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deadlyeyes
| | Posted on Saturday, January 04, 2003 - 2:08 am: | 
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I was looking at the list of microphones in our hosts listings. I noted that a very large percentage are no longer being produced. But there are still a few remaining so I thought a brief tutor for the new radio guy on the block might be of benefit.
There are 5 types of microphones: hand held, desk top, boom type, headset type and miscellaneous type. Which one best suits you depends on your particular usage and needs.
First the common garden variety hand held mike. This is the one that comes with almost every radio ever made. You pick it up, hold it to your mouth, key it and speak. The features on these vary from none to a ton. There are beeps, tones, sound effects, noise cancling and compression features. The up side to the handheld is that it is extremely portable and convienant. The down side is that you have to pick it up and bring it to your mouth every time you use it and this is inconvienant if you are engaged in any lengthy conversation.
When we think of a desk microphone the D104 or similar types come to mind almost immediately. Desk microphones can come with a bewildering array of features. And if you operate a base station these are THE way to go. They come in all different shapes and designs so as to match the radio very nicely. On the other hand, they are not very portable. You can use them in a mobile setting, I have done so, but they are not convienant compared to a good hand held mic. So if you spend a lot of time at ye ol fixed station operations the desk mic is the second best way to go. I say second best because what follows is the best option for a purely base station operation.
The best base station microphone arrangement is what I call the classic boom studio microphone. This is a high quality directional microphone mounted on a boom mount. You can move the mic just about anywhere and it will stay there so all you have to do is to press the talk hand held switch and just talk. Heil makes a very fine boom type mic. On the down side. Most boom mikes do not come with options. They are what they do best. Designed strictly for talking. And the good ones are not cheap. They are certainly and definately NOT portable But if you are serious about your base station use and have the $$$$ to splurge get one.
Then there is the best of both worlds, headset mic. So you want a go everywere and do all mic? Well you are in luck. You can obtain at just about any ham radio supply store a headset mic. This is a headset (similar to a sterio headset)with a small mike element that sticks out in front of your face. They usually operate using the VOX system of ham rigs but most also have an adaptor to allow you to use a hand or foot swith to key the mic. On the up side this is a take everywhere and use everywhere mic. It is better than the handheld mike in that you do not have to pick it up and the mic element is always in front of your mouth (like a good boom mount mic) ready to use. The mic elements range in quality from acceptable to simply great. The price range as well varies from very affordable (I saw a kit for under 25 bucks) to ouch country. In all honesty I should state that the Ouch price was for one of those truly awsome ones with the comfortable head set and a great mic element to die for. In addition, another beneift is that you will not bother the other riders as you can plug in the headset for private listening. When using them on a base station break out the barka lounger, tilt it back and relax while you chat. On the down side, unless you put an external device forget special effects. This is a strictly talking device. Prices vary from the very inexpensive to the very expensive. Some models have great headsets and some have merely adequate headsets. Shop around.
Lastly is the miscellaneous types. These are specialty mics. I will not spend too much time on them. The most popular of these is the 'in the ear' or earphone mic that picks up the vibrations from your vocal cards in the ear piece and transmits them like a mic. On paper this sounds good (earset and mic in one) but sometimes what sounds good on paper does not work in the real world. Reactions are mixed. Some swear by them while others would not have one. Before you buy just try is probably the best course for these types.
So choose your mic and start yappin.
If I missed your favorite mic please feel free to add to the list.
For sources of mics you can and I strongly suggest that you shop with our host for this board. You can also check out Heil Microphones web page and the Texas Towers web page. Other resourses you might look into are Amateur Radio and Communications magazines.
Signed
Who stole the last
piece of fried chicken
DE |
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