Presenting the reincarnation of the sl41 (stryker sr-76nc)

[Shadetree Mechanic]

I just got mine today. I will give a full report when I get a chance this weekend.

 

[codeman]

Looking forward to the report.

 

[Greg T]

I've been playing with mine and trying a few experiments. Here is what I found. The adjustment pots work, but need to be a bit more responsive. Gotta crank them way too much. BUT, this mic has more gain than the Palomar. It's hotter and actually sounds better. BUT, it desperately NEEDS more filtering for the plosives. The element is much too close to the front screen and Ss are very sloppy and distorted, while the Ps are VERY explosive. I played around a bit and added more treble with the pot, THEN added a small piece of open cell foam (1/8" thick) over the front of the mic. HUUUUUUGE difference!! The Ss are fine, clean, clear and the Ps are no longer explosive. The mic is extremely pleasing to the ear and loud. Sounds nearly as good as a Turner + three. I'm going to contact Shawn and explain the situation to him. As of this moment, I would not use this mic because of the lack of wind filtering. Although, a nice, thin piece of foam over the grill will eliminate this issue. Physically, this mic feels rugged and should hold up well in the field.

 

[13OP25]

Hi Greg,
Thank you very much for your report.

Did you put the foam on the front side of the mic just to look for/to hear the difference?
Or did you really disassembled the mic front grill and put the foam in between the front grill and the electret capsule?

I've ordered one SR-76NC as well in the States, but I guess shipping time to Germany will take a while.
I'm looking forward to draw the schematic (it cannot be that much...hihi).

I've got 2 Palomar SL41 kept in my shack, so I'm very happy that there's a "reincarnation" version for future usage out there now.

vy 73,
Jochen, DG2IAQ, 13OP25

 

[Greg T]

Hi Greg,
Thank you very much for your report.

Did you put the foam on the front side of the mic just to look for/to hear the difference?
Or did you really disassembled the mic front grill and put the foam in between the front grill and the electret capsule?

I've ordered one SR-76NC as well in the States, but I guess shipping time to Germany will take a while.
I'm looking forward to draw the schematic (it cannot be that much...hihi).

I've got 2 Palomar SL41 kept in my shack, so I'm very happy that there's a "reincarnation" version for future usage out there now.

vy 73,
Jochen, DG2IAQ, 13OP25

I just stuck it over the front to test it so I could try it on and off a few times. It truly made a world of difference. I'm going to disassemble the mic and put it against the screen, eventually. I can't even believe the difference it made in audio quality.

 

[Eldorado828]

I just stuck it over the front to test it so I could try it on and off a few times. It truly made a world of difference. I'm going to disassemble the mic and put it against the screen, eventually. I can't even believe the difference it made in audio quality.

That's good to know and a simple fix. I have a little assortment of pop filters to try with it.

As to the gain adjustment, maybe I didn't crank enough of mine to hear a difference if you say it's long winded.

 

[Greg T]

That's good to know and a simple fix. I have a little assortment of pop filters to try with it.

As to the gain adjustment, maybe I didn't crank enough of mine to hear a difference if you say it's long winded.

They are 10 turn pots so a bit of cranking is necessary.

 

[davew41]

I've been playing with mine and trying a few experiments. Here is what I found. The adjustment pots work, but need to be a bit more responsive. Gotta crank them way too much. BUT, this mic has more gain than the Palomar. It's hotter and actually sounds better. BUT, it desperately NEEDS more filtering for the plosives. The element is much too close to the front screen and Ss are very sloppy and distorted, while the Ps are VERY explosive. I played around a bit and added more treble with the pot, THEN added a small piece of open cell foam (1/8" thick) over the front of the mic. HUUUUUUGE difference!! The Ss are fine, clean, clear and the Ps are no longer explosive. The mic is extremely pleasing to the ear and loud. Sounds nearly as good as a Turner + three. I'm going to contact Shawn and explain the situation to him. As of this moment, I would not use this mic because of the lack of wind filtering. Although, a nice, thin piece of foam over the grill will eliminate this issue. Physically, this mic feels rugged and should hold up well in the field.

I did the same after Mine arrived, I knew the pots were 12 turn but yes just like the palomar the element was almost exactly touching the metal screen.
What I did to eliminate is just pretty much the same as you did.

I moved the element about 1/2 inch back and lightly added cotton from a washcloth kind of like a DEAD CAT pop filter, I also trimmed the sides off of the foam giving the air from our breath a chamber to go around the element. then I re did the volume and made it SCREAM!!! Yes these mics will go very loud.

 

[Greg T]

I did the same after Mine arrived, I knew the pots were 12 turn but yes just like the palomar the element was almost exactly touching the metal screen.
What I did to eliminate is just pretty much the same as you did.

I moved the element about 1/2 inch back and lightly added cotton from a washcloth kind of like a DEAD CAT pop filter, I also trimmed the sides off of the foam giving the air from our breath a chamber to go around the element. then I re did the volume and made it SCREAM!!! Yes these mics will go very loud.

Yup, it doesn't take much, but the breath filter is absolutely necessary on these mics. I have a meeting coming at the end of the week with shawn and I'm going to recommend this mod.

 

[davew41]

Yup, it doesn't take much, but the breath filter is absolutely necessary on these mics. I have a meeting coming at the end of the week with shawn and I'm going to recommend this mod.

Already ben reported as well as many other Mods.. I have one torn down to pretty much nothing testing other things as well I even REMOVED the whole 3 pin volume pot to get max volume

 

[Greg T]

Already ben reported as well as many other Mods.. I have one torn down to pretty much nothing testing other things as well I even REMOVED the whole 3 pin volume pot to get max volume

Over all, with a few minor changes, I think this is the best NC mic I've played with. Once the plosives and breath noise are dealt with, this mic really sounds great!

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Yup, it doesn't take much, but the breath filter is absolutely necessary on these mics. I have a meeting coming at the end of the week with shawn and I'm going to recommend this mod.

If you could, put a bug in his ear about putting SSB on the 447.

 

[davew41]

If you could, put a bug in his ear about putting SSB on the 447.

I would love SSb on the whole line!!

 

[davew41]

If you could, put a bug in his ear about putting SSB on the 447.

What faceplate changes would you use to add the am fm pa ssb swtich where do you think it would look good and what would you like to see eliminated? as the faceplate of all of the radios are pretty packed.

 

[Greg T]

If you could, put a bug in his ear about putting SSB on the 447.

Actually, one of my suggestions was to add SSB to another radio. I didn't have one in mind, but I was going to mention that having one SSB radio out of the entire line has got to be losing potential sales. I'm not extremely familiar with all of the models, so you think the 447 would by the kitty?