RD104E - a dud

[Slowmover]

From what I understand Road King was also.. My go to replacement for noise canceling mics have been the Ranger SRA-198 . I have yet to find a good quality power Mic.

The power mics I have are only okay. Hit/miss with switches. Have to take apart, lube, and re-center (helps). None I’ve kept in service continually all that long. In the big truck with a KL203, a power mic hasn’t mattered much.

The SRA-198 I bought as a lot of (5) for $100 shipped a few years back. It’s the backup mic to the stock piece in every custom foam-filled radio transport case. Thus always at hand.

The several RK56s are all late 1990s and post-2010. No complaints, there. They stay in a tool bag in ziplock with the power mics. All of which get dragged out from time to time. Same for the SL-41.

I’m sorry to have missed the RF EXTREME 2018 power mic.

Were I working only from home I might have a different take. Any big truck mike gets banged sooner or later, despite care to the contrary. Power mics not happy with that.

.

 

[Handy Andy]

Even by crude measurements that are from a simple Windoze Paint program...

I found some interesting issues around this Switch to Plunger to Actuator(Push To Talk button)

The Radial rotation, or Axis of rotation, doesn't mate well with the plunger - so you can even damage the switch from you keying it up - from the torque applied to the plunger from simply using it....

So when you start posting - "switch gets goofy and needs lube" I had to investigate.

What I found...by design alone it's not matching up - that means simply by construction alone - it's off and can't withstand the level of pressure or hold up for very long. From the angle used in the design as as well as the thrust you place on the switch to plunger shaft and the contacts within the switch itself.

This thing is doomed to fail....right from the start - unless you modify the Button to increase plunger surface area to work with - this thing will fail no matter what. It's not a factor of time, but the number of presses and the effort you place everything under pressure from pushing in that button.

Look this over and you decide...


To compare, and for fairness - look at another photo supplied from Big Kahuna
taken from a previous years model
You can find that here RD104E - a dud
See Below...


​

Blue Line = Top "press point" rotation - but does not equal actual mating surface
Green Line = Best "guess" as to actual rotation of strike zone depth
Pink Line = Bottom of "Press Point" range of Rotation - where most of the mating surface appears to be...which is not aligned with Top of Rotation" press point.

 

[Big Kahuna]

I won’t argue that the design is weird and might be prone to failure, except that none of mine have ever failed. The one in the photo is my daily mike and I’ve been using it for years, probably 7 years now, I’d guess. If I average 5 toggles a day that’s over 10,000 times it’s been clicked with no issues.

 

[Slowmover]

It IS a disappointment to take apart.

There are those devices which rely on careful re-assembly and they then work well. This isn’t one of them.

It’s as though mental midgets tried to reverse-engineer a stolen example.

Next up: Cargo Cult Radio

.

 

[Handy Andy]

I won’t argue that the design is weird and might be prone to failure, except that none of mine have ever failed. The one in the photo is my daily mike and I’ve been using it for years, probably 7 years now, I’d guess. If I average 5 toggles a day that’s over 10,000 times it’s been clicked with no issues.

That's the thing...

I'm not trying to be rude or show fault, just the new one doesn't match or mate up with the circuit board design the older model uses. The throw and strike zone on the key are vastly different - shorter - er, thinner I guess is a better word for it....

The newer ones aren't quite "assembled" or measured correctly?

The other one from just several years ago with Big Kahunas, are showing better plunger and PTT design, they have the surface area. And seems to mate or match - the throw of the switch plunger to the strike zone on the Key of the PTT. Between the two photos you can even see how the strike zone of the mic Keys are different design.

The context of the work was to show that whomsoever they went to- company or maker- to continue making this style of mic, they did not do their homework - they "missed" their mark by not measuring the plunger to PTT Key "fit" - it's why these new ones fail. You can over torque the plunger in a direction you don't want it to go...

So the OP is correct to show this - others are showing it too. The earlier year models simply measure up better.

Not here to flame just I see this as a clone/copycatting problem. It is just sad to see this...I would have hoped Astatic would have taken more accountability and responsibility for making this right - not just leaving it to the next guy and never bother to check their work since it has THEIR name on it...

 

[Big Kahuna]

Gotcha - sorry I was reading this on my phone and couldn't see the subtle differences you pointed out. It will be interesting to see then how well the new ones hold up over time. Also interesting to see this stuff come up, especially with the other article on the Imax 2000's that are too short. It really feels like some non-radio people are making manufacturing decisions.

 

[snippits75]

I will have a brand new Road Devil I just ordered in a couple days for testing. I just use 11 meter for now, so I have been testing various microphones doing line recordings from my RCI 2980 base station to my desktop computer. Using the free to use Audacity audio software.

The surprising winner so far for modulation and sound clarity has been Workman SuperStar DM507-4...a $10 microphone. The mic cord is not top of the line, but what ever mic element that is inside of it is top notch.

Tested a new D-104 hand mic, and the modulation was good, but the sound was tinny and raspy...not natural sounding.

Ranger SRA-158 hand mic was good and clear...natural sounding. The modulation was the worst of the bunch.

Old Cobra coffin shaped mic that was basically new was way too boomy--too much bass--sounding, but it had good modulation. Printed on the back of the Cobra microphone was 600 ohms which is what the stock microphone for the 2980 was rated at.

 

[Riverman]

Wish I’d read this thread earlier. I have one on the way.

 

[Riverman]

Thanks for the suggested mod, Handy Andy. Am armed and ready.

 

[snippits75]

unless you modify the Button to increase plunger surface area to work with - this thing will fail no matter what.

Understand what you are talking about. But how to go about adding plunger surface area I am drawing a blank.

 

[Handy Andy]

You have to either ...

Shift the plunger - move it - to a better alignment - you can see that as you disassemble it and work the key to see how it mates with the plunger...

• You have to unsolder the switch and attempt to reseat and resolder it in a newer angle to better mate with the striker...don't have much room so take care not to deform the housing the plunger uses else it will bind and stick...
• add material - either thru Epoxy or modify the plunger "face" (it's stem) to accept a simple rubber cap to offset the distance and throw angle this new key does to the plunger...Key will engage sooner but the rubber cap can offset the effort of the extra throw distance by offering some cushion.
• alter or add material - Epoxy to the key to reshape the strike point to better mate with and thrust against the plunger...
• Or return the mic for another type - avoid this Mic until they reshape or restyle the key to fix the problem...

 

[Riverman]

You have to either ...

Shift the plunger - move it - to a better alignment - you can see that as you disassemble it and work the key to see how it mates with the plunger...

• You have to unsolder the switch and attempt to reseat and resolder it in a newer angle to better mate with the striker...don't have much room so take care not to deform the housing the plunger uses else it will bind and stick...
• add material - either thru Epoxy or modify the plunger "face" (it's stem) to accept a simple rubber cap to offset the distance and throw angle this new key does to the plunger...Key will engage sooner but the rubber cap can offset the effort of the extra throw distance by offering some cushion.
• alter or add material - Epoxy to the key to reshape the strike point to better mate with and thrust against the plunger...
• Or return the mic for another type - avoid this Mic until they reshape or restyle the key to fix the problem...

Won’t know till I receive it and get in it but am thinking about a 1/2” #00 rubber flat washer. Or two.

 

[Handy Andy]

Might have to re-shape the spacer to allow clearance on the plunger to board...

There were options of E-washers too, to provide a "spring tang" to offset the space

And no...Hot glue will not work in this...you need a UV glue like that dentists use to fixate work using the pre-mix epoxy that only will harden in UV light...

 

[Riverman]

Might have to re-shape the spacer to allow clearance on the plunger to board...

There were options of E-washers too, to provide a "spring tang" to offset the space

And no...Hot glue will not work in this...you need a UV glue like that dentists use to fixate work using the pre-mix epoxy that only will harden in UV light...

Thank you.

 

[Slowmover]

Wish I’d read this thread earlier. I have one on the way.

Nah. Everyone needs a bag of goodies to be a true Elmer.