[MD1032]

Hey, I've got an Aiwa XP-EV501R PCDP and the crappy headphone jacks on this thing really drive me nuts. The one in the remote is the one I really use, and I was wondering if there was an easy way to replace it myself with a better one. I'm pretty sure the remote is easily just cracked open, and then I could do soldering work from there (my dad has a soldering iron I could use). Still, I think I'm going to want some help with this one if you guys even approve of such an activity.

 

[Sal]

Sure you can! The disassembly and soldering is not going to be the difficult part though. Finding a suitable replacement jack is.

If you can open up the remote without breaking any plastic tabs, you can measure the existing headphone jack and pin spacing. Get a hold of Mouser and Digi-key catalogs and search through the parts listings paying attention to the dimensions listed. The part is almost certainly a PC mount jack which come in all shapes and sizes but you need to match the pin spacing almost exactly and the overall size of the jack still needs to fit in the enclosure obviously.

Be forewarned though, if it's not already really broken, you may end up making it worse. Sometimes these things go badly and you end up with a remote that is wrapped in black electrician's tape. But don't let that discourage you, there is an equal chance that it will turn out perfect and better than the original.