Kenwood: tm-g707 transmit audio

[KK6JYX]

I purchased a kenwood tm-g707 and all of my signal reports confirm that I have a LOT of bass. I removed the fabric from the microphone and there was no change. I swapped out mics from my kenwood tm-v71a which made the world of difference however the keys were not operable.

1: would a replacement mic fix the issue?

2: is there a (relatively) easy way to modify a new model kenwood mic to work with the older radio?

Thanks!

 

[AK9R]

As it turns out, I've been down this road with another ham's TM-G707.

1. It might. But, you'll have a hard time finding a direct replacement. The original mic was an MC-53DM. Kenwood replaced it with the MC-58DM. Both have been discontinued and are probably long gone from most dealer's shelves. I did find an MC-58DM on eBay a year or so ago, but the price was more than the radio was worth. The '53 and the '58 function the same, but the '58 has back-lit keys.

2. The TM-V71 uses the MC-59 mic. Along about the time that Kenwood was developing the TM-271, TM-V71, and TM-D710, they switched to the MC-59 mic. In the previous mics, there was a resistor matrix and the Up, Down, and function buttons selected a resistance value that the radio interpreted to know what button you pushed. With the newer radios, there's a serial data link between the mic and the radio that passes commands from the mic to the radio as data. Consequently, an MC-59 will work on the older radios as far as PTT and mic audio are concerned, but the buttons won't work.

 

[KK6JYX]

Thanks W9BU!

I found a couple of mics on eBay however they are almost twice what I paid for the radio itself...

That leads me to another question, would it be possible to replace the Electret Condenser Microphone on the board? (if that component is bad)

 

[AK9R]

Anything's possible. How good are your soldering skills?

 

[KK6JYX]

Its been a while but I think I can get it done without too much hassle.