[Elecraft] Microphone Setup

[Don Wilhelm]

Dr. Jim,

There is no FAQ that I am aware of.
Actually the information is pretty basic.  Microphone elements come in 
two basic types - Electret and Dynamic.
The Electret types need a DC bias applied to the AF line.
The Dynamic elements should *not* have bias applied or they will be 
distorted.

The other thing that often causes confusion is the mic plug pinout. The 
mic plug wiring must match the pin arrangement used in the transceiver, 
and that information is shown in the transceiver manual.  In the case of 
the Elecraft K3 and K3S, the 8 pin mic pinout differs only from that 
used by Kenwood in that the use of pins 5 and 6 are reversed.  Since 
most Kenwood unamplified dynamic microphones do not use pins 5 and 6, 
most all Kenwood dynamic microphones will work directly with the K3 and K3S.

Heil microphones normally use a 4 pin XLR as a generalized connector 
*and* use an adapter or special cable to change that XLR connection to 
that required for the transceiver.  The adapter to be used with the K3 
and K3S is the one for the Kenwood (which has a red band).

Heil microphones come in both the dynamic and the electret types, 
although most are dynamic.  If the microphone is designated with a "-iC" 
or "-K2" it is an electret type.

A lot of information on microphones and transceiver connections can be 
found at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rg4wpw/date.html.  G4WPW has done 
an excellent job of collecting information about microphones, mic 
pinouts and even schematics.

In your particular case with the Heil PR-781, use the Kenwood cable 
(Heil CC-1XLR-K) with that microphone and make certain the bias is 
turned off.
I believe that microphone has a rather low output, so you may have to 
use the high range for the mic gain.
So - the K3(S) MIC SEL menu should be set to "FP H".
Set the mic gain as described in the K3 manual - first set compression 
to zero, then adjust the MIC GAIN until you see 5 to 7 bars illuminated 
on the ALC meter (that can be done in TX TEST so no RF is produced).  
Then bring the compression up to your tastes, usually in the 3 to 6 dB 
range.

73,
Don W3FPR


On 11/3/2015 10:44 PM, James F. Boehner, MD via Elecraft wrote:
> Is there an FAQ for microphone setups for the K3(S)?
>
> Particularly, I am looking how to set up the Heil PR-781 on the K3,
> including the menu setup.
>
>