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Fun Microphone

 

After building the uBITX 5 I needed something to house the little electret mic cartridge that came with the kit. I had an old D-104 with a dead element hanging around, so I decided to use that. I get great audio reports from that 10 cent element. The microphone is now bigger than the radio, but it's fun to use. The uBITX drives a Ten Tec Titan II to about 500 watts p.e.p. on 20 meters - more lower and less higher. A lot of fun.? See the picture:

IMG_0878.jpg

 

That is just the same project that I am working on, Kit from eBay.

On Friday, March 27, 2020, 01:46:11 PM CDT, Ora Smith <orasmith@...> wrote:


After building the uBITX 5 I needed something to house the little electret mic cartridge that came with the kit. I had an old D-104 with a dead element hanging around, so I decided to use that. I get great audio reports from that 10 cent element. The microphone is now bigger than the radio, but it's fun to use. The uBITX drives a Ten Tec Titan II to about 500 watts p.e.p. on 20 meters - more lower and less higher. A lot of fun.? See the picture:

 

What was the 10cent element?
 

I also have a D-104 without an element.? How about a bit of a tutorial on how to install this element?? Thanks & 73?
 

Anytime I try to put a condenser element into any other microphone, I'll find some soft foam padding in a sheet or in a block that I can cut into a neat piece to fill the inside the subject microphone head.? The outside edge of the foam can be trimmed until the condenser element fits without making any kind of physical contact with any covers or sides or whatever.

One then simply needs to wire the microphone element consistent with the uBitx wiring plan, and attach the push-to-talk lever to the push-to-talk circuitry of the uBitx as well.? ?There are some cheap and easy-to-wire-in compressor and preamp boards out there, that would give the big-mike sound (or at least let you hold the whole mike stand a short distance away from your face).??



Ted
K3RTA
 

Sorry to be so slow! I just opened up the mic head and removed the contents, unsoldering the old element. I cut a new piece of foam out of foam sheet I had around to fit inside the mic head and also cut a hole in it to fit the new element. It's not very neat looking, but it works. Then I just soldered the mic wires to the new element and stuffed it into the hole in the foam, making sure the open part of the mic cartridge faces toward the front of the mic (it sounds silly to point this out, but I have made this mistake before myself). The element I used is an electret which came with the V5 kit. It's polarized, so don't put the microphone case back together until you have verified that it works. My cartridge was not marked for polarity, and predictably I guessed wrong the first time and had to swap the leads.

I reinstalled the baffling that was in the old microphone - some fiberglass and a rubber sheet of some kind.

Depending on what's in your existinng microphone head it might not be necessary to install new foam - just take out the old cartridge and put in the new.

The D-104 head is very easy to disassemble - 4 screws with slots on front and back of the circular head. Taking the head off the stand first makes it easier to handle. Of course you will have to make sure the three wires involved (two to the mic element and on to PTT) end up at the right pins on the plug that goes into the radio.

Hope this helpful. If not, just ask.
 

The ten cent element is the electret element that came with my V5 kit.? Out of curiosity I looked at an online parts place (probably Digikey) to see what they cost. Looks like 9-10 cents each in some reasonable quantity.? Sounds amazingly good!

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