Microphone issues ????

Alright you lot?

Has anyone else had big companies try to rip them off regarding radio?

I saw a nice MD-200 for sale on ML&S's website so I phoned them to ask if it was compatible with my Radio (Yaesu FT-736R) and the young bloke said it was. So I bought it.
When it arrived it didn't work with my radio so I phoned them and explained. He tried to talk to me as if I was a bit stupid and said I've plugged it in wrong. So I did as he said and it didn't make a difference. I've since found out that mic is not useable with my radio as it has no Voltage out to the mic. ML&S E-mailed me to confirm that and then said they can modify the microphone to work for an hours labour which is £60. Now am I being silly or are they taking the micky?

They told me it would work with my radio, I wouldn't have bought it otherwise, I was expecting them to offer to have it back to either make it work or refund me, not try to get an extra £60 from me when it was them that were wrong in the first place...

What are your thoughts?

Its not fit for purpose, you asked if it fitted and they told you yes, but it doesnt work, they have to refund you if its their mistake, thats the way I see it anyway

Al

That's my view also, I was a bit shocked when I saw they said they can do it for £60.

Glad it's not just me that thinks they're trying to rob me.

ML & S appear to be in breach of contract. Under Contract Law four elements have to be fulfilled to create a binding contract.

Invitation to treat - Advert for an MD-200 microphone for sale at £200
Offer - I will pay you £200 for that microphone providing it works on my FT-736R
Acceptance - We will take your £200 under those terms

Finally, for the contract to be completed, "consideration" has to pass. The "consideration" in this case is your £200 which is now with ML & S.

The fact that the microphone does not work with your radio means the contract has become "frustrated". You are now legally entitled to have the contract set aside so both parties are restored to the position they were in prior to entering into the contact i.e. the mic is returned and you get your £200 back. Alternatively you can propose to ML & S the option of altering the MD-200 to run with external power at their cost and to your satisfaction so as put the contract back on track.

^ what he said

Toobad wrote:

ML & S appear to be in breach of contract. Under Contract Law four elements have to be fulfilled to create a binding contract.

Invitation to treat - Advert for an MD-200 microphone for sale at £200
Offer - I will pay you £200 for that microphone providing it works on my FT-736R
Acceptance - We will take your £200 under those terms

Finally, for the contract to be completed, "consideration" has to pass. The "consideration" in this case is your £200 which is now with ML & S.

The fact that the microphone does not work with your radio means the contract has become "frustrated". You are now legally entitled to have the contract set aside so both parties are restored to the position they were in prior to entering into the contact i.e. the mic is returned and you get your £200 back. Alternatively you can propose to ML & S the option of altering the MD-200 to run with external power at their cost and to your satisfaction so as put the contract back on track.

Thank you for that kind bit of information

I have replied to their E-mail asking for a refund as their Workshop manager said there are no promises that the modifications would work anyway.
I'm waiting for a reply now, I am really gutted though lol I liked that microphone. I'm looking for ones like that, that will work

Well all is good now, I should have it back soon working!

Excellent news!! Do let us know what they did to modify the mic and, more importantly, if you find the greater dynamic range available from a studio mic an improvement. Please note, BBC quality audio requires a slightly posher voice

Toobad wrote:

Excellent news!! Do let us know what they did to modify the mic and, more importantly, if you find the greater dynamic range available from a studio mic an improvement. Please note, BBC quality audio requires a slightly posher voice

Well, I have it back and it does indeed now work however there is a constant WOOOOSHHHH sound, so I've put it download to a loss really. It was worth the try because it would have been amazing to have that mic.

That noise may be generated by RF getting into the mic audio. It usually sounds like a low hum or hiss when you key up and are monitoring your audio. In SSB mode and with the mic keyed but with no talking, does your power meter register a steady output from the radio? You could try clipping on some ferrite cores or winding the mic lead around a ferrite ring as close as you can to the plug end.

If you are moderately handy you could try improving the grounding situation in the mic to remove loops and stray RF fields. This article should point you in the right direction:

MD-200 Audio Distortion Fix

Finally, If you don't fancy dropping £200 on an ornament you could gamble a further £90 for a W2IHY iBox to connect between your mic and the radio. I could hear a low hum when I keyed up my Heil PR-40 studio mic but this wasn't surprising as I was also feeding my signal into a Harmon DBX 286S outboard processor. Putting an iBox in-line killed the hum dead:

W2IHY iBox Audio Interface

The noise you describe sounds like reflected RF.

Have you tried a ferrite clip on the mic cord?

Toobad wrote:

That noise may be generated by RF getting into the mic audio. It usually sounds like a low hum or hiss when you key up and are monitoring your audio. In SSB mode and with the mic keyed but with no talking, does your power meter register a steady output from the radio? You could try clipping on some ferrite cores or winding the mic lead around a ferrite ring as close as you can to the plug end.

If you are moderately handy you could try improving the grounding situation in the mic to remove loops and stray RF fields. This article should point you in the right direction:

MD-200 Audio Distortion Fix

Finally, If you don't fancy dropping £200 on an ornament you could gamble a further £90 for a W2IHY iBox to connect between your mic and the radio. I could hear a low hum when I keyed up my Heil PR-40 studio mic but this wasn't surprising as I was also feeding my signal into a Harmon DBX 286S outboard processor. Putting an iBox in-line killed the hum dead:

W2IHY iBox Audio Interface

Hmm I have got a Ferrite on the cord, one of those clip on ones but it hasn't made a difference sadly.
I don't fancey taking it apart myself I might kill any value in it. I've sold it for what I paid for it I'm waiting for payment so I hope he pays and I'll be happy then lol.

Do you really think that box would fix the problem?

Firetrap wrote:

The noise you describe sounds like reflected RF.

Have you tried a ferrite clip on the mic cord?

Yeah, doesn't help lol