Ham Radio Operators are licensed to build and modify their own equipment, even at the entry level license allotted to 7 year olds (yes, they can pass the exam!). Also, this is a modification of the external Microphone, not the transmitter so it should be allowed as long as the PTT button and such are not modified, but that’s a different story and still a gray area
and all of those rules apply to Transmitters, you can modify a receiver as long as you are not listening in on certain bands.

You can modify radios, you just can’t modify them outside of your privilege class. In this case, he’s just modifying the handset which isn’t modifying the radio itself at all.

Please, please, please stop capitalizing it. It’s ham, all lower case. Not HAM or H.A.M. – it doesn’t stand for anything, it’s a pseudonym for “amateur” radio. k? thx.

Good work! I like reading about ham radio hacks here.

Also the comments that the fellow ham operators have left have been very informational to me.

Great mod, I will have to do this as well with my FT-1900 with my Bose aviation headset. You may need to change the mic gain under the settings menu depending on what mic you use. N1IR

@Owen … THANK YOU! Nothing irks me like seeing ham in all caps.

@Jerome

Other countries have more restrictive regulations. Some countries restrict what types of transmitters lower level licensees can use. Typically if they have such restrictions, they require rockbound (crystal controlled) transmitters

@Kyle

You can build a spark gap transmitter legally if you can make it efficient enough to cut down on spurrious emissions!! – I thought about trying, but it would take a lot of experimentation in a Faraday Cage
Maybe that’ll be my next thing sent to Hackaday – but this microphone is enough until school starts for me!

-73!, ke5tuz, Jimmy

Sweet, i have this mic.