[Elecraft] K4 and Yamaha CM-500 Mic?

[Oscar Staudt]

When I got my K4D a month ago, I unplugged my Yamaha CM-500 mic and
headphones from my K3, and plugged them into the back of my K4.  I set the
mic input to rear, and mic bias on.  I expected the mic to perform
like it had in the K3.


I attempted to get 3-5 bars of ALC by turning up the mic gain control.  Even
with the gain up to 80, I’d have to speak *very* loudly to just get a
flicker on the ALC meter.


I then went back into the mic configuration and turned on the preamp (14dB).
After that I could get  some ALC bars with the mic gain around 65 or more.  But
I still  had to talk much louder than I had to with the same mic on the K3.
(note:  mic level on the K3 was set around 7).


Question:  Is it reasonable to expect that I’d have to have the mic gain at
such a high level - and still have to talk louder than my normal (K3)
level?


BTW, I can hook up the MH-4, switch to front mic, and all works smooth with
mic gain around 12.