desk mike with both my
K2 and my Pegasus. An email to Bob Heil confirmed my
suspicion that the MD2 was the same as Heil's "iC" amplified
mikes for Icom rigs. Thus, any Heil mike with the "iC"
suffix would be a functional equivalent to the Elecraft MH2
or MD2.

A visit to Heil's web site doesn't show any hand mikes,
which may explain why the MH2 was discontinued. But, there
is the little Handi Mic HM-"iC" that looks like a good
alternative.

73 de NA8M
John

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Jim Sheldon

RE: Replacement Hand Microphone

An amusing aside to this thread, when I built the SSB board for my K2, the
only mic I had on hand was one from an old Tempo VHF-1 2 meter rig. This
microphone is identical to many of the older CB microphones, and has a 600
ohm, unamplified, dynamic cartridge. I hooked up the MIC hot & ground, PTT
hot & ground to an 8 pin connector according to the Kenwood MIC pinout, and
just used little computer jumpers to short the pins straight across on the
K2's control board. In the initial tests, everyone that I talked with said
it sounded great and not to change a thing. Later I borrowed an MH2 and was
able to run comparisons. I was astounded when, in 10 QSO's on SSB, ALL of
them told me the old Tempo VHF-1 microphone sounded better. The MH2 had
plenty of punch and all, but the audio quality of the CB style microphone
was better on my voice. It just goes to show that the K2 doesn't need a
fancy, expensive microphone to sound good on the air. Pick up a $2.00 CB
hand mic at a hamfest, wire it to fit and operate. Quit arguing over which
microphone sounds better, you are losing valuable operating time!

Jim Sheldon, W0EB

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of John Huffman
> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 5:37 AM
> To: [hidden email]; [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Replacement Hand Microphone
>
>
> > What is the hand Mic of choice
> > amongst this august group? Any suggestions are most
> > welcome.
> > Best Regards, Bob K7HBG
>
>
>
> Bob -
>
> I was making an adapter to use my MD2 desk mike with both my
> K2 and my Pegasus. An email to Bob Heil confirmed my
> suspicion that the MD2 was the same as Heil's "iC" amplified
> mikes for Icom rigs. Thus, any Heil mike with the "iC"
> suffix would be a functional equivalent to the Elecraft MH2
> or MD2.
>
> A visit to Heil's web site doesn't show any hand mikes,
> which may explain why the MH2 was discontinued. But, there
> is the little Handi Mic HM-"iC" that looks like a good
> alternative.
>
> 73 de NA8M
> John
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
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>

WØIFL

Re: Replacement Hand Microphone

I didn't wanna say anything but I get better audio reports with a Radio
Shack el-cheapo mic than I do with the MH2 with my voice.

RonE.
WØIFL.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Sheldon" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 06:03
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Replacement Hand Microphone

An amusing aside to this thread, when I built the SSB board for my K2, the
only mic I had on hand was one from an old Tempo VHF-1 2 meter rig. This
microphone is identical to many of the older CB microphones, and has a 600
ohm, unamplified, dynamic cartridge. I hooked up the MIC hot & ground, PTT
hot & ground to an 8 pin connector according to the Kenwood MIC pinout, and
just used little computer jumpers to short the pins straight across on the
K2's control board. In the initial tests, everyone that I talked with said
it sounded great and not to change a thing. Later I borrowed an MH2 and was
able to run comparisons. I was astounded when, in 10 QSO's on SSB, ALL of
them told me the old Tempo VHF-1 microphone sounded better. The MH2 had
plenty of punch and all, but the audio quality of the CB style microphone
was better on my voice. It just goes to show that the K2 doesn't need a
fancy, expensive microphone to sound good on the air. Pick up a $2.00 CB
hand mic at a hamfest, wire it to fit and operate. Quit arguing over which
microphone sounds better, you are losing valuable operating time!

Jim Sheldon, W0EB

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Paul Gates

RE: Replacement Hand Microphone

In reply to this post by Jim Sheldon

I guess all the mikes for our rigs today have to be low impedance but I am
wondering how a D-104 would sound if we could get it to work! They have
untold punch!

Paul Gates
K1 #0231
KX1 #1186
XG1
[hidden email]

----Original Message Follows----
From: "Jim Sheldon" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Replacement Hand Microphone
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 06:03:54 -0500

An amusing aside to this thread, when I built the SSB board for my K2, the
only mic I had on hand was one from an old Tempo VHF-1 2 meter rig. This
microphone is identical to many of the older CB microphones, and has a 600
ohm, unamplified, dynamic cartridge. I hooked up the MIC hot & ground, PTT
hot & ground to an 8 pin connector according to the Kenwood MIC pinout, and
just used little computer jumpers to short the pins straight across on the
K2's control board. In the initial tests, everyone that I talked with said
it sounded great and not to change a thing. Later I borrowed an MH2 and was
able to run comparisons. I was astounded when, in 10 QSO's on SSB, ALL of
them told me the old Tempo VHF-1 microphone sounded better. The MH2 had
plenty of punch and all, but the audio quality of the CB style microphone
was better on my voice. It just goes to show that the K2 doesn't need a
fancy, expensive microphone to sound good on the air. Pick up a $2.00 CB
hand mic at a hamfest, wire it to fit and operate. Quit arguing over which
microphone sounds better, you are losing valuable operating time!

Jim Sheldon, W0EB

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of John Huffman
> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 5:37 AM
> To: [hidden email]; [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Replacement Hand Microphone
>
>
> > What is the hand Mic of choice
> > amongst this august group? Any suggestions are most
> > welcome.
> > Best Regards, Bob K7HBG
>
>
>
> Bob -
>
> I was making an adapter to use my MD2 desk mike with both my
> K2 and my Pegasus. An email to Bob Heil confirmed my
> suspicion that the MD2 was the same as Heil's "iC" amplified
> mikes for Icom rigs. Thus, any Heil mike with the "iC"
> suffix would be a functional equivalent to the Elecraft MH2
> or MD2.
>
> A visit to Heil's web site doesn't show any hand mikes,
> which may explain why the MH2 was discontinued. But, there
> is the little Handi Mic HM-"iC" that looks like a good
> alternative.
>
> 73 de NA8M
> John
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>

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Bill Steffey NY9H

Re: Replacement Hand Microphone

In reply to this post by WØIFL

a "supercheap" computer stereo headset with boom mic!!!! $ 8.00

great sounding audio PRICELESS,,,,,,

bill

At 08:17 AM 7/20/2005, WØIFL wrote:

>I didn't wanna say anything but I get better audio reports with a Radio
>Shack el-cheapo mic than I do with the MH2 with my voice.
>
>RonE.
>WØIFL.

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WØIFL

Re: Replacement Hand Microphone

In reply to this post by Paul Gates

I bought a really pretty D-104 at a hamfest last Winter with the intent of
doing this. I would probably try it first with the stock mic element and
amplifier but I also picked up a Heil element and ultimately planned on
bypassing the amp and running the Heil element in the D-104.

RonE.
WØIFL

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Gates" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>; <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 08:27
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Replacement Hand Microphone

> I guess all the mikes for our rigs today have to be low impedance but I am
> wondering how a D-104 would sound if we could get it to work! They have
> untold punch!

**snip**
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Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: Replacement Hand Microphone

In reply to this post by Paul Gates

Paul Gates wrote:

I guess all the mikes for our rigs today have to be low impedance but I am
wondering how a D-104 would sound if we could get it to work! They have
untold punch!

-----------------------

I just finished refurbishing a D-104 for a buddy to use on his 1950's era
E.F. Johnson Viking Ranger AM/CW transmitter and played around with it a
bit.

The later D-104's included a built-in preamplifier for use with modern rigs.
The amp provides the necessary impedance matching since the D-104 uses a
very high impedance crystal element. The amp is also important because
modern rigs require a much higher audio level at the mic input than most of
the old vacuum-tube jobs did.

The D-104 has a peak in its response at about 3 kHz. Compared to the output
at 1 kHz, the output is down about 10 db at 100 Hz and 6 kHz. The peak in
the response at 3 kHz is up about 12 db. That 12-db "hump" gave the mic its
characteristically bright sound that made the sibilances (s-sounds) in words
very pronounced. In general, that helps with intelligibility.

Audio shaping like that was far more important in the days of A.M. rigs
because the audio amps in the rigs themselves seldom did much audio shaping.
A little low frequency roll-off was usually provided by using low-valued
coupling caps, but that was about all.

Audio shaping for best voice intelligibility is still very important, but
with the K2 it can be done largely by adjusting the BFO frequency and
choosing the right filter bandwidth.

The bandwidth of the K2's OPT1 filter used for SSB transmission is fixed,
but it can be changed using the mod kits available from Elecraft. The K2
comes "stock" with an OPT1 filter bandwidth near 2 kHz because that provides
optimum "punch" for most voices. That's especially important when running
QRP. Wider bandwidths help some voices sound more natural.

The most critical adjustment of the SSB filter is the position of that
bandwidth in the audio spectrum. That defines the low and high frequency
roll-off points. That's adjusted with the BFO using CAL FIL. That is why the
SSB module setup instructions recommend listening to your signal on another
receiver to choose the final settings for the BFO frequencies.

That procedure is more complicated than just buying a good
communications-quality mic like the D-104, but it allows the audio response
to be much better tailored to an individual's voice than the old rigs did.
While the K2 doesn't provide a peak in the mid-range, setting the roll-off
points at the high and low ends of the audio range provides the same
benefits.

Ron AC7AC

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Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: Replacement Hand Microphone

In reply to this post by Paul Gates

Thom LaCosta

Re: Replacement Hand Microphone

In reply to this post by WØIFL

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005, WØIFL wrote:

>
>
> I didn't wanna say anything but I get better audio reports with a Radio
> Shack el-cheapo mic than I do with the MH2 with my voice.

When I decided I wanted to try SSB with the K2, I realized I no longer had a
mike....so, I took the rig and the docs to the last local ham radio dealer in
the area. The owner was a yong man who had the bad luck of having me administer
his novice test some years ago.

I asked him if he'd try and find a mike that worked with the K2. When I got
back, he gave me a cassete tape, a player and a set of headphones....told me
to listen and pick the sound that I liked the best, since he had tried several
mikes....ranging from some high-end stuff to some down and dirty generic, Hey
you lost your mike Good Buddie, I got one that works with anything.

I picked, by the sound of his voice on the tape, the best sounding mike....and
when I had, he asked me for 3.95 for the mike.

I went home and that evening checked into a Maryland net that I hadn't been in
over 30 years.....and some of my old budsasked if I was using my TR7 (g).

73,Thom-k3hrn
www.zerobeat.net Home of QRP Web Ring, Drakelist home page,
Free Classified Ads for amateur radio, QRP IRC channel
Elecraft Owners Database
www.tlchost.net/hosting/ *** Web Hosting as low as 3.49/month
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Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: Replacement Hand Microphone

Thom, K3HRN wrote:
I picked, by the sound of his voice on the tape, the best sounding
mike....and when I had, he asked me for 3.95 for the mike.

I went home and that evening checked into a Maryland net that I hadn't been
in over 30 years.....and some of my old budsasked if I was using my TR7 (g).

---------------------------

That sounds like my mic!

Mine's the inexpensive ($2 or $3) Radio Shack electet element that I mounted
in a housing that had originally held a cheap dynamic element. It has the
best sound for me out of a number tested, including some pretty nice "hi-fi"
mics.

It is also very important to have the BFO settings correct. No mic can make
up for having the passband positioned incorrectly.

Ron AC7AC

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Stuart Rohre

Re: Replacement Hand Microphone

In reply to this post by Paul Gates

You can either use a high impedance to low transformer for the D104 mike, or
get one of the D104 "amplified" mikes which has a impedance converting
transistor circuit in its base, able to drive low impedance modern
microphone inputs.

The crystal high impedance element of the 104 needs to look into a high
impedance to avoid altering the tone response. It will sound good, if
properly terminated into the right circuit.

Stuart
K5KVH

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Augie "Gus" Hansen

Re: Replacement Hand Microphone

On 7/20/05 3:44 PM, "Stuart Rohre" <[hidden email]> wrote:

> You can either use a high impedance to low transformer for the D104 mike, or
> get one of the D104 "amplified" mikes which has a impedance converting
> transistor circuit in its base, able to drive low impedance modern
> microphone inputs.
>
> The crystal high impedance element of the 104 needs to look into a high
> impedance to avoid altering the tone response. It will sound good, if
> properly terminated into the right circuit.

Alan, W2AEW, has a very nice construction article on one of his web pages:

http://www.qsl.net/w2aew/myd104amp.html

We've talked on air several times and his audio is excellent.

If you have a D-104 with a functioning crystal (or ceramic) element, this
circuit is a good way to match the hi-Z output to the low-Z input of modern
rigs. Alan has been careful about RFI proofing and other essentials, such as
tone characteristics and gain control.

At the end of the page is the schematic for the original Astatic preamp.

73, Gus Hansen / KB0YH

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