[Elecraft] For Sale - Misc From a Station Build

[Bob McGraw]

With meaning no disrespect to anyone, I recall the QSO where I was 
trying to assist an operator with his audio.   We had tried several 
adjustments with little success.  I inquired if he had a different 
mike.  He indicated that he did.   I suggested that he try that mike.  
The results was really great sounding audio and much improvement over 
what he has previously been using.  I passed along my observation and 
complements.  He responded "thanks, but I don't like the way this mike 
looks".     To this day, I've not figured out how to "see" his mike but 
I can dang sure hear it.

I've tried some of my multi thousand dollar studio mikes on the three 
radios which I use daily.   I seem to come back to my Shure SM-58 ($99 
new) or my Behringer XMB-8500  ($29 new) for the best audio reports.  
  I've determined the key is proper mike for the application, proper 
mike technique, and proper radio set-up, for in the end, none of us have 
the pipes of Don Pardo.   And no amount of EQ will attain that result.  
  If one insists on using EQ, then always attenuate first an boost last.

73

Bob, K4TAX

On 4/12/2026 11:00 AM, elecraft-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2026 17:22:45 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Al Lorona<alorona at sbcglobal.net>
> To:"elecraft at mailman.qth.net" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] For Sale - Misc From a Station Build
> Message-ID:<432943485.1252352.1775928165954 at mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Using professional broadcasting and recording microphones
> is embarrassing overkill for ham radio. On the air, these
> mics are indistinguishable from much cheaper ones, if
> everything's adjusted properly. A ham who feels that he
> or she needs to spend gobs on a mic to sound good is
> misinformed.
>
> However, one factor at play here may be the pride of
> sitting in front of a big name mic as you transmit. I'm
> not going to take that away from any ham who wants that
> experience. Just don't claim that it makes you*sound* 
> any better. It doesn't.
>
> R,
>
> Al? W6LX