Just got an ElectroVoice 664 - how to hook it up?

[KK4RXN]

A friend of mine that's cleaning out his basement just brought me an ElectroVoice 664 mic that probably will work once I shine it up. It looks like it has a coax connector on it, of all things, so I'm wondering - how could I get it connected to a Kenwood TS-820 or a Yaesu FT -757GX? This thing is retro sharp.

[K9IUQ]

A friend of mine that's cleaning out his basement just brought me an ElectroVoice 664 mic that probably will work once I shine it up. It looks like it has a coax connector on it, of all things, so I'm wondering - how could I get it connected to a Kenwood TS-820 or a Yaesu FT -757GX? This thing is retro sharp.

I love old microphones and have a small collection of them. My favorites are the Astatic 10DA and the DN-HZ which is similar to the 10DA but bigger and more "retro". I am also partial to the Shure 444 which is really ugly but a great performer on SSB. My oldest mic is a collector quality Shure 70H which is beyond retro and made I think in the 1930's. I do not have any EV's.

I hate to wire up mics, my eyes just ain't like it used to be and those tiny 8 pin mic connectors are really nasty for me to solder. So I do it the easy way. I buy the mic cord with the connector already on it. The other end has bare wires to solder to the mic. This is an old Hams way of doing things.  

You need to make sure the mic has the correct impedance for your radio. Low or high impedance and some mics have a switch on the bottom to change impedance. Most modern rigs use low impedance mics and a lot of oldie mics were high Impedance mics.

Note that not all old mics have PTT buttons and some that did are really poor. Get out your rig manuals and see what mic connector you need, there are 2,4, or 8pin connectors. Then Get the wiring diagram for the rig's mic input. Heat up the soldering iron and go for it.

Since you are a newbie Ham I would just make friends with a local ham that has good eyesight and is not to old and beg him to "show me how". You will save yourself much frustration.  

Stan K9IUQ

[KK4RXN]

Yes - the Kenwood has a 4 pin and the Yaesu has an 8 pin, I believe, so it will depend on which one I want to use it with. I found a wiring diagram for this mic on the Internet this morning, so I'll see what I can do. Thanks!

[K5TED]

http://www.coutant.org/ev664/

[KK4RXN]

http://www.coutant.org/ev664/

Yeah, that site is the best one I've found yet.

I know my MC-50 mic for my Kenwood is running high impedance on its mic switch. This seems to just have an on/off switch, so I guess I could run VOX with it? I haven't ever set up my rigs for VOX so I'd need to check the manual on how to do it.

[K9IUQ]

I guess I could run VOX with it? I haven't ever set up my rigs for VOX so I'd need to check the manual on how to do it.

Yeah that should work.Be aware there are pitfalls to using VOX. I rarely use VOX any more. Here is why:

1.My wife will occasionally holler at me and it is not always family oriented. No VOX around her..
2. I have 2 dogs. You know what dogs like to do occasionally?  Bark. No Vox around them.
3. My logger Commcat announces spots from countries I need in computer Voice. No VOX when Commcat runs which is most of the time.
4. My telephone rings and .............. No VOX around my telephone.

Get the idea? PTT for me..  

Stan K9IUQ

[KK4RXN]

That's a good one, Stan!

[WB2EOD]

I like K9IUQ's idea of getting a cord with the plug already on it and wiring the mic end.  That never occurred to me.
His comments regarding VOX are also right on target.
The round 8 pin plug used on many rigs is called a "Foster" plug and I too have a difficult time with it owing to 60 year old eyes and hands.  
A male/female extension cord for most popular connectors can be found on the internet for less than 10 bucks.  
At that rate, it is less trouble to off the unwanted connector and solder the wires to the mic.

I learn something new and useful every time check into this website

73
WB2EOD

[K5TED]

You can get a cheap footswitch for 10 bucks or a good for around 50.

[KK4RXN]

You can get a cheap footswitch for 10 bucks or a good for around 50.

Where is the best place for the cheaper one? I wouldn't want to spend $50 on one.

[KG6YV]

Great vintage microphone that may need refurbishment, try it first. 

IF it sounds bad, muffled or fuzzy it probably needs to be rebuilt.  I did this to one I bought.

These microphones were built in the 1960's with pieces of foam inside for sound baffling/deadening.
I opened mine and all the foam pieces disintegrated when I tried to pull them out.  Not to worry you can make replacement pieces out of any available microphone foam breath/pop screen material.

The real trick is dissassembling the 664.  Wow, there doesn't appear to be a way to get into this beast.  WRONG!.... You have to "become one with the microphone"....

That little decorative "stud" on the top of the windscreen is the key.  I unscrewed it cafefully with
a pair of needle nose pliears.  Once this is done. the screen comes out.  However, you may have to careully rotate the smaller screens on the side of the mic. to get it out.

Now you look at it and you see the foam if it is still there over the element membrane... The foam might just fall apart (good thing).  Once the foam is out you see a membrane and a metal superstructure on which the screen sat (small threaded hole on the end for the decorative screw.

But how do I get that out?  THat is where the vice grips enter the equation.  That metal fixture screws out counterclockwise.  Once it is loose you can get the element assembly out.   Why you ask?  Because at the "butt" end of the microphone is a tiny hole in the casting which is there for
audio shaping/damping..... That hole needs to be open.  THere may also be some foam in the chamber, I can't remember for sure.

Bottom line is after cleaning out the old foam and making replacement foam to fit like the old stuff, cleaning out the "butt-hole"... and dusting off the dynamic membrane my microphone went back together and works like new....


FYI,

[K5TED]

You can get a cheap footswitch for 10 bucks or a good for around 50.

Where is the best place for the cheaper one? I wouldn't want to spend $50 on one.

Look up "Philmore Footswitch". You want the Red one(momentary switch), not the black one(ON/OFF).

[KK4RXN]

Thanks for all the help - and for the footswitch, how do you connect it? I see Amazon has one for around $15 shipped.