Hi Charlie,
Did you get to the end of my message and check the URL I pasted there? It answers everything you’re asking…
73,
John (M5ET)
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: 29 July 2022 21:45
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AMSAT-BB] Question for other Yaesu FT-847 MH-36 microphone users
Hi John,
Yes the MH-36 is meant to be used with the FT-847. It is a hand-held mic with the touch-tone buttons. Actually the model is a MH-36D8 (at least that is what the manual on page 4 calls it). I also have the MH-31 microphone that I normally use for my ARISS contacts when I am the control operator. But it is the MH-36 with the 7 conductor cable that I am need of suggestions on how to replace the cable.
The MH-36 does not have an external plug on the end of the cable at the microphone end. There is a 7 pin female type plug that I think might be some model of a Molex plug that is internal inside the microphone housing that I would love to get the model number for if I am forced to rebuild the cabling. The alternative I am thinking is to use a small piece of circuit board that already has the holes in it as a terminal strip and use the existing wiring to the 7 pin plug.
Thanks for the reply.
73,
Charlie AJ9N
In a message dated 2022-07-29 16:28:35 Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Hi Charlie,
It’s a known issue, and happens a lot. The cables don’t age well, and the jacket degrades on them.
Are you sure the MH-36 is designed for your FT-847 though? That looks like the wrong microphone (it looks like a mobile microphone for the VHF/UHF mobile radios).
The MH-31 is the recommended hand microphone for the FT-847, I believe. It has a detachable cable, with an RJ45 socket on the microphone end. The other end can either be an RJ45 (for radios like the FT817/857/897) or an 8 pin round Foster connection (for radios like the FT-847). The same cable (RJ45 on one end, Foster on the other) should still be available for multiple Yaesu desk microphones (from the MD-100 onwards, at the very least).
From a quick look on eBay, the cables available for the MH-36 are all 6-pin RJ12 connections on the radio end (which confirms my theory that this microphone is designed for the mobile rigs), so you’re likely looking at buying one of those, cutting the end off and soldering a Foster plug on it, though with it being an electret microphone (if memory serves me), you’ll need to figure out how to get some bias voltage across the element.
I’m fairly certain you’d have a lot more luck with an MH-31 with the appropriate cable, or possibly the MH-59 DTMF microphone from the FT817/857/897. However…
A quick google also revealed this: https://k8daa.groups.io/g/k8daa/topic/yaesu_ft847_dtmf_mic/78966465
This details the mod required to make your own cable for the MH-36D. It might help you out a bit.
73,
John (M5ET)
From: Charlie Sufana via AMSAT-BB <[email protected]>
Sent: 29 July 2022 21:06
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AMSAT-BB] Question for other Yaesu FT-847 MH-36 microphone users
Hi all,
I know that there are few Yaesu FT-847 owners out there, so these questions are for you. One of the microphones I have for the radio, the Yaesu MH-36, is literally having the coiled microphone cable's rubber jacket disintegrating. The replacement microphone coiled cable is no longer available from Yaesu. Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so I would be interested in finding out what you did.
I am pretty sure I can locate 7 conductor coiled microphone cable and I already have spare microphone plugs but I don't know anything about the 7 pin plug that is on the inside of the microphone housing. If push comes to shove, I could probably build up a cable if I knew who the female plug manufacturer and model number is or maybe use a small circuit board to develop an interface between the existing wiring and anything new.
Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.
73,
Charlie Sufana AJ9N
One of the ARISS mentors