Astatic D-104m6 hand mic

[Eldorado828]

I've been testing microphones on the q6 pro to see which one works best for me.

My favorite for a while with several other radios has been an old astatic d-104m6 hand mic. With this radio it sounds good but there's one issue that isn't going over to well.

Upon keyup it pops, and it's only with the initial key down. It doesn't do it when I release. I tried to lube the switch although I didn't think that was it and as expected it didn't change anything.

Is there anything to remedy the issue or is it something that I have to live with?

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

The switch that they put in these things has been low quality since Barjan acquired them. But that's ok because there is a quick fix. The solution is to remove the audio wire from one side of the switch and solder it directly to the other audio wire. The audio doesn't need to be switched, the radio already takes care of this as part of its keying circuit. All the modern radios with VOX are already wired this way too. This is the first thing I do when I put the battery in a new mic.

 

[Eldorado828]

The switch that they put in these things has been low quality since Barjan acquired them. But that's ok because there is a quick fix. The solution is to remove the audio wire from one side of the switch and solder it directly to the other audio wire. The audio doesn't need to be switched, the radio already takes care of this as part of its keying circuit. All the modern radios with VOX are already wired this way too. This is the first thing I do when I put the battery in a new mic.

Thanks Chris, I was thinking along those lines but this switch is mounted directly on the mic amp pcb so removing wires from pins isn't an option. I could try to just jump the switch pins and go about that way to see.
Could possibly cut traces but it's a double sided board so I'd need to probe and trace the circuit.

Question: wouldn't that force battery power to be on full time and kill the battery?

I noticed the 636 does the same thing.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Just solder a piece of wire to connect the audio pins on the switch. Or maybe a solder blob would do it. I will crack one of mine open and take a look. The power to the mic amp has separate pins so it should be unaffected. Maybe I was thinking of moving the wire on a 636. I have done it to both mics, so it should work for you.

 

[Eldorado828]

Just solder a piece of wire to connect the audio pins on the switch. Or maybe a solder blob would do it. I will crack one of mine open and take a look. The power to the mic amp has separate pins so it should be unaffected. Maybe I was thinking of moving the wire on a 636. I have done it to both mics, so it should work for you.

I'm going to open mine up those evening and take a look. They're fairly simple so I'll report back on what I come up with.