[arteom]

I am making RCA to 1/8 cable. I got a set of Cardas SRCA connectors and I am a bit uncertain on where I am supposed to solder the ground, my guess is the space within the green rectangle. Is this correct? f
 
 

 

[vixr]

That would be fine... you could also fold the braid back on the threaded area in the back and let the cover capture the braid (no solder)...I've done this with certain types of VHF connectors for marine band radios...just spread the braid out a bit so its not a big wad of wires all in one spot, the cover will thread on easier. If its a stranded wire instead of braid, just flatten the wire and fold it back over the threads in the same way.

 

[arteom]

My concern with folding it back and using the cover to hold it inplace would be damage to the wires and also possibly inferior sound quality compared to soldering it in place. Do appreciate the tip though vixr. Reading the description of the connector it says it has a spring loaded ground collar, no idea what that means. I can't find anything spring loaded about these.

Do you guys think drilling a small hole on the bottom and putting ground through there would work? The other option I though of was scratching into the bottom and hoping solder would flow into it well enough to make a solid connection, but I might as well go all the way with that and just drill a hole.

 

[Currawong]

Agreed, you need to specifically use crimp-style plugs, eg: Van Den Hul, if you don't want to solder the ground and/or shield. I think it is definitely worth taking the time to work out how best to neatly solder the wire in that gap.
 
Edit: See the posts below for a better idea.

 

[Zashoomin]

Pretty much as long as the ground wire is somehow touching the case and not that pin sticking out in the middle than you have officially grounded the rca jack.  

 

[vixr]

my only concern with attempting to solder to that much metal is that you will end up getting it pretty hot...use a heat sink or risk possibly damaging the dielectric between the center pin and the housing. The ground spring keeps the ground fitting tight. The small cuts around the ground sleeve sometimes get loose from going off and on the mating surface...

 

[Zashoomin]

If it cardas its a very well built rca jack I wouldn't worry about heat damaging it so much as getting a secure ground connection.  I have so far done every single one of my rca's with worse quality jacks and it has yet to be an issue for me.  

 

[arteom]

I drilled a hole through the bottom, put the ground wire through there. A bit of solder filled in the hole that was drilled. Worked out pretty well, got to say it was kind of a pain mostly because I am still uncertain the way it was intended to be done. I have to say it was definitely worth it. I didn't have a decent set of rca ot 1/8 cables, was just using generic cable you find everywhere like walmart and ratshack, the difference is kind of night day. I did expect sound to improve quite a bit when NOT using the cheap ratshack cable but this sounds much better than I expected. I am going to make a couple more of these. Just incase anyone is wondering in addition to the Cardas SRCA I used an MPS 1/8 jack, kimber twist wire. Do need to figure out strain relief, going to order some more heat shrink tubing with my next order, if I have no luck with that I am just going to use hot glue. The cable is nice and short, less than a foot. I'd rather go long usb cable to dac, short cable out to amp.

 

[dBel84]

I am a little late to the party but this is how I have done it in the past 
 

 
 
a little blurry but gets the concept across - I first solder the signal wire to the pin, then trim the ground wire in line with the top of the first bar in the large opening, solder the tip of the wire and a little on the connector then reflow and join. It doesn't get in the way of the screw on cover and offers a decent connection without trying to fuss about in that little cut out. 
 
..dB

 

[arteom]

Quote:

I am a little late to the party but this is how I have done it in the past 
 

 
 
a little blurry but gets the concept across - I first solder the signal wire to the pin, then trim the ground wire in line with the top of the first bar in the large opening, solder the tip of the wire and a little on the connector then reflow and join. It doesn't get in the way of the screw on cover and offers a decent connection without trying to fuss about in that little cut out. 
 
..dB

 
Yeah I've done similar in the past, except I did it inbetween the thin bar and rear side of the connector. However I felt like I used too much solder in that instance. Here is how I ended up doing it this time around. You can see the ground to the left of the signal pin. It doesn't look like much but it's fairly solid.
 

 
 

 

[Currawong]

That looks much neater. I suppose you could also hook the return wire (of 2-wire-plus-shield cable) over the corner and solder it there too. It'd be just as easy to trim. 

 

[arteom]

Quote:

That looks much neater. I suppose you could also hook the return wire (of 2-wire-plus-shield cable) over the corner and solder it there too. It'd be just as easy to trim. 

Yeah wouldn't be too much of a bother I suppose and the more surface area the better. In this case the wire used is more or less some nice hookup wire, I've only used some techflex (before the y split). I don't think I will have any issues considering the length of the wire (less than 10 inches).  The thing is stiff as all hell. Not a problem in my case, I've made is specifically to hook up a dac to my home stereo, won't be moving anytime soon.