[TenTec] Heil Mic Wiring to Orion

[k8jdc at sbcglobal.net]

All,

     I just got home from the Ft Wayne hamfest with a new Heil GM-5 (and 
Heil CC-1-T4 cable) for my original Orion.  When I started verifying the 
microphone wiring against the manual, I found that the Heil wiring did not 
match the manual.  Basically, what I found is that the body of the 
microphone is connected to the (Mic -) line inside the microphone.  Then, 
the Heil CC-1-T4 cable takes that combined signal and connects it to the PTT 
return and then connects it to pin 2 (Mic -) of the Orion.  There is no 
connection to the connector shell of the Orion end, which is shown as 
chassis ground (and PTT return) in the Tentec manual.  I've read Heil's 
paper on modifying the Orion's microphone connector to put a ground on Pin 4 
(mine is unmodified) and other posts on the reflector about oddities with 
the mic wiring, so I know there are some oddities in this interface, but I 
haven't seen anything similar to this specific example.

     I did hook up the microphone and it sounds okay (2.059d) using the 
monitor circuit.  I haven't made any checks over the air because the air is 
filled with contesters.  I'm looking to see if anybody has run across this 
problem before and whether they left it "as-is" or modified the wiring to 
match the manual.  I'm leaning towards modifying the wiring, but the "if it 
ain't broke, don't fix it" light is going off in my head.  I'll probably 
contact Heil tomorrow to see what he/they have to say.  Thanks for your 
help...

73, Dave
K8JDC