[Elecraft] help wiring a mic?

[Jim Brown]

On 7/6/2018 12:53 PM, Bill wrote:
> Al, you are so right. I have been victimized by some of these folks in 
> the past. I asked a question and was flamed on and off list.

My response was NOT a flame. Saving someone $400 dollars is FRIENDLY 
ADVICE, not criticism. I took the trouble to search for a data sheet for 
the mic, found nothing that would even tell me what connector was used, 
what powering configuration it had, or how the mic was wired.

Pro electret mics used a balanced form of powering called "phantom," and 
must work into a circuit that feeds + to both sides of a balanced output 
and negative to the shield. The electret mics used with unbalanced 
inputs get their bias in a very different way. The two systems are NOT 
compatible, and phantom power is built into preamps and mixers. W2IHY 
has built this into his 8-band equalizer. At $299, it's the lowest cost 
box I could find on his website that does it. AND -- if you have a K3, 
K3S, KX2, or KX3 there's a VERY good equalizer built in, so you're 
spending $299 plus shipping on the mic interface.

Bottom line -- with these radios, you don't need anything that W2IHY sells.

If you must use a pro (balanced) electret mic with ham gear, Radio 
Design Labs sells some relatively low cost mic preamps, but by the time 
you buy the preamp and the power supply(ies) you've spent some bucks 
there too.

http://www.rdlnet.com/search.php?searchquery=mic+preamp

But we don't know which powering interface the mic uses -- nothing I've 
found on the internet tells me. IF there is access to the capsule 
itself, it can be wired directly to the KX3 input.

73, Jim K9YC