[Elecraft] K3S Mic Gain and Heil PR-10 Query

[Thomas Donohue]

Hi to All:

I’m using a PR-10 mic to drive the K3S; I find that I need to set the mic gain to 40+ to get sufficient output to push the ALC meter to nearly the top of its range. My XYL, W1JX, with a softer voice, needs to run the mic gain to the maximum setting (60) to achieve the same output. Other Heil mics such as the HM-12 only require a mic gain setting of 25 for both of us to achieve sufficient output.. I contacted Heil and was told that the PR-10 is much wider in audio bandwidth and therefore requires a higher mic gain settings; they further advised that my experience was normal. While I understand this, I’m just not comfortable running the mic gain setting at max to achieve normal output when my XYL is using the K3S. Am I missing something here? Any thoughts and/or advice would be appreciated.

Best 73,
Tom/W1QU