[TenTec] Yamaha CM500 headset and Orion II

[Richards]

On 12/14/2013 10:14 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
  >
> No PAD should be needed. The mic is fairly high output, but I've never
> seen a rig that couldn't be turned down enough.
> _______________________________________________



I chance to disagree with just this one minor point ... and offer my 
Omni VII and Orion II as an example.   On the Omni VII one has to turn 
the AF-GAIN down to nearly 1 or maybe 2 before it does not cause the ALC 
light to come on all the time.   Similarly on a pair of Orion IIs - one 
mine and another in a contest shack - although it was not as drastic on 
that rig as it is on the Omni VII.

Still,  I venture to recommend a voltage divider or simple L or T pad to 
reduce the inherently high output which cuts it down to  approximately 
what the rig sees from a typical dynamic mic cartridge.  This gives the 
ALC more headroom to do its magic.   I believe crowding it down to very 
low AF-GAIN kinda crowds the ALC so that it can be difficult to set 
-i.e., it is either all on or all off,  and on my Omni VII, the mice is 
either on or off by the 2% setting and ALC is on all the time at that 
setting.

Thus, it is my opinion, an attenuator pad is a good idea, and makes the 
mic appear to the rig more like a dynamic mic (which I believe it is 
designed to expect most often.)

Just MY take...

(He said donning his Teflon suit... anticipating castigation for his 
decadent viewpoint !    ;-)

	(Said in good humor!)      ;-)

I am not entirely alone in my view.  The editorial staff at QST thought 
it worthy of consideration... and the guys at the contest shack don't 
disagree, either.      ;-)    ;-)

Happy trials, y'all.

--------------------------- K8JHR  -------------------------