Spectra Front Panel Microphone Connector for Dash-Mount Spectra Radios

Up one level (Spectra index)
Up two levels (Moto index)
Back to Home Spectra Front Panel
Microphone Connector for
Dash-Mount Spectra Radios
By Robert W. Meister WA1MIK

Background:

In May 2020 I received an email from Scott KC9LQV inquiring about feeding audio into a Spectra radio as required during alignment. I mentioned that the main issue was finding a way to interface a Spectra front panel microphone connector to anything else, as the connector was proprietary. I told him that I just used an old Spectra mike cord. He then mentioned the following:

"There's a fellow on the Communication Support discussion board who is making and selling 10-pin, 3D-printed, Spectra microphone plugs. They're built to fit into a standard DE-9 hood. It comes with 10 blank female contacts and a hood with all its hardware."

Apparently these were being made for people who needed to connect a security key loader to their Astro Spectra radios; those use the outer two pins on each end of the radio's front panel microphone connector and those pins are not accessible by any Motorola 6-pin microphone cable.

Let's Check One Out:

So I contacted the seller and for $14 (including shipping) I bought one. Very nicely made. As stated above, you get the connector body, 10 blank female contact pins, and a DE-9 hood with all its hardware. I had been using an old Spectra microphone cord for feeding audio into my Spectra radios when aligning or testing them; this mike connector is a distinct improvement. The two photos below show what you get. There is no mechanism for locking the connector into the front of the radio, like the stock mike cable has. Purchasing information can be found at the end of this article. Click on any photo for a larger view.

The first photo shows the end that plugs into the Spectra radio front panel microphone jack.

Here's a view with the green connector body flipped around, showing the end where you insert the crimped female contacts into the connector body.

Here are two photos showing the connector body installed into the DE-9 hood.

And as seen from the other side.

Additional Information:

I was told that the slots visible between pairs of pins are due to the size of the holes and the resolution of the 3D printer. The female contact pins are held in place by a simple pressure fit; no latching of any kind. Some people add a dab of hot glue to the back of the connector body to insure the pins stay in place. You can just press the contacts in by pushing on the wire or using a normal DB connector pin tool. The contacts are Amphenol 86566510064LF that accept 24-28 gauge wire. To insure longevity, use stranded wire.

Scott's Microphone Adapter:

Scott needed a way to inject audio into Spectra radios for alignment purposes. He couldn't rely on the TX Audio Input on the back of the radio. He already had a modular cable he used for aligning MaxTrac radios, so he bought a mike plug and cut some holes and super-glued a modular jack to the top of the DE-9 hood and wired the appropriate pins to access MIC HI, MIC LO, and GND. He could have also wired up PTT and the Hang-Up Box (HUB) and made a full microphone adapter that would let him use a MaxTrac-style modular microphone with his Spectra, although he'd still need some means of latching the adapter into the Spectra mike jack. The image below shows the pin configuration and signal names of the Spectra front-panel microphone jack.

Here's his completed adapter plugged into a radio.

Here's the internal wiring of Scott's adapter.

How To Buy Them:

The seller, Matt, can be contacted at: kc9uhi [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com. This is only for the connector kit shown at the top of this article. It does NOT include the modular jack or any wiring that Scott used the kit for. He only accepts PayPal for payment. Please contact him directly for further information.

Acknowledgements and Credits:

The photos of the 3D-printed mike connector kit being sold were taken by the author.

The photos of the modular to Spectra mike adapter were taken by Scott KC9LQV.

Contact Information:

The author can be contacted at: his-callsign [ at ] comcast [ dot ] net.

Back to the top of the page
Up one level (Spectra index)
Up two levels (Moto index)
Back to Home

This page originally posted 18-Jun-20.

This web page, this web site, the information presented in and on its pages and in these modifications and conversions is © Copyrighted 1995 and (date of last update) by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors. All Rights Reserved, including that of paper and web publication elsewhere.