[Elecraft] K3 Microphone selection

[Jim Brown]

On Thu, 1 May 2008 18:47:42 -0700, Mike Scott wrote:

>I too have been wanting a new microphone. I only want a desk microphone 
(I
>am absolutely not interested in a mobile mic) and I only want a 
microphone
>that has a flat frequency response. 

See the discussion of microphones and transceiver equalization in 

http://audiosystemsgroup.com/HamInterfacing.pdf  

and supporting tutorial material in 

http://audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

I work in the world of pro audio, and own a lot of good mics. I use an EV 
RE-16, because that's the most suitable one that I own. EV RE-10, 11, 15, 
18, 20, and 27, Shure SM53 and SM54, AKG D202 and D224 would all work 
equally well. BUT -- these are hand held professional mics. They come with 
a stand adapter, and you put them on a stand. I use a floor-mounted boom 
stand, because I have a lot of them and it works for me. There are many 
good desk stands to choose from. Atlas/Soundolier is a good brand in the 
US. 

In general, communications mics do NOT have anything approaching flat 
response. See the two weblinks for a discussion of why this is true. 

I'm a serious contester and occasional DX-chaser, so I tweak my audio for 
maximum punchiness without distortion. My K3 is set for HIGH mic gain at 
the front panel input, the RE16 is wired directly between the input and 
the connector shell, and the mic gain is at 25. I have the EQ set for -6dB 
on the first four bands. +3dB on the highest band. On-the-air testing with 
my signal down in the other guy's noise tells me it's nice and punchy. My 
K3 is only four days old, and I haven't had strong signal reports on the 
audio yet, so I may tweak those settings before I'm done.  

I have several RE16s, and I've used used them quite successfully with my 
K2, FT1000MP, TS850, and Omni V. I had to modify the K2 audio system a bit 
to get enough gain for the RE16, and I also added a lot of low cut. 

All of the mics listed above are directional, so they reject at least half 
of the noise in your shack (like the fans in your power supply). If your 
shack is quiet, you could do quite well with mics like the EV635A.  

Note that very few pro mics come with switches, and those that do have a 
lot of proximity effect (bass boost when used close-up). Bass boost is the 
LAST thing you want in a ham mic. I own about 40 mics, and none of them 
have switches. Furthermore, any mic with a PTT switch is going to be a 
communications mic, and will have the extreme EQ (see the pdf).  The K3 
has excellent VOX, and it's easy to hook up a foot switch for PTT. Why do 
you need/want a switch?  

BTW -- Heil Sound puts cheap electret capsules in pretty packages and 
sells them for a lot of money (FAR more than they're worth). The only real 
value-add I've seen from Heil is the excellent physical construction of 
their headset/boom mics. BUT -- we've experienced RFI problems at N6RO 
with Heil headsets that have built-in electronics. :) 

73,

Jim Brown K9YC
http://audiosystemsgroup.com