SS9900 and Power mic's

Hi Guys & Gals

Sorry if this topic has been asked before but...

The original mic I got with the 9900 is C**P, I.M.O.

So I'm looking at some power mic's and want some feedback on the ones I'm looking at or is there any others (powered or normal mic's) that you guys can suggest that I should consider.  Here are the P/Mic's I'm looking at

Superstar Sharp Shooter Power Mic
Cobra M75 Power Mic
K-PO NM532 Power Mic
Astatic D-104
Astatic Road Devil

All Mic's can be found on Knights website if you need to look at them. I know a base mic would be the answer in the long run but as I will be using the 9900 in a vehicle 90% of the time a handheld mic is a must.

Cheers in advance

I am interested in finding out too as the mike with the 9900 really is plasticy although I get good reports with it, I haven't found so many people discussing it and don't want to end up buying 2-3 before finding the best fit which can be easy to do.

I was thinking about a noise-cancelling one but have found good reviews of the KPO which seems very reasonably priced too, this video is a chap trying it on the 9900 and there sounds like an improvement with clarity to be at least although the original isn't so bad at all it doesn't feel such good quality in your hand.

It gets several good reviews too I notice:

https://www.thunderpole.co.uk/cb-microphones/k-po-nm-532-microphone-6-pin.html

The video of the test on the 9900:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfkkCb2EvMY

I used to use an Astatic Teadrop back in the day, it was an excellent mike but I have heard many disappointing reports on current models such as the Road Devil, plasticy was amongst them and for the price it's coming in at I want the feel of quality in my hand.

Do let us know how you get on!

73's 

Alan

Super Star sharpshooter never heard of it 
Cobra M75 = crap, my mate had one once only to find out on the internet there was modification to do  actually posted by Cobra themselves to make it work better why wouldn't they just make the mic better in the first place.
KPO NM532 very good mic for these modern type of programming radios ,I used one myself when using a mates Anytone radio once and got some excellent reports
Astatic microphones sorry I will not hear a bad report about them  back in the early CB days I worked in a CB shop and we was a Astatic main dealer and I never had a bad report from anyone who used one ,I mean Astatic microphones have been going since the 1930s so they cant be that bad TBH that's all I use : 2 x Silver Eagle D104 base mics plus a D104mb6 mobile mic ,also I have a Red Devil and no way is it plasticky it's a well made heavy mic, IMHO I would go for the K-PO or if you want spend a bit more go for a Astatic except for the 676 models because they are not power mics

I haven't had a Road Devil myself just the Teardrop, I really considered another Astatic as it had been so very good until I read these reviews that is:

Downfall of Astatic

I have had my share of Astatic mics, from D-104's to handheld, they were tough, excellent quality, the best.
However, that seems to have changed.
R4 104E-4B is the cheapest, thin plastic, poorly constructed, poorly planned, UN-ERGONOMIC mic I have
ever seen.
Don't waste your money, find and buy an older version.

Cheezy.

The mic is "crunchy" on depressing the ppt switch. The mic has a very cheap and lightweight feel. Audio reports are that the sound is "light" and tinny. Perhaps this is just an isolated poorly made mic...from China? In the junk box it goes.

Seem to have been made in China"

The Road Devil mikes did not seem to be made of quality products. After I inserted the battery and tried to key the mic, sometimes the mic would key & other times it would not. I would have to depress the trigger twice or more to get the mic to key -up.

Disappointed

The good, when it's working right, it does sound good. That's all I got for the good. Astatic dropped the ball somewhere. Cheaply made, with PTT issues. brand new out of the package sounded fine, then after a couple days the PTT button started to sound very scratchy. Those who know what I'm talking about knows that usually indicates a dirty switch. Cleaned the switch again, sounded good for a few days then back to scratchy. It sits on the counter until I get a new switch, and my wife is back to using Mr. dependable the Cobra Mic. Not a good value at least in my experience.

Cheap/Waste

I can tell you, upon opening the package I was very disappointed. I expected a much better quality mic. The casing was a lightweight cheap plastic with the battery cord hanging out of it, you have to take it apart to put the battery in an unsecure location where it just flops around. The PTT was literally a joke. Heck, my sons $20 walkie talkie set has a better PTT than this thing. There are only two positives about it, that's the mesh grill and the fact that the battery gave it a little weight. And all of that was just the aesthetic part of the whole ordeal. With my CB off I plugged it in and powered everything back up, keyed the dumb thing up and it fried my coax. That's about all I have to say about that. I'm done (Mic drop)

ASTATIC RD-104 E Road Devil CB Ham Radio microphone

I purchased this microphone and was not very happy with it. I have always liked
Astatic microphones but this one was super tinty and just did not give me the
sound quality that I had grown accustomed to with Astatic products. To me I just
feel that this one was a waste of $40.00. I have used it on 2 or 3 different radios
with the same results. I own several D-104's and have always had good quality
sound and tone out of them just not this one

Too light feels like a cheap toy

Microphone couldn’t be understood on receiving cb’s traveling together. Sounded like talking with the windows down. Lots of background noise when trying to talk on it. Talked a friend into buying one also and theirs sounded just as bad. Don’t waste your money. It’s not worth the headache.

Plastic junk.

These are getting cheaper made every year. This will be my last red devilBrand new out of the package PTT issues (scratchy, sometimes no audio) Astatic just not the quality it used to be never again !
These reviews really put me off, there are many good reviews too but this many all mentioning the same issues put me right of trying this model at least.

https://www.ebay.com/urw/Astatic-RD104E-Road-Devil-CB-Microphone/product-reviews/150652711?pgn=1

So your saying all Astatic mics are crap basically in your opinion,   so the D104 base microphone actully was first developed in the 1930s mic and its modern versions ie: like the Silver,Gold ,Night Eagles and all the other versions of this model from the 70s and 80s  are crap too ,I myself have own many and used the Astatic 575m6 or as it's better known  The Teardrop, plus the Road Devil is different to the Red Devil the Road Devil was a noise cancelling version of the Teardrop the Red Devil is a noise cancelling  mic but without a tone volume like the Road Devil and the Teardrop had,its seems you have got a rogue Astatic mic and its turned you against them ,just one observation the seller calling them Road Devil the thing is they stopped making that model back in the late 80s and it was replaced by the Red Devil so he is selling something under false pretences really.

"So your saying" Projecting much?
I thought I had been quite clear in what I was saying; I considered the Road Devil until I read those reviews and others so I left the link to them all as, in fairness, they aren't all bad.

I can understand your comments and we all have opinions but I would still say Astatic microphones are good mics and tons better than some of the stuff we have now, I maybe looking through rose tinted glasses because I have use Astatic microphones since the late 70s early 80s and still do, my Astatic mics are all from the 80s and  hardly never have a bad report on my modulation so perhaps that's why I big up the brands as they say, as I  said maybe you got a rogue one and it put you off and the same with the others that gave bad reviews of the people that you posted theres is always a dodgy one in all things, but TBH I would be cautious of someone selling a Astatic mic by the model name that hasn't been made since the late 80s and showing a picture of its replacement which is the RedDevil ,but that's just me.
EDIT....Alan please accept my apologies it seems at some point they had renamed the Red Devil to Road Devil why I dont know ,but I can assure you that at one time they was called Red Devils and they was a replacement for the original Road Devil which was a black cased microphone and was a noise cancelling version of a Teardrop ,again accept my apology for my mistake.

I didn't get a rogue one, I have never had one of these microphones, I considered it after being so very pleased with the Teardrop which I modified by adding small Make/Break switches to work the channel changer from the mic as it has extra wires in the coiled cable that weren't used allowing me to do so.

After doing my due diligence looking at reviews etc I discovered around one in four seemed to be very disappointed with the Road Devil and the theme of scratchy and plasticy kept coming up so I decided against it.

I went to order the KPO as it gets such good reviews and after hearing it myself on the video I fancied giving it a go but its completely out of stock so I have ended up going back through several of the reviews finding one where the Cobra is also plasticy, making audible crunching sounds in the hand so that's the exact thing I am desperate to get away from with the existing microphone.

Anyway, I have ordered a Ranger SRA 198 noise-cancelling mic from the States as, fingers crossed, it seems to tick all the boxes for me but only time will tell and I can, no doubt, give the KPO a go in the future if I feel it's necessary.

I came across a handy mic wiring diagram whilst looking into this so thought I would post it.

Actually Alan the K-PO is a very good microphone for the price and TBH they do feel they are made of plastic but they are sturdy  ,I have used one in the past when they first came out and I was very impressed  they seemed to complement the Anytone type computer menu style radios for some reason which was good because I remember when all the new menu driven radios first came out one of there downfalls was the standard mics they came with some of them, also just a little note when the K- PO stuff was first on sale there also was another company call Maas and there equipment was identical to look at except the name on the product and everyone thought they was made the same but in the K-PO mic version was better made than the Maas version and also sounded better, one of our old members who use to be admin no longer on here now done a side by side test and found they was totally made different and the K-PO came out on top.

Yes, I had decided to give the K-Po a try but after checking every UK stockist and even K-PO themselves after finding a link on a chaps website they were completely out of stock with no firm backorder date to be seen.  
The audio reports are good on the radio I just want a mic that feels a bit more robust in my hand as I find the M9(standard 9900 mic) flimsy, lightweight and plasticy to hold and feel it

going to be a "suck it and see" situation if it turns out to be not so great hopefully the K-PO will be back in stock, fortunately, it is not overly expensive.
I am rather fond of the styling of the Ranger SRA it has a bit of a retro look to it I feel, lets just hope it sounds as good as it looks!

73's 

Alan

Well I can assure you whatever the reviews say about the Red /Road Devil 100% it's not plasticky it exactly the same feel as the old Teardrop except its red and they are not tiny sounding my friend uses one in his van and has no complaints and he is like me an Astatic user for years ,its a shame your so far away from me because I would borrow it from him to show you.

NUBSTER wrote:

Well I can assure you whatever the reviews say about the Red /Road Devil 100% it's not plasticky it exactly the same feel as the old Teardrop except its red and they are not tiny sounding my friend uses one in his van and has no complaints and he is like me an Astatic user for years ,its a shame your so far away from me because I would borrow it from him to show you.

I can tell you are very pleased with it and I certainly didn't mean to cause offence but I am sure you can understand my hesitancy after seeing so many poor reviews, I would have bought the original Astatic mic again in a heartbeat, I even looked at a few second hand but people want crazy money for them more then they cost new and I even saw one chap charging well over £100 for one.

Maybe there has been a batch made for them somewhere that weren't so good as it was the same fault over and over they listed and about one in four reviews, many folk, like yourself, were absolutely over the moon with them but I didn't want to take the chance. 

I know Astatic to have a wonderful reputation but thee certainly seems to be an issue with that model a noisy key switch was mentioned again and again it wasn't resolved with switch cleaner either, maybe a bad batch of switches even but with that volume of reviews all saying much the same thing I didn't want to chance it personally.

Yes second hand ones do demand a high price and some sellers take the pi55 on there prices especially when some are not even in good condition, I could kick myself really for selling my Teardrop but it sat in the shack not being used cos I mainly use my Silver Eagles  being home base plus someone made me a offer for the Teardrop and I would have been silly to refuse it lol

Cheers guys for all your comments, each of you have valid points on what/which mic's each of you prefer.

After reading the pros & cons on each mic I think I'll be going for the K-PO plus may just splash out on a base mic as well

Picked up a a boxed Astatic 575m6 this week at £75 delivered. They are out there just keep away from eBay and there mad prices ! Had about 6, this maybe my 7th over the years and £75 is the highest I have ever paid and that included a boxed mint one I previously owned.

KPO 532 is superb for the money really drives these modern radios well compared to stock. Got two of them now !

P.s possibly worth opening up the front hole on the front of the mic slightly and seeing if there is any extra foam covering the mic element within. There is a video on YouTube covering this and think it possibly the same or similar type mic ?

* Edit..no just checked and the video was for the m6 mic supplied with the 6900 etc. So it’s the same as mine the m7 I think ? Drilled the front casing hole slightly and removed the rubber cover over the mic element and seeems to be slightly better but again KPO 532 all the y with these new type  radios Just keep the front vol adjust very low as it’s more than enough on them !

NUBSTER wrote:

Super Star sharpshooter never heard of it 
Cobra M75 = crap, my mate had one once only to find out on the internet there was modification to do  actually posted by Cobra themselves to make it work better why wouldn't they just make the mic better in the first place.
KPO NM532 very good mic for these modern type of programming radios ,I used one myself when using a mates Anytone radio once and got some excellent reports
Astatic microphones sorry I will not hear a bad report about them  back in the early CB days I worked in a CB shop and we was a Astatic main dealer and I never had a bad report from anyone who used one ,I mean Astatic microphones have been going since the 1930s so they cant be that bad TBH that's all I use : 2 x Silver Eagle D104 base mics plus a D104mb6 mobile mic ,also I have a Red Devil and no way is it plasticky it's a well made heavy mic, IMHO I would go for the K-PO or if you want spend a bit more go for a Astatic except for the 676 models because they are not power mics

I've been using an Astatic D104-M6B with my CRT-SS9900 for a few years and I always get very good reports (and the battery lasts for ages). Back in the 1980s I had a couple of Turner mics, the Turner Expander base mic and a Turner JM+2U mobile mic....both were excellent but sadly are no longer available except some pre-owned ones which are usually in poor condition.

Lovely example of a D104m6b on eBay just now, would have probably bought it myself but as above managed to pick up the 575m6 recently. To be honest thou still rate the KPO power mic very highly with the new generation of radios.

Agree Phil (Pagan) & gmham100% nothing wrong with Astatic microphones that's all I use ,I've heard people slag them off but when you ask them have you owned one most who have slag them off say no , so I dont know how the can judge them , OK I know I recommended the KPo  but that mic suits those type of radios the poster was asking about , but Kpo/Maas are a company who's stuff look exactly the same and make a multitude of bits as where Astatic and even Turner mics who you mentioned are just microphone manufacturers only and have been around for years since the 30s and making microphones not just for radio communication but for music recording and broadcasting doubt if Kpo/Maas and these other new companies can boast about that or ever will

Just to let you guys know I have bought the KPO NM532 for the SS9900.

Purchased the SS6900 with the Astatic D-104M6b.

And now waiting for a friend who has his Full Amateur Radio licence to upgrade his rig to a Kenwood TS-990S from a Yaesu 450D with Yaesu M-1 base mic which he said I could have since I'm going for my Foundation licence.

Yaesu will be in the house as base rig (SS9900 is base rig at moment).
SS9900 will be moved to garden shed when I get the 450D
SS6900 using as a mobile rig.

Now window shopping for new antenna/s, do like the look of the DX Commander antennas though.

Just a bit of history about Astatic microphone company 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astatic_Corporation

http://www.west-techservices.com/p15.htm

NUBSTER wrote:

Just a bit of history about Astatic microphone company 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astatic_Corporation

http://www.west-techservices.com/p15.htm

 Interesting stuff will check out the links thanks.  my own 575m6 that I have here interestingly has the black coloured side sliders but the tan coloured circuit board. Any of the many 575m6’s I have owned before and had a good few over the years have all corresponded to white sliders / tan coloured board and black sliders green board with the two chaps names printed on it.bob Eaton ?

Just wonder if you have ever found any real difference in audio between the two different versions as the two circuit boards do differ slightly .

A nice Silver eagle here for anyone with £250 (+£10 postage) to spare:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Astatic-silver-eagle-Microphone-final-edition-and-limited-edition/264873103798?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3D88cc2b6546a24d7eba87fd21651a614f%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D8%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D333734760852%26itm%3D264873103798%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2334524%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2334524.c100667.m2042&LH_ItemCondition=3

I used an RF Limited CR577 mic with a ceramic element. When it was released it was advertised as the new Astatic Teardrop. It has Vol & Tone controls and is easier to handle than the Teardrop. I get amazing audio reports whatever radio i have it wired to. When you look at the prices on Ebay for the Teardrop it makes me laugh that people will actually pay what is really stupid money for the greed of others. The Teardrop is a good mic but when some are asking up to £185 it beggars belief. If Astatic were to re-introduce the Teardrop they could ask a decent price but it would probably be made in China and won't be the same quality / sound.
Just my tuppence worth.

Paul.

@gmham Yes I noticed that on a couple of 575's before different insides ,I do know that had a assembly plant in Canada because I've also seen that on some Astatic stuff saying assemble in Canada so perhaps that's why some 575m6's had different insides

@Sgt Bilko (Paul) I've heard a rumer that Astatic do actually have a plant in China how true I dont know but I hope not because that will be another good old quality company getting crap.

After coming home from being mobile using the SS6900 & Astatic D-104M6B.
I got good reports that the D-104M6B was like talking to me when I'm sat right next to them where as the original mic was like talking to me from the next room.
The KPO NM532 had near the same results on the SS9900.
Both rigs mic gain was turned down to about 1/4 of their max power, D-104M6B was on No.3 setting and the KPO was about 1/4 on the power slide setting.


@Pagan - I remember back in the late 80's a school friends grandfather who was in the R.A.F(1944) as a Mechanical Engineer and had a WWII radio out of a
Lancaster bomber and was using a mic similar to the Silver Eagle. It was awesome twiddling with the knobs and dials, even though we were only allowed to use it on the 11 meter band. Good Days