[Elecraft] K3 mic problem solved

[Jim Hoge]

It turns out that the rear panel jack is the culprit. I made an XLR to 8 pin cable and a mini TRS to 8 pin cable and tested via the front panel. The mic works just fine. The plan was to use the XLR to mini TRS and connect via the back panel. The cable was tested through the front panel with the second adaptor. This leaves the rear panel jack as the culprit. The Heil PR-20 mic needs higher gain settings than the hand mic I tested  and they both needed the higher mic gain to be set via menu. I'll try and diagnose the rear panel jack later and I'm hoping the problem is something simple like a cold solder joint. That might explain the really weak signal  when the mic is routed that way.

tnx,
Jim W5QM