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Reviews For: Yaesu MD1-C8

Category: Microphones for ham radio

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Review Summary For : Yaesu MD1-C8
Reviews: 21MSRP: >$100
Description:
Deluxe desk Mic with tone control. Fixed 600 ohm impedance.
Handsome.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00215
VE7BGP Rating: 2022-01-05
A Time tested Classic! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you have Yaesu radios look no further then this Mike. It works great on my older FT-757GX and 8 Pin round Yaesu radios. I think these Mikes were made by Audio Techicia one of Japan;s great Mike and Phono Cartridge makers. To use this Mike on my shinny new FTdx-10 I recently made up a cable from an old CAT5 jumper soldering an 8 pin Round connector for my MD-1 mike. I did not solder the connections for the QSY buttons on the mike, so i cannot comment on that feature. I found it more annoying than useful on the FT-757GX. I do not like hitting the wrong buttons on the mike and finding myself QSY'd

To connect just the mike its 3 connections. On standard CAT5 it is Blue Mic, Green PTT and Blue White Gnd.

I get great reports on my new FTdx-10. I still have my 8 Pin Round on both ends if I want to use my MD-1 on my older Yaesu radios.
W2RS Rating: 2017-10-21
Stands the test of time Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my Yaesu MD1-B8 (not the C8) to use with my FT-102 about 30 years ago. Like the FT-102, it is a classic that has stood the test of time, even with modern transmitters.

Today, I use it with a Ten-Tec Orion II, for which I have several Ten-Tec mikes. The MD-1 is the best. Unlike the others, it is virtually totally immune to RF in the shack. I set the MD-1's tone control to Position 1 (-6 dB at 100 Hz) and fine-tune the frequency response using the Orion II's equalization controls. With my voice, I get the best results with TX EQ set to +2 dB (a slight bass boost) and LF rolloff at 150 Hz.

As a dynamic mic, its output level is relatively low, so I set the HW mic gain to +10 dB and the front panel mic gain to 60.

The audio sounds great, and I get lots of unsolicited compliments.


















AB0YY Rating: 2015-02-06
Great audio reports Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My Yeasu ft 990 decided to go into retirement and I replaced it with a Kenwood 480, I have tried several microphones on the kenwood in which everyone told me it did not soound as good as the FT 990.
I ordered an adapter from the cwman on ebay which is a Yaesu 8pin round to a Kenwood modular and I have got great audio reports with the Yaesu MD-1.
Even with 10db compression is working great on 160m.
I glad I kept the MD-1 and gave it a try.
I even tried the Heil proset 3 and everyone said to through it away.
If you have a Kenwood, try the Yaesu MD-1 over the Kenwood MC60.
73
K0RON
WA7KGX Rating: 2014-07-12
Works with FlexRadio 5000A Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked one up used. It plugs right in to my FlexRadio 5000A. Being a dynamic mic, it does not need phantom power which is not provided by the 5000A. After a few tweeks to the FlexRadio PSDR software everyone is happy with the audio.

I use this as a rag-chewing desk mic. It has both a push to talk button and a smaller locking PTT. It has a cardioid pattern so I don't have to hold it close to my mouth.

My only quibble is that it is somewhat larger than the ICOM SM-6 mike I picked up at the Seaside hamfest.
K7JBQ Rating: 2014-05-16
Works great after 25 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine's the B version too, bought new for use with an FT-757GXII in the late '80s, and still going strong. Also works well with the Ten Tec speech processor.
W1PDG Rating: 2014-05-15
Can't beat it. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine is the b8 version. What can you say. It is just a very good all around mic. Plus it looks much nicer than a lot of the modern stuff on the market today.
GI0ZGB Rating: 2012-05-04
All Time Great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Mine is the B8 version, the difference being a three position tone switch compared to the two position C8, otherwise identical performance.
I had one years ago when I bought the FT-1000D, so I'm pretty familiar with the excellent audio this mic produces.
I wired it to my FT-950 with a little internal mod to enable the Up / Down buttons to work, set the rigs parametric equalizer and processor to suit my own ears, and not surprisingly the on air comments were very complimentary.
I would recommend this mic to anyone, even on rigs with no eq it will produce good clean audio.
KL2TC Rating: 2011-08-21
A Journeyman tool Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I first got mine for use with a Yaesu 757GX. It worked swell. When I got my FT-950, I just plugged it right into the front of the radio. It worked without problems and no one has remarked that my sound is less than acceptable.

I do activate it with a push-to-talk switch that I built, and I no longer use the base unit, and instead have the mic suspended in a commercial microphone holder. This doesn't matter, it's just a mic and everything works fine. I have no need to go microphone hunting.

73

Al
EA3WR Rating: 2011-08-21
Excellent and simple mike Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I got mine in a fleamarket some months ago to pair with my old and reliable FT-307 and I must say that on air results are outstanding. I never had so many unsolicited audio reports and I have met some colleagues asking what audio chain I was using. :-) Audio chain? no the mike is not chained anywhere, its just sitting on the desk and I don't think it will try to escape from my shack. Now seriously, I didn't expect such a good performance in combination with the FT-307 processor. No digital processing, no audio preamp on the mike stand, just a well done dynamic element conveniently matched to your radio and you reach to the conclusion that the simpler the better...
73 de John EA3WR
*////
K9CTB Rating: 2010-10-26
Great classic microphone Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this microphone for almost 20 years. Thought it would be nice to write a review.

This is one of those mics that have been floating around so long, it has established itself as a good "go-to" mic when you need a hard-working, reliable "known quality". You know what you can expect from the MD-1 ... great audio!

I have used mine for years with both a Yaesu FT-757 and the FT-One. The MD-1 is a standard microphone, not requiring phantom power, so as the state-of-the-art progresses, I'm finding more of the Amateur transceiver want to use phantom power on the audio input line of the microphone connector. This means adding a blocking capacitor to some of these newer rigs. On a lesser quality microphone than the MD-1, this would mean right away that your audio quality will suffer with that cap in line. Not so with the MD-1! It's worked just as well with my Icom IC-746Pro as it did with my Kenwood TS-940.

The tone settings (3 of them) are a nice touch and with these new rigs that offer transmit audio contour adjustments on the rig itself, your possibilities for audio quality adjustment are almost unlimited. With its built in coupling transformer, you can select between 600 ohm and 50K ohm impedance .... you can even use the MD-1 with boat anchors that require those high-Z mics!

I love mine and I'm pretty confident in recommending one to anyone who needs an inexpensive desk mic. Out of production now, I've seen one or two on a hamfester's table in the last few years. Worth picking up if you need one.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K9CTB on 2007-05-02

I have owned this microphone for about 15 years. It has never let me down. I bought it as part of a Yaesu FT-757 (pre GX II) package from a good friend of mine. That 757 has long since been given another home, but the MD-1 has stayed right here. I have used it with that Yaesu, a Kenwood TS-940S/AT, an Icom IC-746Pro and an IC-718. Each one of the rigs sounded great with this mic. The dual impedance switch on the mic stand is great......You can probably mate this microphone with anything! Before writing this review, I even rigged up a patch cable to mate the MD-1 with a Yaesu FT-600 (modular connector). The results were outstanding! These microphones are getting difficult to come by, so if you need a desk mic, and you find one of these, I recommend that you buy it. Don't dally. But don't get taken, either. A nice looking one without eyesore scratches on the finish is worth about 100 bucks or less. Test it before you buy it because the element can get trashed if the mic has been thrown around alot. Even as old as they are, buy it and it'll probably last you your ham career. If I needed another desk mic, I'd buy an MD-1 again. There are so many nice ones on the market today. If I couldn't find an MD-1 or found them priced through the roof, (find an elmer - avoid e-bay) my next choice would be a Heil. I used to call my MD-1 the "poor man's Astatic" - but nowadays that might be arguable. 73.