In search of Palomar SL41

[TheRealPorkchop]

So when we going to that burger joint??

The official WWDX 2019 first annual road trip!! All we got to do is wait for CK to get the bus fueled up and come pick us up. Normally he wouldn’t want to let anyone know he wa associated with us, let alone be seen with us. BUT - this is titties & beer, plus burgers served on thighs. So I think he’s down to hang with the romper room rejects.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

The official WWDX 2019 first annual road trip!! All we got to do is wait for CK to get the bus fueled up and come pick us up. Normally he wouldn’t want to let anyone know he wa associated with us, let alone be seen with us. BUT - this is titties & beer, plus burgers served on thighs. So I think he’s down to hang with the romper room rejects.

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Maybe he can stop by and pick me up on his way. I will tell my wife it is a ham convention. haha

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

He’d be like Chris Farley driving the bus in Billy Madison, hahaha.

 

[Onelasttime]

I’m not a wholesaler. I haven’t tried to talk directly to him. I only want some of them to sell in my shop, for me personally I have absolutely no use for that mic, that or any other power mic for that reason, don’t need one. But it’s not about me, it’s about the consumer and what they want.

Not a power mic for the record. You got your answer and instead of being grateful for a sliver of truth you are still not satisfied. Maybe you know the old saying " He would complain if you hung him with a gold rope!" if the shoe fit's. LOL.....You even got a contact number and instead of saying think you just rant and complain. If it is about the customer maybe you should do some of your own home work instead of just taking other's at their word. Distributors profit margin is prob. higher on other mic's. It is not like CB'er's will stop buyig mics just because they can not get an SL41.

 

[Onelasttime]

Just build or modify your own we are talking about a mic not a quantum computer!

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

Not a power mic for the record. You got your answer and instead of being grateful for a sliver of truth you are still not satisfied. Maybe you know the old saying " He would complain if you hung him with a gold rope!" if the shoe fit's. LOL.....You even got a contact number and instead of saying think you just rant and complain. If it is about the customer maybe you should do some of your own home work instead of just taking other's at their word. Distributors profit margin is prob. higher on other mic's. It is not like CB'er's will stop buyig mics just because they can not get an SL41.

I'm pretty sure it was marketed as an amplified microphone, that means "power" to me but maybe I'm wrong there.

You have to look at who the answer came from, Rabbi, I won't say anymore about that.

I would complain if you hung me with a gold rope or any rope for that matter, nobody wants to be hung with a rope.

And far as calling Eric, I trust what my wholesaler(s) tell me, I don't think that Eric is interested in such small things like a mic or an add-on amp. He's more interested in bigger ticket items, I somewhat understand that but smalls sell faster than huge radios. If you own a shop, how many radios do you sell a day compared to things like mic's, mic cables, coax or even antennas?

And you're probably right, the profit margin is probably larger on other things or other mics, I won't argue that. I'd agree completely if it were at just one wholesaler but it's at every single one I deal with, no stock. At some point, one of them will stock it even if there isn't a huge profit on it. I'm certain of that because of the things I see at one's website that never moves yet they've carried it for over a year, the stock count remains the same and my sales rep told me it never sells. But maybe you're right there and that's the whole issue.

I don't have a huge demand for this mic, I acquired two however, recently. What I do have a demand for is the RFX95HD, I'd like to see that come back soon but I'll bet you never see it in production again.

 

[Slowmover]

I finally started running hard thus the SL-41 has been in my hands quite a lot this past week. Stir the pot, or helping with the disaster that was IH55 & IH40 at West Memphis yesterday morning with double wrecks, traffic backed miles to across the river and but one direction getting thru on two Interstates at the nations busiest crossing.

I probably keyed up three-dozen times while moving.

I very much like the size & shape of this mic. The ergonomics. Easy to grasp & operate. No “English” needed with fingers & palm to move it around. No sense that I always have to balance weight against grip.

No sense of anything being loose (unlike ALL other typical mobile mics). It’s not I dislike the others (a half-dozen; I enjoy them all), it’s that the fit, finish and design combine to make the SL-41 pleasant use. Easiest to use while mobile. It’s tight.

By contrast, my least favorite (of the ones I’ve kept) is the RANGER SRA-198. Heavier than it needs to be (last ditch stone on a sling), but I do like the length of the body while parked. Swapping coffee or smoke from one hand to another, I can extend it upwards while the palm does a second job. I can comment about what I like of the others in a similar fashion. Sometimes it is just how it makes me feel as I gather thoughts together.

The SL-41 has the qualities of an XXL chicken egg. Fits exactly to the fingers. Just right. “Natural” to control, and as easy to re-hang or grab in the first place. Very nicely done. I’d like another I’ve already decided.

I found a base station that had me at about seven miles and he reported audio was all that is desired. While the radio rig currently installed is somewhat haphazard, this was gratifying.

(And — with any luck — Undertaker doesn’t have one NIB in the museum case. He wants one now!)

.

 

[undertaker]

My friend I already have the SL-41 mic got one when they first came out

I like this mic....

 

[rabbiporkchop]

I finally started running hard thus the SL-41 has been in my hands quite a lot this past week. Stir the pot, or helping with the disaster that was IH55 & IH40 at West Memphis yesterday morning with double wrecks, traffic backed miles to across the river and but one direction getting thru on two Interstates at the nations busiest crossing.

I probably keyed up three-dozen times while moving.

I very much like the size & shape of this mic. The ergonomics. Easy to grasp & operate. No “English” needed with fingers & palm to move it around. No sense that I always have to balance weight against grip.

No sense of anything being loose (unlike ALL other typical mobile mics). It’s not I dislike the others (a half-dozen; I enjoy them all), it’s that the fit, finish and design combine to make the SL-41 pleasant use. Easiest to use while mobile. It’s tight.

By contrast, my least favorite (of the ones I’ve kept) is the RANGER SRA-198. Heavier than it needs to be (last ditch stone on a sling), but I do like the length of the body while parked. Swapping coffee or smoke from one hand to another, I can extend it upwards while the palm does a second job. I can comment about what I like of the others in a similar fashion. Sometimes it is just how it makes me feel as I gather thoughts together.

The SL-41 has the qualities of an XXL chicken egg. Fits exactly to the fingers. Just right. “Natural” to control, and as easy to re-hang or grab in the first place. Very nicely done. I’d like another I’ve already decided.

I found a base station that had me at about seven miles and he reported audio was all that is desired. While the radio rig currently installed is somewhat haphazard, this was gratifying.

(And — with any luck — Undertaker doesn’t have one NIB in the museum case. He wants one now!)

.

Did you know the mold they used to create that case was virtually a direct copy of the Shure 577b? Even the rubber lip guard is interchangeable and can be ordered directly from Shure for a couple bucks.
It feels identical in the hand. It's a world of difference between the two though. The Shure is built better but sounds worse and the Palomar is built worse but sounds better.

 

[Redbeard U812]

Did you know the mold they used to create that case was virtually a direct copy of the Shure 577b? Even the rubber lip guard is interchangeable and can be ordered directly from Shure for a couple bucks.
It feels identical in the hand. It's a world of difference between the two though. The Shure is built better but sounds worse and the Palomar is built worse but sounds better.

That Shure looks the same to me, just a big price difference.

 

[Slowmover]

I’m not surprised.

My “ introduction” to radio was in childhood when Dad decided I was old enough to sit in the Beech Bonanza right seat. I certainly wasn’t allowed to handle anything, but the opportunity did come to handle the mic at cold rest, MASTER off, that imaginations details were filled in.

The quality of designed-with-purpose has never left.

You’ll laugh when I say my first experience of intercourse had — aside from sensations — that same, “wow, these parts are really well-designed & located” aspect. .

.

 

[rabbiporkchop]

That Shure looks the same to me, just a big price difference.

The Shure has a big Dynamic element and the impedance is about 175 ohms. The audio output level is very low. The plastic case is very thick. It also has a leaf switch.
There's really no similarities between the two except for the appearance.

 

[Bow]

Just an update to this:
I just got off the phone with Eric @Palomar , and had a nice chat.

He told me the supplier that was making the SL-41 Microphone (and the Magnum 1 radio) has gone away. They have the parts too, but no one to build them at the moment... but I too am now on the waiting list (along with several others, he mentioned)

Any chance one of you guy with this microphone could draw out a schematic?

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

If they have the parts then maybe they could sell them as a kit?

 

[w9cll]

He told me the supplier that was making the SL-41 Microphone (and the Magnum 1 radio) has gone away.

Another fly-by-night bites the dust.