On 6/7/2013 2:13 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
If you want a headset, I'd strongly recommend the Yamaha CM-500
(< $50 on-line at places like B&H Photovideo, Sam Ash, etc.) it
is not noise cancelling but it beats the Heil hands down for
less than half the price.
Strongly agree. The CM500 headset is VERY comfortable, both mic and
headset sound great, and plug straight into jacks on the rear panel.
On the other hand, as W2BLC observed, almost any mic that isn't "broken"
can be tamed by first setting the Mic Gain correctly, setting
Compression correctly, and using TXEQ correctly.
If you're getting reports of bad audio, go to the section of the K3
manual that tells you how to set up the mic gain and compression. Set
Mic Gain first, then set compression for no more than 10dB compression
on peaks. Use the display that gives you a readout of compression.
As to TXEQ -- most mics produce more "lows" than are needed for
communications. I always recommend starting with all TXEQ bands set to
0 (no boost, no cut), then set the three lowest bands for maximum cut,
readjust Mic Gain and Compression if needed, and get some audio
reports. It is rarely a good thing to boost any frequencies, except
with a true professional mic designed for broadcasting or music. With
one of those mics, it IS good practice to cut the lows and boost the two
or three higher bands.
Each station giving you an audio report should have their IF bandwidth
set wide (at least 2.8 kHz), and with no RX EQ. You want your audio to
sound fairly natural, but with no lows (because lows waste power, and
contribute nothing to intelligibility). Think "telephone quality."
The two big things that make audio sound awful are Mic Gain set too
high, and Compression set too high. 99.9% of the bad audio I hear on
the air would be fixed simply by turning down both settings.
73, Jim K9YC
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