[yumigator]

On a long flight, I was bored and decided to get my full-size headphones connected to the in-flight entertainment system. This was one of the old planes, on which the jacks still have two plugs.

I took the cheap, non-isolating headphones they passed out and cut the plug off with a plastic knife and stripped the wires with my teeth. I connected the wires the the plug of my headphones, and connected the other end to the plane's jack.

You can see that the mono plug, when folded to the left, would connect that channel to the middle contact of the stereo jack (the plug is designed so that the original phones can connect to both airline and standard type jacks). It seems to me that the top of the stereo jack is the ground, since there are two wires on it. Of the remaining two contacts, which is left and which is right?

This is the cheap jack I purchased from Radioshack, so I can take this assembly on planes in the future without the hassle of wrapping wires around a plug. I guess the large contact is the ground. You can see that one contact is round and one is flat; which of these is right and left?

Thanks

 

[Nemo de Monet]

Looking at it, I'm willing to bet the sleeve is ground, as is normal; if that's true, I see no reason why the remainder wouldn't follow the standard formula of tip = left, ring = right.

 

[digger945]

Cut off plug with plastic butter knife, strip wires with teeth, in flight.
Are you like MacGyver or what? LOL.

 

[yumigator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digger945 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cut off plug with plastic butter knife, strip wires with teeth, in flight. Are you like MacGyver or what? LOL.

My friend mentioned that I looked like a terrorist.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo de Monet /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looking at it, I'm willing to bet the sleeve is ground, as is normal; if that's true, I see no reason why the remainder wouldn't follow the standard formula of tip = left, ring = right.

Thanks, that's what I expected too.

As for the jack, any ideas? I have two, but I don't want to have to sacrifice one just to see how the wires should be connected. There's a lot of information out there on plugs, not so much on jacks.

 

[Nemo de Monet]

Don't you have a multimeter? Jack + plug + multimeter + continuity tests will quickly and positively tell you which contact is which...

 

[digger945]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yumigator /img/forum/go_quote.gif My friend mentioned that I looked like a terrorist.

Thanks, I have just laughed so hard that I gave my computer screen a bath.

 

[yumigator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo de Monet /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't you have a multimeter? Jack + plug + multimeter + continuity tests will quickly and positively tell you which contact is which...

Yeah, I was hoping someone already had experience with this jack, but it's probably lower-grade than people here dare to touch. I didn't have a multimeter with me, so I did the battery+flashlight bulb test. The round contact is right channel; the flat contact is left.
Quote:

Originally Posted by digger945 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, I have just laughed so hard that I gave my computer screen a bath.

Oh good, glad I could help