I didn't find a need to slap a powermic onto this radio, I opened the thing up and turned the modulation pot up a teenie bit, and so far EVERYBODY Ive spoken to with this thing has been asking me "what big box is that thing youre on? It sounds amazing!" I am not saying just go in there and start cranking on stuff, but if you dont know what youre doing, bring it to somebody who can do regular radio repairs and mods, and they will do the job for you and you wont be dissapointed. I haven't tried fm mode, but am, and ssb have been great so far! I hope this is helpful and hope you enjoy. (ps. Taking the steel weight that is screwed to the inside of these microphones make the mic much nicer to hold, as it being so small, the weight makes it hard to keep a hold of)