soldering your own cable - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by rarebear 

Did you buy Flux aka Solder Paste?

 

Dont get the solder too hot either almost as bad as too cold..

Try to add a little solder to the wire first its called Tinning

 

When you do two bigger items you can tin both and just heat them till they melt together and use not solder

Also make sure your Iron is Tined with Solder

 

Practice on some wire, some days it is a pita others is cake its just take way..

 

Oh also try scraping the wire with a knife blade in case its coated with something..

No I didn't use it, in retrospect I guess I should have -_-.  But the connections I soldered seem very stable to me.  In fact I though I did them so well (as opposed to the first 2 times) that if I had to do it again, I would do it the same  way.   Recently, I haven't had a loss of connection at all and I don't know why.  If I have to do it again, I think I'll try flux, but I don't see the difference between that and normal solder iron.

I wanted to tin the wire, but I was so afraid that doing so would burn the wire and damage the connection.

And I forgot all about scraping the wire...but I don't think there's an enamel coating as the wires soldered on fairly easily.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aameerp 

My tips, as someone who did his first complete recable last week:

 

- Canare F12 (and I believe other Canare plugs) are more difficult to solder for beginners compared to the one in the video above, for example, because there are no holes to put wire through.

 

- Test channels/sound while holding with your fingers before soldering.

Yes, I did do that.  I actually connected the grounding wires first, then tested out each of L and R wires individually then together.   I would listen to my MP3 player after each wire solder just to make sure it was working out.  But after I screwed on the cover, I started getting a loose connection.  I thought it was something I can deal with, but after last night, it's become unbearable again.  Looks like back to the drawing board.  I think I have to check with a store in the area that can re-cable for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aameerp 

If your cable is long enough, I'd detach the plug and start again, making sure you only expose a little bit of wire and make sure it doesn't touch (heck, you could use cotton wool to make sure, I think, unless that's a fire hazard).

 

what do you mean the wire doesn't touch?  It has to touch the jack in order to make a connection...

I've decided to give it one more shot.  If this doesn't work, i'm done trying to do it myself!

@cyberspyder, forgive me for being so cautious, but why would you do it for free??