The AM Forum

What's the best microphone for my DX-100?

 Ask 100 hams that question, and you'll get 200 answers.

I use a D-104 on my Apache, probably similar audio system.

The late Justin Wilson, Cajun chef, was asked, "What is the best wine?"

His answer was, "The kind you like."



 

A good ol' crystal element D-104 is tough to beat overall, and a very good starting point at the very least.

I agree.  Replace the grid input resistor to around a 5-10 megohm value.  A few capacitor changes to the audio section and that mic and rig combination will sound good.  There are lots of easy mods for the DX-100 out there:


http://www.amwindow.org/tech/htm/dx100.htm

I'm 200% behind the others here.

The DX100 sounds really nice with the D-104. Very natural sound and easy on the ears. The DX100 can make broadcast audio, with many many mods, but with 100 watts you need more of a D-104 audio and have just as much enjoyment using AM.
100W on 80M and 40M is pretty good stuff, providing the antenna system is not too compromised.
160M should be close to 200W carrier to get through the usual conditions. Antenna is more important!!
Fred

I always liked the quality of the Electro-voice 664. It's my microphone of choice on my Apache.

(http://www.fast-autos.net/diecast-cars-models/diecast-car-image-large/electro-voice-664-microphone-wired-for-collins_150516407149.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/3102556584_db57abeb30.jpg)

:) :) :) :)

I remember that nice mic. the 664. Could take quite a beating and still perform. During my stage-crew days,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I won't reveal the year.
Fred

I have a Turner 22X crystal microphonium you can have. I used it when I was a JN AMer back in the day (1995-2003). worked nice plugged right into the Viking Bud (1)!!

PM me with an address and I'll get it out to ya. Ifn ya like it....... keep it!

(pictured on the right side of the desk mounted on the gooseneck)

 An EV-664 is a damn good and very underated microphone. Its only drawback is they tend to be top-heavy. I've been using mine with the HN-500 and have had very good reports with it.

Shure Bros. desk mike off an old Motorola or RCA FM "2-way" base station. I have several and they have always sounded best to me on playback. Some have an extra button which is useful for keying an amplifier. Pic is representative.

Looks like a Shure 444 mike. They were tailored for SSB transmissions. Response cuts off sharply below 300 Hz and above 3000 Hz. Typical 70's and 80's sideband audio. Great for cutting through the QRM but annoying to listen to on AM.

Although I use several D-104's on my Apache, Marauder and KT-390, I just picked up an ElectroVoice 719 mike off "You-Know-Who-Bay".  Good price and was in an "original box".  It had been modified somewhat, but being an experimenter (aren't we all?) I opened it up to find an audio transformer in the audio line.  It seems that the original owner needed a lower output impedance, maybe for a newer radio, and put in a UTC DO-T7  200K to 1K ratio xfmr.

This was NOT done by EV, because the soldering job was even worse than mine and the connections were insulated with masking tape.  Just like the old days, eh?

The mike element worked fine on a scope, so I removed the transformer, rewired the PTT and element the way I wanted it and I'll try it on the rigs tonight.

And if I can get my hands on a 664, I'll be a happy camper!

Howdy,

I have a mic that looks almost like the Turner shown, but the face is a little different. The face is the same cast aluminum as the rest of the housing, and has a series of concentric slots.The mic doesn't work, and I would like to take it apart, but there are no screws.

I assume that the face unscrews from the housing, but don't want to wreck it trying something that won't work.

Any advice would be appreciated.

73, Jim W5COA

I'll check mine out tonite, Jim. I've never had them apart either!

There may be several versions of that Shure mic. But it SHURE looks like the ones we always used  for P.A. systems at work. Very nice sound and durable.
This Shure mic and the EV 664 might get into impedance issues and the mic. Preamp in the DX100 not able to match up properly without an external mixer or preamp.
The D-104 is the faster hook-up, unless someone here has connected one of the shown mics and they connect likety-split to the mic input of the DX-100.

Fred

Electro-Voice 664:
Frequency response: Uniform from 60 to 15,000 Hz

Impedance: 150 ohm and high impedance. 150-ohm impedance is balanced to ground. Microphone is wired for high impedance unless 150 ohm is requested. There should be no problem using it with a DX-100 or similar type transmitter.

There are a bunch of modern mics you can buy in the $50 - $100 range available at places like Best Buy and Fry's electronics. They are low impedance, but perhaps you could use them with one of those little XLR to 1/4" plug step up impedance matching transformers.

I'm not recommending this, because I haven't tried it but perhaps someone else has.

Specs look good on paper.

Id be cautious about using wide response mikes unless you do the filtering in the TX.

Heil has some new elements and mikes that may be of interest.

My voice has few lows and Im often using a Heil dual element boom mike and get good reports. Other rigs use a D-104 with various replacement elements as there are very few good crystals remaining. It also helps for some to have a directional cardoid if there is a lot of backround noise.

I havent bothered with messing around with fancy equalizers or artificial bass boost....yet.

Carl

I have used a EV 664 for years and the D104 for years both do a great job (been a ham for 50 years). Great audio comes out of both mikes but the 664 is top heavy, one is a dynamic mike the other is crystal the 664 can be adj for high or low inpediance.

John W9BFO

The 664, aka "the Buchanan Hammer"!  A very nice mic that can double as a hand tool, but for the DX-100, I prefer a good crystal.    By the way, that's not urban legend, you can read it in the obit for Lou Burroughs, co-founder of Electro-Voice: 

www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/jaes.obit/JAES_V34_3_PG222.pdf

73, Bob W9RAN

You can use a D-104 to swat flies on the wall.

If I remember correctly, I think at one time Don used both a 664 and a D-104 together (I assume through a mixer) to get the best of both worlds. Or maybe my brain is just all fogged up and I'm dreaming this out loud.

I go with Opcom re the RCA FM base station mike. I found two at a flea market when posted overseas and did not expect much but had no choice because I was putting together a ham station from what I could find at that local flea market. As it turns out I got very good reports with this mike and decided to investigate further after I got back to the US.  The cartridge (at least in these units) is a Model EM28A. If you look that up, you'll find that it is one of the very top cartridges preferred by expert harmonica players. I don't know how good it is on AM yet, but on SSB, it's hot and I prefer it over my other mikes, including a D-104. Now that I'm back on AM, we'll see how it plays.

Jim
W3BH




Shure Bros. desk mike off an old Motorola or RCA FM "2-way" base station. I have several and they have always sounded best to me on playback. Some have an extra button which is useful for keying an amplifier. Pic is representative.