[TenTec] Head-Phone volume in Orion2

[Jim Brown K9YC]

On Wed, 2 Sep 2009 11:36:27 -0400, Richards wrote:

>That is the reason I often recommend a good, but not always 
>the best microphones for ham use.   Consider how the Shure
>communications mics are of limited range by design and they
>have a real good following.

There's a discussion of this in my tutorial on Ham Interfacing 
(computers to radios, mics to radios, etc.). and in an appendix on 
audio in my RFI Tutorial. 

http://audiosystemsgroup.com/HamInterfacing.pdf  

http://audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

Mics like the Shure 444 use pre-emphasis to compensate for the 
audio bandwidth narrowing effects of TX and RX filters. It's a 
very good idea.  Some ham rigs include adjustable or selectable 
equalization (a fancy word for frequency response modification) to 
do this pre-emphasis on a flat mic. The FT1000-series rigs are an 
example. The Elecraft K3 has built-in multiband equalizers that 
can be adjusted separately for TX and RX. 

Because I work in pro audio, I own a bunch of decent mics.  For 
many years,I've used an EV RE16, a very nice pro mic, with all my 
ham rigs. It's quite flat, but the Ham Interfacing tutorial shows 
how it can be optimized for ham use. It worked quite well with my 
Omni V. 

Recently, I saw a post to another reflector recommending the 
relatively inexpensive Yamaha MH500 boom mic headset. Two members 
of our contest club bought one, and the preliminary reviews are 
quite positive. Both of the reviewers are engineers and serious 
contesters. It should work quite well with Ten Tec radios with the 
right connectors. 

73,

Jim Brown K9YC