Shure Microphone

[Scipio Kid]

I've got a chance to pick up a Shure 450 Series II microphone in great shape and am wondering if it'll be a good fit for my Uniden Washington. The fellow selling it had it on a Kenwood HAM and has no idea if it'll work with the Washington. I looked on some HAM sites and there's a lot of good to be said about it but not much on using it on CB. I'm wondering if I can even wire it right. I saw one post that said it was great sounding on Sideband but not so good on AM (again I'm pretty sure this was HAM sideband, not CB). That sounds a little weird to me, if it's good on the one, why not the other?

Anyway, any advice or experience is greatly appreciated.

Scipio

[295 antenna]

I saw this discussion on eham net

[MDYoungblood]

The Washington came with either a 4 pin mic (old version) or a 5 pin (new version), which do you have? If it's the new version the mic won't wire up correctly.

#'s

Greg

[Scipio Kid]

Mine is definitely the 5 pin. DANG, No way to adapt it? Why did they go with a 5 pin anyway?

Thanks

[MDYoungblood]

The 5 pin uses a separate ground or negative for the TX/RX switching which that mic doesn't have. It would work fine on any radio that doesn't need a microphone plugged in for the speaker to work.

3's

Greg

[Scipio Kid]

Thanks Greg,
So do you think it's possible to wire in and if so, is it worth the trouble? It's a good mic but there are deals on good mics all the time. I'm thinkin' pass on this and wait for something more compatible. Or does this 5 pin setup make it tough to use any mic? I figure, since it's a fairly popular radio, there must be some good, compatible choices out there. And being a base, I'd think it probably came with a good desktop mic originally, rather than the one I got with it (looks like any handheld you'd find on any mobile, in fact, I was amazed it was a 5 pin when I looked).

Thanks again,
Scipio

[Rabbit Ears]

Don't bother with the Shure 450...not worth the time or effort.

I had a Washington for years...and tried a SHURE 450. Pretty flat and muffled sounding.

Better get a Turner desk microphone, best sounding!! I know...my sister station #53 has a Washington with a Turner +3 with an open audio mod....sounds awesome.

Personally, I own three Turner desk mics. Two +3 and a Super Side Kick. *+3 is my favorite*

[Scipio Kid]

Thanks guys, no go on the shure.

[jon6667]

i have several shure 526ts amplified mics.
i get nothing but good reports with them. i have never tried a unamplified shure mic.

[Scipio Kid]

Well, I never bought the thing since the expert advice here told me it'd be a bad investment. I had the radio set up temporary anyway and shut it down when the snow started flying. Just got it back up and running (took me that long to run a conduit through a wall, call me Mr. motivated). I think the handheld works fine, no one complains and I get out fine and skip like crazy (sometimes). But I don't know what might sound better. I haven't had a desktop Mic for years but on the old base stations, the desk tops always had a lock button so you could key up and then sit back and jaw without having to hold the button down. I had an amplified radio shack desktop on the old Navaho with a battery (9V I think) in the base. That old 23 channel rig really got out and sounded great! I was almost always on the receiving end (In one of the trucks) and that thing sounded loud and clear whether I was parked outside the shop or 25 miles down the road.

I was talking truck to truck with my boy the other day on a 70 mile run and the radio in his truck sounded terrible. I had to tell him to hold the mike 6" from his mouth to understand him. Still did it (but a little better) with a newer Cobra mic so I figured someone fiddled with the radio and trashed it. Put in a stock 29 and it sounds wonderful now. My mobile radio was worked over by a guru somewhere in Indiana before I bought it. It'll blast the doors off most stock Cobras and if you turn the power mic past 3-4 it sounds terrible. But if you keep it turned down it's great. So I don't know if I really need more modulation out of the mic. on the Washington. Like the Cobras, it has built in mic gain and maybe that's enough. I would like the convenience of a desktop though when I'm sitting at a desk, rather than driving. Any experiences, advice or suggestions are welcome ... now that I've got the thing back on line.

-- Wednesday, 22 February 2017, 22:20 PM --

And Rabbit Ears, Love your setup. Looks just like mine except that extra knob where the headphone jack used to be. What have you got there, talkback, Echo? I notice the red finned power supply on top of your President Grant (which president do you prefer, BTW?) I use an old RS Micronta 22-124 when I'm testing or using mobile units. It 's rated at 2.5 amps an works great. Had a fellow offer me a similar unit but with huge heat sinks all the way around it (sort of like yours). It's also an old R.S. and I figured it was a much higher wattage unit than mine, thus the heat fins. But it's rated the same as mine which has no (external) heat sink whatsoever. I'm wondering what the difference is. Mine can be on all day and only gets a little warm.

Anyway, so you like that Turner you have there with your Washington? Is it amplified and if so, do you keep it turned up all the time or only for certain situations? Also, you ever talk down to Utah or are the mountains in the way.

[Scipio Kid]

Back with another mic.
Found a great deal on an Electro Voice Lo Z 622 desktop mic. It has a 3 pin plug on it like you see in public address systems at most schools and churches. I saw a couple posts on HAM sites that say it's a good mic but I'm wondering what the guru's here think of it paired with my Washington base and if it's even feasible to convert to the Uniden 5 pin without major surgery.

Any input would be most appreciated.