[vwap]

Hi All,

So I recently went on a DIY IC adventure... Bought some Canare GS-6 and some Canare F-10s (All they had around or something..).

Anyhow, so I soldered the signal wire to the center connector on all the RCAs and folded the ground over the shield on all four... It's continuous on each end of the RCAs, so it should all be happy, right?

But I plug it in and get no sound out of either cable.. not sure what I did wrong?... Any help is appreciated. If more info is needed, let me know.

Thanks!

 

[hadron]

Sounds pretty simple, have you checked all the connections with a continuity meter? [edit] Including testing for shorts.

 

[vwap]

How do I test for shorts?

I've already tested for continuity. Ground --> Ground and Signal --> Signal on both RCAs.

 

[hadron]

What do you mean by "I've already tested for continuity... Ground and Signal"??? Are you saying there is continuity?

A short is a connection from signal to ground. With the cable unplugged from any equipment you should get an out-of-range reading on your ohm meter (unless it does high-pot) when testing between the inner and outer contacts.

Looking at the Canare catalog I see that the "special inner shield" on the GS-6 is a conductive plastic, make sure you trimmed this so it only contacts the outer braided shield.

 

[vwap]

Well, I just took my DMM and put it into continuity mode and put a lead on each end of the RCAs.. first on the signal to signal,.. and on ground to ground.. signal to ground gets nothing.

But other than this.. I'm not much of an electronics type..

 

[hadron]

hmm, it appears that your cable is OK. I've been a sys admin far too long, you'd be surprised how many problems can be fixed by asking seemingly basic questions. Alas, this is not the case here, and I'm stumped at this point.

Can you verify that replacing your IC with a known good cable works (not changing anything else)?

 

[Wodgy]

This is perplexing. You say that you've tested the following:
1) ground -> ground continuity
2) signal -> signal continuity
3) no continuity between signal & ground

If all the above are true, your cable works. So one of the above can't be true. (It's really easy to mis-measure things, I do it all the time.) I'd try measuring all the 3 above again. Also, try bending the cable a bit and measuring again. It could be that there's an intermittent short that only shows up when you bend the cable (this may be why it doesn't work when installed in your equipment).

 

[vwap]

My original ICs work, so it's definately not an equipment problem.

I get a reading of 0 ohms when reading between signal-signal, ground-ground, and signal-ground... on both cables.

Using the continuity test, it beeps on signal-signal, ground-ground, but not signal-ground.

Not sure if this helps, but.. any more insight would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally posted by vwap I get a reading of 0 ohms when reading between signal-signal, ground-ground, and signal-ground... on both cables. Using the continuity test, it beeps on signal-signal, ground-ground, but not signal-ground.

Hmmm, those measurements are inconsistent. If it doesn't beep on signal->ground, it shouldn't give you a reading of 0 ohms (since if there's no continuity, there should be infinite resistance, not no resistance).

Keep trying to measure it until you get something consistent. I'm betting that there's a short if you bend the cable the right (or wrong) way.

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally posted by vwap I get a reading of 0 ohms when reading between signal-signal, ground-ground, and signal-ground... on both cables. Using the continuity test, it beeps on signal-signal, ground-ground, but not signal-ground. Not sure if this helps, but.. any more insight would be appreciated! Thanks

That sounds odd, 0 ohms on signal to ground and yet it says there's no continuity? My guess is either there's an intermittent short or the meter uses a different voltage for each of those tests. If the meter puts out a higher voltage for the resistance (ohm) test, it could be enough to send a current through a "near short" that the continuity test won't pick up.

Checking my good cables, it should measure 0 ohm signal-signal and ground-ground, and have infinite reistance on signal-ground.

 

[vwap]

I'm using a Wavetek meterman I picked up second-hand and don't have a manual for it.. but if 'infinite resistance' means a reading of 0.0L (as opposed to 0.0), then yes, signal-ground is infinite (or.. 0.0L.. whatever that means?

)

 

[Voodoochile]

Depending where you soldered the shield to the plug, it may have contacted the center pin when the shell was threaded on (collet-like behavior).

If you get zero ohms pin to shell, you have a short for sure. Should be infinite in the meter. Take the shells off and look around. If it's just close, you might be able to slide some electrical tape in between, otherwise resolder it differently.

Can you post a close-up pic?

 

[vwap]

Okay.. I'm not sure what the problem exactly was.. I cut off the RCAs and restarted with a new section of the cable.. They work, but the sound is really funny. I guess RCAs really aren't my thing.. :/ either that, or the Canare GS-6 didn't like me.

Oh well. My headphone extension works wonderfully.. so I'm happy