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Soldering Lacquer Coated Earphonephone Wires

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Nelson

Jan 1, 1970
0
God, I hate earphone wires! You would think after all this time
someone would be able to figure out how to keep them from fatiguing and
breakingŠ usually right at the molded rubber jack housing.

So I have an expensive Sennheiser noise canceling set where the wires
have broken at the jack. Each "wire" is actually a bundle of very fine
wires twisted around each other and a string-like fiber reinforcement
strand. The fine wires appear to be lacquer-coated, like you would find
in a transformer winding.

I am planning to trim back from the breaks and solder the three wires
to a Radio Shack jack. I am wondering how to strip the lacquer or
whatever the insulating coating is from the individual strands without
breaking them or shorting them out.

Anyone have any experience or advice?
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
"Nelson" wrote in message
God, I hate earphone wires! You would think after all this time
someone would be able to figure out how to keep them from fatiguing
and breaking, usually right at the molded rubber jack housing.

It's long been my opinion that the "strain relief" -- because it works over
too short a length of the cable -- is often what causes the break.
 
N

Nelson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi, see other archived comments regarding tinsel wire. At least some, if not
most of the coatings on the conductors will melt away at soldering
temperatures.

Try to not have any flex/movement at the soldering points, otherwise, the
fine conductors will break soon (heat shrink tubing, hot glue etc).

Heat shrink tubing extending out of a new plug body will likely be an
improvement as far as strain relief, over the original cable plug.


Thanks. I'm thinking I'll add an old ball point pen spring beneath the
tubing for strain relief.
 
M

Mark Zenier

Jan 1, 1970
0
God, I hate earphone wires! You would think after all this time
someone would be able to figure out how to keep them from fatiguing and
breaking usually right at the molded rubber jack housing.

So I have an expensive Sennheiser noise canceling set where the wires
have broken at the jack. Each "wire" is actually a bundle of very fine
wires twisted around each other and a string-like fiber reinforcement
strand. The fine wires appear to be lacquer-coated, like you would find
in a transformer winding.

I am planning to trim back from the breaks and solder the three wires
to a Radio Shack jack. I am wondering how to strip the lacquer or
whatever the insulating coating is from the individual strands without
breaking them or shorting them out.

Anyone have any experience or advice?

In most of the headphones I've messed with, the wire in insulated
with solder-strippable enamel insulation. All you need is a HOT
soldering iron. Avoid the smoke.

Mark Zenier [email protected]
Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)
 
C

Cydrome Leader

Jan 1, 1970
0
Nelson said:
God, I hate earphone wires! You would think after all this time
someone would be able to figure out how to keep them from fatiguing and
breaking? usually right at the molded rubber jack housing.

So I have an expensive Sennheiser noise canceling set where the wires
have broken at the jack. Each "wire" is actually a bundle of very fine
wires twisted around each other and a string-like fiber reinforcement
strand. The fine wires appear to be lacquer-coated, like you would find
in a transformer winding.

I am planning to trim back from the breaks and solder the three wires
to a Radio Shack jack. I am wondering how to strip the lacquer or
whatever the insulating coating is from the individual strands without
breaking them or shorting them out.

Anyone have any experience or advice?

I've fixed these before. Did yours have the weird battery modules?

just burn the shellac off the wires with a blob of fresh solder. I can't
imagine that's not how they make the things in the first place. Use thin
needle nose pliers as heatsinks so the cable doesn't burn up and
"retract".

I used braided tubing to build up the diameter of the thin cord to that of
the strain relief in a new 1/8 stereo plug, and a couple layers of heat
shrink. My repair is 100 times better than the bogus factory plug.
 
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