I posted a few weeks ago about building K6ARK’s Mini-mic kit for the (tr)uSDX, and my plan to adapt it to the X6100 to save weight and pack space, and I have been moving that project forward a little bit at a time. Today I finally had time to try out the result and write about it, proceeding in a sort of stream-of-consciousness way:
This is proving to be not as simple as I hoped. Here’s the information I have so far, it seems perfectly straightforward:
But when I hook it up, nothing happens when I press the PTT switch!
The bottomless well of information that is the Internet has very little on this topic beyond that diagram of the RJ45 jack (above) which is straight out of the X6100 manual and has no explanatory matter to accompany it. Time for a little cautious exploration and experimenting!
(updated, about 40 minutes later)
Success!
I started the investigation by looking for PTT-to-ground connection on the RJ45 of the factory microphone; it was tricky to hold two test leads on the connector with one hand and press the PTT with the other. When I tried it according to my supposition about the orientation of the drawing above, nothing. Okay, next we try the mirror-image orientation … it worked perfectly!
It was a matter of moments to rewire the prototype adapter, those terminal blocks really help speed things up!
| RJ45 plug pin # | function | 3.5 mm jack |
| 2 | gnd | shaft |
| 3 | mic | ring |
| 5 | ptt | tip |
Here is the correct wiring of the adapter, for anyone who owns both an X6100 and a (tr)uSDX and wants to use the same mic with both rigs. I might drop a line to K6ARK too, in case he can use the info.
The RJ45 breakout is this item; the 3.5 mm one is this.
More about this exciting topic soon! Thanks for visiting driftlessqrp!
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