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<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>I'm starting to regret ordering the 100 phone plugs that
are waiting to be<BR>picked up at a local store...<BR>ah well, neutrik will have
to wait until i get another job.<BR>-Steve<BR><BR><BR>----- Original Message
-----<BR>From: "Simon" <<A
href="mailto:simon@austarmetro.com.au">simon@austarmetro.com.au</A>><BR>To:
<<A
href="mailto:synth-diy@dropmix.xs4all.nl">synth-diy@dropmix.xs4all.nl</A>><BR>Cc:
<<A href="mailto:jlarryh@iquest.net">jlarryh@iquest.net</A>><BR>Sent:
Wednesday, September 25, 2002 9:28 AM<BR>Subject: Re: [sdiy] patch
cables?<BR><BR><BR>> > >I have this love / hate relationship with
Neutrik 1/4" phone plugs.<BR>> ><BR>> >In my case it's all love
:)<BR>><BR>> I sleep with my Neutrik connectors.<BR>><BR>><BR>>
>I have a strict policy that all new cables must have Neutrik
ends.<BR>><BR>> I do the same, Neutrik connectors (1/4" jack, xlr, rca,
bantam,<BR>> long-frame) and Canare cable.<BR>><BR>> I haven't seen any
other plugs that come near the quality of the<BR>> Neurik connector
design.<BR>><BR>><BR>> > >However, I hate to solder
them. They made such a great plug, easy to<BR>> > >install,
and then made them very difficult to solder.<BR>><BR>> After a few hundred
you will get a good system going.<BR>><BR>><BR>> > >When
you solder it to the inside, you are very close to the tip<BR>connection<BR>>
>>>and have no real easy method to insert any insulating tape to
prevent<BR>any<BR>> >>>inadvertent bridges. Am I just missing
the point on these otherwise<BR>> >>>wonderful plugs, or are they
really a total PITA to solder as I see<BR>them.<BR>><BR>> If you prep the
cable well then I don't think you need to insulate<BR>> the shield, it isn't
going to move around inside the plug.<BR>><BR>><BR>> >There should
be no<BR>> >inadvertent bridges if the wires are stripped cleanly, and cut
to the<BR>right<BR>> >length. You don't want any slack -- that's one
of the advantages of<BR>having<BR>> >superior strain
relief.<BR>><BR>> If you buy the connectors by the box, they come with a
diagram<BR>> showing where to strip and cut the different layers of the cable
to<BR>> fit the various plugs. Maybe ask your supplier for the diagram
or<BR>> look on the Neutrik website. Follow this and they fit
well.<BR>><BR>><BR>> >In my experience, most shorts are caused by
the<BR>> >improper stripping of stranded wire, leaving some of the strands
too<BR>short<BR>> >and free to move around. Pre-tinning might also
help.<BR>><BR>> It's all about prep.<BR>><BR>> Strip and cut the
layers to the correct length. I unpick the braided<BR>> shield with a small
jewellers screwdriver and then twist it into a<BR>> neat single wire, then
cut it to the correct length as per the<BR>> diagram.<BR>><BR>> Pre-tin
the wires. Tin the wires well, right up to the jackets, with<BR>> wires
twisted into a neat point.<BR>><BR>> Pre-tin the solder points on the
plug. Fill up the tip cup with<BR>> solder, make sure there is enough heat
for a good solder connection.<BR>> Put a decent sized blob of solder for the
shield connection on one<BR>> side of the shield connection
part.<BR>><BR>> Then solder the pre-tinned wire into the pre-tinned plug,
so that you<BR>> don't need as much heat on the cable as you would if not
pre-tinning<BR>> both.<BR>><BR>><BR>> I have a short length of wood,
4x2, that has female 1/4" jack and<BR>> male/female xlr panel mount sockets
in the sides of it. I have a 1/4"<BR>> socket on the top and on the side of
this piece of wood, to hold the<BR>> plugs while I'm soldering. I put the
plug in the top socket when<BR>> filling up the tip cup, and on the front
when putting on the shield<BR>> blob of solder. And the same when joining the
cable to the plug, in<BR>> the top for the tip making sure the shield wire
lines up with the<BR>> solder blob on the plug, then move the plug to the
front socket for<BR>> the shield. There are also a couple of alligator clips
mounted to the<BR>> wood to hold cables and other sized parts, and I have
drawn markers<BR>> onto the wood to measure the cable end and wires to the
correct<BR>> lengths. I use a blunt box-cutter blade to strip the wire,
pressing<BR>> the wire lightly onto the wood, while turning the wire. I find
this<BR>> gives a much cleaner cut than any wire-strippers that I have
tried.<BR>><BR>><BR>> >If that still sounds like a PITA, not once
have I ever had a Neutrik end<BR>go<BR>> >bad. I cannot say that
about Switchcraft. Imho, they are more than<BR>worth<BR>> >the extra
cost.<BR>><BR>> Yep, only problems I have had are due to not having enough
heat for<BR>> the solder to make a proper connection, ending up with a dry
joint,<BR>> and because people making cables previously hadn't tinned all the
way<BR>> up to the jackets so that there are fraying broken
wires.<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> Simon<BR>> Canberra<BR>>
AUSTRALIA<BR>><BR>
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