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I'm going to strangle someone with these Yuins

post #1 of 15
9/13/10 at 10:08am
Thread Starter 
Hey there guys,

I'm getting pretty annoyed with my Yuin OK2's. It's part of my portable rig but it's used pretty lightly. By lightly, I mean once a week and I haven't even used it at all this summer. Even so, it seems to have managed to break. I should mention that this is my second set. My first set developed the same exact problem a couple months ago. What seems to have happened is that the cable near the 3.5mm connector broke or deteriorated to the point where audio drops or cuts out entirely. Curiously, both last time and this time, it is only the LEFT earbud that is affected. The right side continues to function completely fine.

Fang/Head-direct replaced it for me last time since I was just under that 1 year replacement window but this time it's moving on 2 years so I highly doubt he will replace them again. This is really annoying me in that they so consistently fail in the same place. So now I'm here asking for some DIY advice.

I'd like to ask for help with reterminating these earbuds. Since I'm extremely new to all this, I figured I'd start with something relatively easy, and it'd be kind of pointless to ask someone to do something so tiny for me. Eventually I hope to just replace the entire damn 50awg or whatever cable they use with something that won't break when the wind blows.

As I said, I am extremely new to DIY so I don't even have a soldering iron nor have any idea what to look for. I do have a radio shack near me though, so I can raid that for parts if needed. Can anyone please guide me with what I need to buy and how to go about reterminating these buds?

Thank you.
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post #2 of 15
9/13/10 at 12:24pm

all you should need is the new plug, soldering iron / solder, and maybe a wire stripper and some sort of multimeter. if you're going to be getting into diy, these are all must-haves anyways :)

 

if you cut open the cabling you should see wires for left, right, and ground; i'd say the best way to see which one should go where is to just cut open the existing plug that you're replacing and see what color is soldered to what (hopefully they're not all the same color, cuz that'd be stupid). im not sure if there's a standard convention for how an audio plug's pinouts are, which is why you may want a multimeter to test for which section's going where. the little (usually black) rings you see on the plug are the separation between the three conducting parts of the plug for left/right/ground.


Edited by Soymilk - 9/13/10 at 12:26pm
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post #3 of 15
9/13/10 at 2:13pm

Soymilk gave some good advice. I recommend you also get a third hand and flux. I can't live without. :-)

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post #4 of 15
9/13/10 at 2:19pm

I'm going to have to repair the cable on a set of Yuin's myself -- totally different problem, my own fault.

 

While I haven't gotten to it yet, I expect to find that at least one set of wires -- the grounds, if nothing else -- will be lacquer-insulated, rather than PVC-insulated.  The "right way" to remove lacquer insulation is with a solder pot.  I don't have one, and doubt you do, either, so what I do is carefully use a butane lighter to burn it away.  You have to be careful not to melt the delicate copper wires or nearby PVC insulation.  Brief swipes at the wire work best.

 

If you don't do this, you will get a bad solder joint on those wires, because the burned lacquer will foul the joint.  A little bit of char won't hurt, so don't feel you have to get the wires shiny before proceeding.

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post #5 of 15
9/13/10 at 3:51pm
You can also use a chemical stripper or nail polish to remove enamel. I prefer this method because I do woodwork and usually have some handy.

If you use a chemical stripper, be sure to clean it off afterwards. Read the instructions for neutralizing it. Many can be washed off with water, so I stick the end of the cable under the tap and sometimes use an old toothbrush to get it clean. Don't worry too much about the water - holding a wet cable end against the tip of a soldering iron dries it pretty fast.
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post #6 of 15
9/13/10 at 5:34pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks, everyone!

 

I'm starting to feel like there's quite a steep learning curve here. I figured an iron and solder would be the minimum, didn't know I needed a multimeter as well.

As far as wire strippers, is there a dedicated type, or can I just use scissors or something? (That said, I did use them to remove the plastic covering on some speaker wire for my speakers and a couple strands of copper went with it..)

 

For everything else, I don't have any of those, nor have any idea where or how to look for those. " class="bbcode_smiley" height="" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//http://hfimage.head-fi.org/smilies/frown.gif" title=":(" width="" />

Are there any recommended brands, or places to look? I suppose radio shack won't have everything I need to do this.

 

That point about the lacquer is also fairly disconcerting. I don't have any of those things either, nor what would be the "right" touch. (I can probably substitute the open-flame stove for the burner? lol.)

 

Edit:
For the "shiny" copper statement, I recall something called Deoxit or something that was supposed to clean contacts; would that be something to pick up as well, maybe it'd help with that?


Edited by DarkScythe - 9/13/10 at 5:37pm
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post #7 of 15
9/14/10 at 9:24am

well the multimeter isn't strictly necessary, but it's good to have just for ease of mind to be able to double check and make sure you're wiring things properly (otherwise you might wire the left/right channels swapped). you can get a cheap one for like 10 bucks, which will be good enough for what you want it for (to check continuity). and yes, scissors will be fine, the wire stripper is also for convenience. that's why i listed those two as maybes " class="bbcode_smiley" height="" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//http://hfimage.head-fi.org/smilies/tongue.gif" title=":p" width="" />

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post #8 of 15
9/14/10 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkScythe View Post

As far as wire strippers, is there a dedicated type, or can I just use scissors or something?


I like Ideal T Strippers best.  Failing that, anything with wire gauge specific round holes, rather than adjustable or automatic types.  You can probably pick a decent wire stripper up anywhere you get the meter.

 

The problem with adjustable strippers or things like scissors is that you risk nicking the wire -- even losing whole strands -- if you're not very careful.  That's a serious problem with headphone wires, being so small and delicate.  This is the problem solved by gauge-specific round holes.

 

 

Quote:

Are there any recommended brands, or places to look? I suppose radio shack won't have everything I need to do this.

 

Actually, they will.  It's just that you can get higher quality for the same money or equal quality for less money elsewhere.  What the shack is providing is convenience, and you pay for that.

 

 

Quote:
I can probably substitute the open-flame stove for the burner?

 

Yes, that's been done before.  The main problem is just the size of the flame...it's a lot harder to be careful with a ring-o-fire than with a butane lighter.

 

Uncle Erik's recommendation is sound.  There's no nail polish remover in the house?

 

 

Quote:
I recall something called Deoxit or something that was supposed to clean contacts; would that be something to pick up as well, maybe it'd help with that?

 

That might help with the charred lacquer left behind, but it won't do anything to the lacquer itself.  If you want a liquid solution, acetone is best.

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post #9 of 15
9/14/10 at 10:42pm
Thread Starter 

Hmm. If that's the case, I would like to be prepared just in case. As long as the prices are reasonable I'm fine with spending a bit more to get the necessary tools. Where is a good place to get this stuff of comparable or better quality? Would a $50 budget be enough, or too little?

I don't have any acetone either; no one here uses nail polish. I'd have to find a way to buy a bit of that as well.

 

I'm also not seeing too many recommendations of specific brands; are they all the same?

 

Thanks again, guys. I hope I can handle jumping into all of this.

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post #10 of 15
9/14/10 at 10:55pm
You'll be able to find acetone or nail polish remover at any pharmacy. Any brand is OK. If you have a hardware store nearby, they will carry it, too.
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post #11 of 15
9/15/10 at 9:36am

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkScythe View Post

I'm also not seeing too many recommendations of specific brands; are they all the same?


Specific brands of what?  If you mean meters, then yes, all cheap POS meters are cheap POS meters. :)  You have to spend $50 or more on a meter before it's worth making more than superficial distinctions among them.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post

Any brand is OK.


Some types have added scents and such.  Just get the generic stuff.

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post #12 of 15
9/15/10 at 9:44am
Thread Starter 

Okay, so the acetone I'll just get whatever, I should be able to find some within the myriad of hardware stores and pharmacies around here. If I get this, I wouldn't have to rely on the flame method, right? How would I even know that there's any lacquer instead of PVC on the wires?

 

For brand recommendations, I was generally referring to brands of anything; soldering iron, solder itself (I've never looked into or purchased any of these; I always thought the iron would melt the wire for the connection) connectors, etc.

The $50 budget was just a number I pulled out randomly and wasn't specific to the meter, but for everything together. I'm not sure how much all this stuff will run just to get started with basic DIY.

 

Is there any recommended place to buy all this DIY stuff? I know monoprice is good for cables, but I'm not sure about these smaller bits.

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post #13 of 15
9/15/10 at 2:44pm

 

Quote:
How would I even know that there's any lacquer instead of PVC on the wires?

 

Lacquer is transparent, usually tinted, and very thin.  You will be able to see the metal shininess of the wire strands through it.  PVC is opaque and thick.  The outer insulation on the headphone cable itself is probably PVC.  PVC-insulated inner conductors will simply be thinner and probably a different color than the overall black cable.

 

 

Quote:
I was generally referring to brands of anything...Is there any recommended place to buy all this DIY stuff?

 

Watch the first video: http://tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/

 

Or/and, read this: http://tangentsoft.net/audio/new-diyer.html

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post #14 of 15
9/16/10 at 9:52pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the links! I've been pouring over it between work, and it's been very helpful to actually see some of this stuff in action.

 

From your list, I am gravitating toward mouser.com, I think. I believe it's been mentioned elsewhere as a good place to buy opamps and such, since if they're cheap, I wanted to experiment with a few swaps on my matrix m-stage.

I'm still trying to compile a list of stuff I think I'd need or would be good to get, but I'd definitely appreciate more specific suggestions if anyone has any.

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post #15 of 15
9/16/10 at 10:45pm
You might want to look at some of the used meters on eBay or if you have a Hamfest (check www.arrl.org) happening near you. There's an electronics swapmeet in LA every month and awhile back, I found a nice old Fluke for $20. You might want to try Craigslist, too, since I've seen test gear come up.

I think you can get Fluke manuals at fluke.com if you get a used one. By the way, the Fluke store has really cheap goodies in the store - I got a t-shirt and hat for something like $9 total.
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