[Elecraft] CM500 headset on K3S and KX3?

[Don Wilhelm]

Frank,

Although the K3S rear jack is marked mono, it is actually a stereo jack, 
but the ring connects to nothing - so no harm.

On the KX3, look in the manual for the MIC jack connections. It should 
tell you why you need to be aware of the situation that the CM500 plug 
can present.

Walt Underwood K6WRU has presented a link to an adapter that will allow 
you to plug the CM500 mic plug into a jack leaving the other jack 
available for us as PTT. Use of that adapter does not require you to set 
MIC BTN to off.

Be careful, not just any adapter will do - some are simple splitters 
that put both the tip and ring on both jacks.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 5/5/2020 10:43 PM, Frank O'Donnell wrote:
> Thanks for the clear instructions from Don, and the helpful 
> suggestions from everyone else. Piecing it all together, will this 
> basically work?:
>
> -- On the K3S, plug the CM500's mike and phone plugs into the 
> respective jacks on the rig's rear panel. Wire a momentary-contact 
> switch to an RCA plug inserted into the rig's PTT IN jack to serve as 
> a manual PTT switch.
>
> -- On the KX3, plug the headset's mike and phone plugs into the 
> respective jacks, and use a momentary-contact switch on a mono-style 
> 1/8" plug in the ACC2 jack as a manual PTT switch.
>
> The only thing I'm concerned about is the issue of mono vs stereo 
> plugs. For example, the CM500's mike plug has stereo-style contacts, 
> whereas the mic in jack on the K3S is marked "mono." There aren't any 
> issues there?
>
> On other points, if I were going all-in on becoming a regular phone 
> operator I might look at other headsets such as the Heils. But what 
> I'm looking at is being a bit player on a couple of nets very 
> occasionally at most, so the CM500 seemed like a decent option.
>
> Re VOX vs PTT, I can understand the convenience of the former, but 
> being an occasional throat-clearer I wouldn't want to become a 
> distractions on those nets.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Frank
>
>
> On 5/5/20 4:49 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
>> Frank,
>>
>> For the K3S, just plug the microphone and headphone plugs into the 
>> rear panel jacks.  Set the MIC SEL to RP and turn bias on.
>>
>> For the KX3. the easy way is to just turn MIC BTN off and plug it in. 
>> That microphone needs bias, and it will be supplied by the digital DC 
>> that normally is used for the MIC Button functions.
>>
>> The harder way for the KX3 is to make an adapter (but it is not that 
>> hard)
>> Be aware that, like most computer microphones, the tip and the ring 
>> of the plug are wired together - so if you make an adapter, you must 
>> use a stereo jack so the audio is not shorted to ground.
>>
>> If you make an adapter, you can include a connection for a PTT 
>> switch, but without that, you can put the KX3 into transmit with the 
>> XMIT button.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> On 5/5/2020 7:31 PM, Frank O'Donnell wrote:
>>> Phone newbie here. Any recommendations on off-the-shelf cables or 
>>> adapters, and a handheld switch, to enable use of a Yamaha CM500 
>>> headset along with PTT functionality on both a K3S and KX3?
>>>
>>> Thanks much,
>>>
>>> Frank K6FOD
>
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