[CLock3]

Hello, so I recently made my first CMoy headphone amp, and the next step which I wanted to do was make a nice line out cable for my iPod to plug into the amp. I see many people with them on here. They're typically a short cable (3 inches or so) with the dock connector on one end and 3.5mm plug on the other. Well I had all the materials left over from a cable I made for my headphones, so I ordered a dock connector kit since it was the only thing I needed. Well, that thing is about the hardest thing to solder wires onto, haha. The pins are all so small and close together that I couldn't do it. First I soldered the ground, which after a slight movement of the wire, pulled the pin right out. So I was pretty much screwed at that point. I did notice there are two grounds on the connector, so I figured I could try the other one, but even then I ended up connecting the ground and right signal pin and I just gave up, haha. Not sure what I should do. Does anyone on here make them if I were to send them the cable, sleeving, and 3.5mm plug I'd like used? I would pay them the money for a dock connector plus some for the trouble of making it for me if they'd like. It's either that or I gotta buy one anyways, and I'd rather have a nice looking one that matches my headphone cable, you know? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLock3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello, so I recently made my first CMoy headphone amp, and the next step which I wanted to do was make a nice line out cable for my iPod to plug into the amp. I see many people with them on here. They're typically a short cable (3 inches or so) with the dock connector on one end and 3.5mm plug on the other. Well I had all the materials left over from a cable I made for my headphones, so I ordered a dock connector kit since it was the only thing I needed. Well, that thing is about the hardest thing to solder wires onto, haha. The pins are all so small and close together that I couldn't do it. First I soldered the ground, which after a slight movement of the wire, pulled the pin right out. So I was pretty much screwed at that point. I did notice there are two grounds on the connector, so I figured I could try the other one, but even then I ended up connecting the ground and right signal pin and I just gave up, haha. Not sure what I should do. Does anyone on here make them if I were to send them the cable, sleeving, and 3.5mm plug I'd like used? I would pay them the money for a dock connector plus some for the trouble of making it for me if they'd like. It's either that or I gotta buy one anyways, and I'd rather have a nice looking one that matches my headphone cable, you know? Thanks in advance for any help.

Don't give up, there are a few nice threads about easier ways and techniques to build these. Use the search. I don't think anybody really enjoys building these, unless they're a bit masochistic

 

[CLock3]

Haha, alright. I'll give the search a try and see what I can come up with. Thanks.

 

[CLock3]

Well, I ended up ordering another dock connector to try again, haha. I got a slightly different style this time. Not sure if it'll make anything easier or different, but before I got the really slim one, like the apple dock connector, but this time I went with this one from qables. I guess we'll see how Round 2 goes, haha.

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLock3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I ended up ordering another dock connector to try again, haha. I got a slightly different style this time. Not sure if it'll make anything easier or different, but before I got the really slim one, like the apple dock connector, but this time I went with this one from qables. I guess we'll see how Round 2 goes, haha.

Just because you screw up a couple of pins on a connector doesn't mean it's trash, just pull those pins out, replace them with unused pins and continue, you have 30 pins, you need 4, lots of room for error correction.

 

[thebikingengineer]

When you go to solder each pin, try sliding a piece of paper (whichever kind you prefer) between the pin you are soldering and the pins adjacent. This really helps in keeping the pins separated. Also, be sure to tin your tip well so you don't have to feed solder in while you're getting everything together. It seems obvious but it's definitely worth mentioning.

 

[Lock]

I made one of these the other day, was my first time soldering, never mind making a cable and it was a really tough job but very doable. As a novice the things I did were:

>Bent away (only slightly) the pins I wasn't using to give more space.
>I then bent the left, right, and ground pins away from one another. I forget the order but I think it was ground bend to the left, right ch bent up and left ch bend down.

>I then cut a striped the wire so the all would line up perfectly with th pins (this was fiddly and took patience) I got the wire in a good state eventually.

>I then got some solder just on the iron tip. I wiped this down until only a tiny bead of liquid solder was on the tip. I think this is reffered to above as 'tinning up'?

>I then was able to hold the wire and connector in position with one hand and dab the solder bead on the connection.

>I soldered Ground first. The the pin I bent down. The the pin I bent up last.

>I used a slim line dock with a 'clip fit' case, no glue required. I cut a shallow groove in the insulation of my cable so when I but the case over the dock it 'pinched' the cable and acted as a tensioner. no chance of pulling on the tiny solders now. I used mic cable which was larger diameter than the hole in the dock. If I had a glue gun I would have used this to tension the cable after solder but I don't.

Hope this is helpful, sadly I have no pictures of construction.

 

[robbmcaulay]

Whip all the pins you don't need clean out. They should slide out with a pull with some pliers. And like Lock said, slightly bend them outwards to give yourself more room.

Another benefit of ripping the other pins out is that if you really mess up, you can actually replace the pins with the spares. Just keep count of the slots

 

[intoflatlines]

I think when I made mine I bridged two pins so that I could move my wire down a spot. I put shrink wrap over the finished solder so I would not accidentally bridge when I soldered the next one.

 

[CLock3]

thanks for all the input everyone. i'll see if i can recover the one I have right now, and if not I'll have the other on the way anyways. I'll keep in mind everything you all said. I should be able to do it, haha. Don't see why not. Thanks again for all of the advice and suggestions.