Have you heard good mike technique? Have you heard really BAD mike technique? I have heard both. The thing that amazes me the most is the number of people that listen to bad mike technique and say nothing about it - even when asked for feedback! I was taught, righly so, that proper mike technique is important in getting your message over the airwaves. You can have the highest power transmitter and the best antenna… but if your mike technique is either so quiet or so distrorted that you can’t understand the message - it doesn’t matter!

I am a relatively new ham. And I have a TON of repect for those that have been in the hobby a long time. But I have noticed one thing. Many of those “old elmers” have really bad mike technique. I can think of one guy that runs a net and constantly over-drives his mike. Nice guy - bad ham. Another guy has a huge antenna farm. And his mobile antenna was measured as highest effective radiated power. But I sat and watched his mike technique on field day as he worked with another ham’s HT. Great guy - took a chunk of his time to program the HT for the other ham. But when he went to communicate - the HT was at arm’s length and he was just about wispering. Great guy. BAD HAM!

Another common problem is wind noises from breathing into the mike while holding it too close to your mouth. Should be talking ACROSS the mike - not into it.

Other problems are clearing your throat with a gut wrenching deep cough - right in to the mike - when getting started on a new rant… without being polite enough to at least say “Oh - excuse me…”.

Speaking of rants - enough of mine! I hope that I have given you something to think about. Please speak in a clear, deep, loud voice. Hold your mike about an inch from your mouth and speak across the mike. Ask for feedback from other hams. And if you give feedback - be honest and be critical. If you just say it sounds fine because it’s “OK”, you aren’t doing anyone a favor.

Please be really careful with mike technique and modulation levels during emergency communications like SkyWarn and the various em comm nets out there. Lives could depend on it.

Another trick is to key the IRLP code that allows you to have your audio replayed for you over the air so you can listen to what you sound like. You will have to get the codes from the people that grant you access or from www.IRLP.org I think should have them.

OK - thanks for taking your valuable time to read this. 73’s!

Jon Kreski, AB9NN
www.HamRadioResources.com