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kenwood MC-60A

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Eric Lanzl

kenwood MC-60A

I have just received a new Kenwood MC 60A desk microphone and I need some help
setting it up.I am using it with the K3. I understand that two of the pins are
different for the power to the preamp. How necessary is the preamp and should
one change the plug from pin 5 to 6 on the mic? If one does not will using the
batteries enable the preamp?

What settings have users found good in terms of gain and compression on the k3
and eq settings with and without the preamp for the MC60A?

I found that without installing the batteries while listening through headphones
in the test mode turning on the switch to the preamp seemed to boost the audio.
I do not understand what is happening without changing the wiring on the mic and
not installing the batteries.

Also, is it best to use the high or low gain setting on the k3. and which
setting are best with or without the preamp.

I have the bias off on the K3 and the impedance set to low on the MC60A.

Thank you for your help, I am a relatively new k3 owner.

Eric
WB9JNZ
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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: kenwood MC-60A

Eric,

Go to http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rg4wpw/mc60a.html. G4WPW has done a
great job of documenting many, many microphone pinouts and transceiver
pinouts.

What I observe with the Kenwood MC-60A is that pin 6 is unused, so it
should not be a difficult task to change the mic plug - just move the
wire from pin 5 to pin 6 and you have it wired for the Elecraft pinout.

The schematic did not show a provision for batteries, but if it does not
include a disconnect for mic plug pin 5 when the batteries are used, it
may cause problems for the K3 - just guessing based on a lack of proper
information.

The best way to set up the gain for any mic is to do it as instructed in
the Elecraft K3 manual rather than just copying someone else's
settings; You can use TX TEST.
Turn the compression to zero
Watch the K3 ALC meter while speaking into the mic and adjusting the mic
gain. When you have 5 to 7 bars illuminated that is the correct
setting. If the range is high, and the mic gain number is low, try the
low setting to obtain a less "touchy" adjustment range. Once set, just
leave it that and forget it for that mic.
After setting the mic level, bring up the compression to whatever level
you want - 10 dB is normally suggested for general use.

Try the above setup steps for all the different settings on your
microphone, and select the one that works/sounds the best.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 11/19/2010 8:28 PM, Eric Lanzl wrote:

> I have just received a new Kenwood MC 60A desk microphone and I need some help
> setting it up.I am using it with the K3. I understand that two of the pins are
> different for the power to the preamp. How necessary is the preamp and should
> one change the plug from pin 5 to 6 on the mic? If one does not will using the
> batteries enable the preamp?
>
>
> What settings have users found good in terms of gain and compression on the k3
> and eq settings with and without the preamp for the MC60A?
>
> I found that without installing the batteries while listening through headphones
> in the test mode turning on the switch to the preamp seemed to boost the audio.
> I do not understand what is happening without changing the wiring on the mic and
> not installing the batteries.
>
> Also, is it best to use the high or low gain setting on the k3. and which
> setting are best with or without the preamp.
>
>
> I have the bias off on the K3 and the impedance set to low on the MC60A.
>

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Joe Subich, W4TV-4

Re: kenwood MC-60A

In reply to this post by Eric Lanzl

Use the high gain setting (fP.H) on the K3 and don't bother with
the preamp. If you do that you don't need to worry about rewiring
the mic plug.

73,

... Joe, W4TV

On 11/19/2010 8:28 PM, Eric Lanzl wrote:

MontyS

Re: kenwood MC-60A

I second Joe's recommendation. I have been using an MC-60A in this setup for 2 years. I have a cheapo headset plugged into the headphone/mic jacks on the rear of the K3; it works fine, too, with bias turned on.
Monty K2DLJ

>
> Use the high gain setting (fP.H) on the K3 and don't bother with
> the preamp. If you do that you don't need to worry about rewiring
> the mic plug.
>
> 73,
>
> ... Joe, W4TV
>

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Carl-N8VZ

Re: kenwood MC-60A

This mic seems to work FB with my K3 as well using Joe's recommend settings. Some rewiring would be necessary, though, I believe to get the up/down frequency switch on the mic to work with the K3. As anyone made this mod? It shouldn't be hard, but I'm not sure in my case if it's worth the effort or not.