Motorola HNM3596A Conversion to 4 PIN???

[Scipio Kid]

Hey all,
I've found, as I'm sure many others have, that mics don't always last, especially when they get beat up. I checked out a Radio Shack sideband that seemed to work but never got a response. I pulled the mic off another realistic and plugged it in and the radio worked great. The first mic simply had no modulation. In testing, I found I had 6 or 7 of those Realistic mics kicking around but was surprised when I tested them and found only the one worked great, with good, clear modulation, 2 others worked good but were quiet on the other end, sounded like they needed a boost, and the others were all dead, the radio transmits but there is no modulation. Seems like a problem with those old RS mics. I haven't gotten into trying to fix them because I really don't use them much but it'd be nice to know if there are any quick fixes since they're a lot less common than the typical 4-pin mics.

Anyway, I ended up testing a few other mics too and have quite a few 4 pin (Cobra / Unidan / Galaxy / others) that don't perform well. Some are low output, like the RS's, some are real scratchy, like the switch contacts are dirty or shot and some are damaged, cracked or broken from misuse or neglect but still might be fixable.

Now, I also have 2, brand new Motorola HNM3596A microphones that seem to be good quality (better than the standard Cobra) but have the "phone type" plug-in connector for the Motorola radio. I cut the plug off the one and found six leads in there, black, blue, red, green, white and yellow. I did a little figuring and tried to hook it up to a Cobra and ended up trying a million combinations and had no luck at all making it work. I looked up the mic and some wiring diagrams on the web and that really got confusing.

So .... anyone here got a good idea how I might get these mics wired to work with a 4-pin Cobra or Uniden? I'd rather use these than fix the broken ones.

Thanks,
Scipio

[MDYoungblood]

I might be mistaken but I think your out of luck at just direct wiring them for Cobra, I believe they have a electret mic element that will need a power source to drive it. Sometimes it's more than just getting the wiring right. I looked for a schematic for just that model mic and couldn't find one.

3's

Greg

[Scipio Kid]

OK, that wasn't the answer I wanted. You were supposed to say, just hook it up any which way and it'll work great.

On the bright side ... I have two really nice Motorola Microphones for sale cheap. Some idiot cut the plug off one of them but, for the right person, I'd be happy to get some big wire nuts and a roll of Scotch 33 and fix it up for you.

Thanks Greg. It's more than kind of you to spend your time figuring out something I'm apparently incapable of figuring out (yet again).

[MDYoungblood]

Well you could change the radio's jack to a 6 or 8 pin and make one an 8v source off the PCB, hopefully it is an older radio that the jack isn't mounted on a board.

3's

Greg

[Scipio Kid]

No, that wouldn't work for me. I'd end up really screwing up the radio if I tried something like that. Anyway, I was hoping I could change them and have them as extras or standbys for 4 pin radios. Don't want to permanently change a radio just to use the mics. I don't know if they're that good. I'll just see if I can sell them for a couple bucks or give them to some needy Motorola guru ... or maybe, use them as hood ornaments on my dune buggy. Hmmm, first, I'd need a hood ...

[MDYoungblood]

No, that wouldn't work for me. I'd end up really screwing up the radio if I tried something like that. Anyway, I was hoping I could change them and have them as extras or standbys for 4 pin radios. Don't want to permanently change a radio just to use the mics. I don't know if they're that good. I'll just see if I can sell them for a couple bucks or give them to some needy Motorola guru ... or maybe, use them as hood ornaments on my dune buggy. Hmmm, first, I'd need a hood ...

Get a Motorola 2m radio, they seem to be going pretty cheap on the internet.

3's

Greg

[Chaot]

Motorola HMN 3596A.jpg

[Chaot]

Conversion to 6 pin (CBGDCH) according to President Norm. The microphone needs a power supply to function here via Pin6 .... * 73 * s