Hiel Mic:
I love the mike, actually i love the service. I did have a problem with the mike new. their were was a simple manufacturing defect with the mike wiring. I was Quiet shocked to have Bob hiel him self call me one day after sending and e-mail. the situation was rectified very quickly and we go on happily ever after.
I never use the narrow setting, cant get it dialed in on the 746pro ( have not seriously tried) with that said the GM in the wide setting is logarithmically better than any thing else I have used on the 746 Pro, Icom desk mike, ECT.. it is also a very handsome addition to my shack
I recommend bob Hiels Products, made in the USA, and Service galore.

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Pro Set Plus!
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Early ICOM - that's every ICOM before the great PRO
series - had very low level microphone preamplifiers. Traditionally they are -
15dB down in gain from the standards set by Collins, Kenwood, Yaesu, etc. years
ago. ICOM came to America in the early 70's with their "zero" models 720, 730
and 740 all which had NO mic preamps built in. The microphone preamplifiers were
in the microphone ! How stupid. This did not allow you to use any other
microphone but THAT mating microphone since half of the audio circuits were in
the mic. With enough outrage and complaints they finally moved the preamp
section into the radio starting with the 735, 745,751, etc. however, those front
ends were -15 dB down in gain from everyone else, still making it difficult to
use anything but the ICOM preamplified microphones.
Our dynamic elements will work with many of those early models (not the "zero"
models) by using the compression all the time at a low level. A compressor at
low levels actually acts as a low level preamplifier. Adjust the mic gain to
about 3/4 open and set the compression about 4 to 6 dB and those great little
735, 751, etc. usually will work with our dynamic elements such as the HC-4 and
HC-5.
ICOM AMERICA knew of this problem and a few years ago invited Heil Sound to help
solve the problem and solve, we did by developing our high performance Heil "ic"
electret. Not the usual 15 cent import electret but a very high quality
condenser electret as used in many studio microphones. The electret, by its
design has LOTS of output and will drive the early ICOM rigs (not the "zero"
models) to full output and sounds terrific. Your 775, 781,761,751, etc. NEVER,
and we do mean NEVER has sounded better ! About time !
All of these products work well with the great little IC 706. You need the
ADM-706 modular adapter and with one of the new high performance Heil "iC"
elements in the "iCM", Traveler 706, etc. will make a new transceiver out of the
little jewel. The IC 706 will NOT work well with our HC or GM
elements, as the 706 is short on mic preamp gain, so you need to solve the low
audio problem with one of the new Heil "iC" products. Be sure and adjust the
carrier balance control (Q4 or Q6) for the desired transmit tone. This is VERY
important.
So, the bottom line for those wonderful old 735,745,761,765,756,781,775,751,
etc... use any of our products using our new high performance Heil IC electret
elements. The HMM-ic, PRO-SET IC, PRO-SET PLUS! IC, BM-10 IC, or the wonderful "iCM"
microphone.
These are the products that should probably be called the "ICOM FIX" !
The original 746 (Not the 746 PRO or 7400) was in-between the very low level
inputs of the early models and the higher input levels of the great PRO series.
The IC-746 works well with our dynamic microphones - BUT you have to adjust the
746 correctly. Mic gain at 3/4 open. Compression at 50% (back panel control) and
TCN (tone control network) at + 12dB for the GM and +6dB for the HC-5. The 'iCM'
has plenty of drive for the 746 and sounds beautiful also.
ICOM finally got it right with their fabulous PRO series. All of the PRO series
have righteous microphone preamplifiers that WILL support any of our low level
high performance dynamic microphones. The best combination in amateur audio
today is the Heil Classic studio microphone, the GM microphone , the PRO-Set or
PRO-SET PLUS! headsets. It just doesn't get any better. Properly adjusted,
spoken into at the right distance, this combination is THE overall winner.
For the PRO series, no preamps, no mixers, just the Heil GM or CLASSIC ( or any
of the headsets using the HC-4 or HC-5) plugged straight into the PRO using our
CC-1 connecting cable.
For the earlier (pre PRO series ICOM) it's the great Heil "iCM" comes complete
with the connecting cable. It makes new life for those early ICOM transceivers.