[Elecraft] Microphone suggestions for K3

[Jim Brown]

On 6/21/2025 11:46 AM, Al Lorona wrote:
>   Connecting a microphone to your radio certainly has become a complicated operation!
> Al  W6LX/4

NO! I'd call doing it the hard way. All it takes is to 1) look in the 
radio's manual for which pins are what on the mic connector; 2) buying a 
mating connector; and 3) wiring your mic to the right pins.

Professional dynamic mics can be easily be connected to any radio's mic 
input. They come with a male XLR connector. Buy a short XLR mic cable 
(the standard connector used in pro audio since the early '60s), note 
what colors are connected to the male connector, remove that connector, 
connect the wire that was on pin 2 to the mic input, wire the wire that 
was on pins 3 to the radio"s "mic ground" pin, and the cable shield to 
the radio connector's shell.

The only pro mics that need a professional mic input, like that mixer, 
are electret mics, and for ham radio, there's no good reason to choose a 
pro electret mic over a dynamic mic.

Electret mics for ham radio and those on headsets for use with computers 
are built very differently, and can be connected directly to the radio 
with the right connector wired the right way. Again, all you need is the 
connector matching the radio's mic input. At the rear panel TRS input, 
it's TRS connector can be plugged in directly. For the front panel 
connector, you may need to add a small resistor between the +8VDC pin 
and the "mic in" pin.

73, Jim K9YC