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Reviews For: Turner Plus 3

Category: Microphones for ham radio

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Review Summary For : Turner Plus 3
Reviews: 30MSRP: 75 in 1972
Description:
Amplified Desk Mic
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00304.9
DL1HVO Rating: 2022-05-11
What can I say Time Owned: more than 12 months.
... the best microphone ever! They works so fine with my
IC- 9100 and my IC-7300,... great. Maybe I am crazy, but I would never buy a rig that doesn't work with a +3, +3B or a SSK.
KC8HXO Rating: 2020-06-27
Almost embarrassing Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Almost embarrassing to admit how well this element sounds on virtually every rig I’ve ever owned. Great articulation. Not too narrow. Well kept secret.
K7PWR Rating: 2019-01-10
Oh ya! Made in America!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had quite a few Turner microphones. I favor the Road King 60, Plus 3, and even the expander 500. Dial em in, and be heard! Solid,.. Quality all the way!!! :)
N2MDV Rating: 2017-10-28
Great classic mic for rig without the built-in compressor! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've actually bought this mic in 2010 from an old friend of mine, since I've always wanted a +3 for decades, and seen a chance to buy one for $20.00 and jumped on it. However, it wasn't until 2017 that I've actually gotten it out of storage and used it. Now, I've always be an Astatic D-104 fan, and have used them on various CB's and amateur rigs that have the built-in compression. I've recently was actually given a Chinese version of the famous Cobra 148GTL CB, but without a mic to it. The rig is at factory power levels and that gave me the opportunity to match it to the Turner +3 that I'd bought 7 years prior. Great complements on my audio on both AM and SSB. If I hear them, I can work them. And this classic mic is very repairable by me, even without the schematic, so I expect it may outlive the 21st century rigs that I put it too. If you have a chance to grab this classic mic, DO IT!
N8FVJ Rating: 2017-07-28
Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a very good microphone. It had a built-in audio compressor circuit. Perfect for older radios without a processor. These microphones are old and get bassy sounding. It is not the element, it is the 50 year old capacitors.

Replace capacitors with Silmic II electrolytic audio quality capacitors. Also, get those two .47uF trashy titanium caps out. Use CDE 715 Orange Drop polypropylene to replace the titanium & will fit even if 10x larger. The mic will now produce crisp highs & sound even better than new in the early 1970s.
WC4R Rating: 2016-06-13
Grab one! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I loved them in the 1970 CB era. Now I paired one up with my Drake T4XC, Yaesu FT-102, Yaesu FT-736R. It beats the D104 and Heil PR-781. Ceramic cartridge with the compressor amp make for a terrific sound. Rugged, great style. Keep a watch out for them at hamfests and Craig's list. Used in good condition at $50 is a fair price.
The Turner CS1 (Custom Special 1) is the same mic in a gold skin.
SM6OWJ Rating: 2016-01-16
A great microphone Time Owned: more than 12 months.
A great microphone with a clear and strong audio. I use it with my Yaesu FTDX3000.
I didn't like the inbuilt compression. By a slight modification it was easy to bypass the compression feedback. Now it sounds even better.

I also modified the gain control to a fixed value, because it was adjusted by mistake several times.

ONAIR Rating: 2015-12-08
This and the +2 are classics! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great mike, and makes it easy to increase your audio level. The +3 and the Turner +2 are classics, and were both very popular with the CB crowd back in the day! Unfortunately many CBers removed the original Turner microphone element and substituted it for the cheap ones that were sold by Radio Shack and Lafayette Radio back in the "60s and '70s.
KD0CPH Rating: 2015-12-08
awesome mic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
best mic i've found especially for the price you can find one for. constant reports of great audio and always " what kind of radio and mic are you using.have one on my Ft 2000 yaesu also one on my kenwood ts 2000 and a turner plus 2 on my old yaesu ft 101.GREAT mic!!!
W8AAZ Rating: 2014-07-12
Addendum Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After further use, I must say I am gratified with the performance of this mic, but usually too embarrassed to tell them what it is! Used with a modern Ten Tec rig. No rig compression. Gain set carefully and watching ALC and not close talking. I get constant "your audio sounds great" from other stations. Seems to break more pileups, barefoot. I have lots of fancy mics for when I want smoothness and Hi Fi, but they do not get the unsolicited praises! 4 of 5 cause it needs a battery and is short on desk. Lean over. Maybe easily moded to take 8-10V from the radio, with the 8 pin conn. used. Mic schematics are online

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Earlier 4-star review posted by W8AAZ on 2014-07-03

Always lumped amplified desk mics together with horrible noises heard on CB radio, you know, distortion, splatter, background noise, and awful racket. So that was probably a lesson in misuse of most of them. Tried this Turner out for fun after reading all these reviews. Compared to my "smooth hi-fi" mics, it cuts through better with clarity and is like free power for busting pileups and QRM. This entails using it correctly, though. With my rig, I sat the pot about 1/8" off of the minimum setting. The compression feature is totally independent of output level setting. Best to monitor your TX and talk 2-4 inches away when setting it up. Real close talking will really overwork the compr. and sound hollow and overcompressed. I get great reports when used correctly. You could add a resistive divider on the output, inside, so the gain pot is not so critical. Very worthwhile SSB mic to try, as it turns out. You should try it with rig processing off, first. You can switch back to your hi fi mic for rag chews and ideal conditions.