[Elecraft] [K3} Mic gain/noise on xmit

[Mike]

  This afternoon, chatting with a couple of locals on 6M, they mentioned I had some 
noise on my signal. One said it sounded like a radio in the background, the other 
characterized it as a loud hiss, with some intermittent high pitched blurbs.

I disconnected the computer(RS232 & audio IO) and external speakers, and the noise 
was still there. I turned on the monitor and could hear it.

I'm using a Yamaha CM500 connected to the back panel. One of the guys was using a K3, 
and he commented that he was using the Elecraft hand mic, and his mic gain was set at 
30. Mine was set at 9, which gave me 8/9 bars on the ALC meter(ooooops). A gain 
setting of 1 gives me the desired 5 bars. Now the monitor sounds like mild 
atmospheric noise, with a slight static burst every now and then.

Is the CM500 that hot? Where else could the noise be coming from? Does the monitor 
pick up from received signals, or just the mic?

73, Mike NF4L