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Fixing some headphones help. - Electrics


Laurence--Trials

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i'm going on holiday tomorrow so i want to try and fix these headphones for the journey so no time to buy new ones.

I've got some decent headphones i broke a while ago while riding, i managed to snap the jack off so they no longer work. I've now cut the jack off and stripped the wire down a little. We have a copper, blue and green coloured wires, if i managed to get another jack and soldered the wires together would the headphones work or must the wires not be touching eachother?

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It covers it in that video, but just be sure to remove the enamel from the cores! Not only will you find it impossible to solder the joint, but the enamel will insulate the signal and not allow it to get through to the transducers.

The bare copper will be the earth/common, and the blue and green enamelled copper will be left and right sound channel. You can identify the correct polarity by looking at the pinout of your old jack and measuring with an ohm meter. Generally speaking on a 3.5mm jack the connector at the furthest point (the tip) will be the left audio, and then the next connector down (after the black insulation) will be the right. The final conductor will be the ground, or return, which is common to both the LHS and RHS signal - hence why common is sometimes used instead of 'ground' in DC networks.

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Also his method of soldering is terrible. For tabs like that i have always found it easier to place solder on the tab first. Once this has set, you can then prepare your wire length for conneciton. Heat the solder up and place the wire on the tab (not through the hole). This will ensure a good connection. You should never rely on solder connection for mechanical strength, the importance is in making a good connection to the tab.

Also if you are able to 'tin' the wire with a tiny amount of solder first, you will find it much easier to make the connection.

I'm not sure if he done it or not, i couldn't bare to watch til the end, but the two tabs that are at the opposite end of the jack, are there to be folded over and lightly pressed down on the external insulator. It is this that is used to provide the mechanical integrity of the jack plug. Of course this is never going to be as good as the factory sealed jack that the headphones came with, but it will ensure that your solder joints last longer / are not put under stress.

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His method of soldering is terrible. For tabs like that I have always found it easier to place solder on the tab first. Once this has set, you can then prepare your wire length for conneciton.

Also if you are able to 'tin' the wire with a tiny amount of solder first, you will find it much easier to make the connection.

That's how I've always done it, this is why people shouldn't guess how to solder :lol:

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That guy does my head in but he's doing almost right. I would rough up then heat the tags for the connections and apply the solder to the tags I'd then re heat the solder and make the connection. Tinning a cable or wire is good practice but if only enamel is used to insulate the core you want to apply as little heat to the cable as possible especially if you're not experienced at soldering. Oh and I'm not sure if he should you in the video but tie a knot in the cable or put a small cable tie around it before you put the cap back on.

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