[Taowolf51]

Hi all,
Does anyone happen to know of any XLR and mini-XLR plugs with screw terminals? I'm looking to make an LCD-2 cable, but for some reason solder plugs don't seem to want to work for me the few times I've tried to make cables. They look nice and pretty, and I always double check the solder connections, but they don't seem to like to work (or work somewhat intermittently).

 

[nikongod]

I am not aware of any screw-terminal XLRs in a normal bullet-shaped XLR-looking package, but there are several companies that make larger XLR to screw terminal adapters.
 
Keep practicing your soldering. Maybe add some flux. If your iron is not very good invest in a better iron. 

 

[65535]

I don't know of any XLR connectors with screw terminals, especially mini. If you'd like I can make you some cables, I don't charge for the work just the materials and shipping.

 

[FraGGleR]

  Hi all,
Does anyone happen to know of any XLR and mini-XLR plugs with screw terminals? I'm looking to make an LCD-2 cable, but for some reason solder plugs don't seem to want to work for me the few times I've tried to make cables. They look nice and pretty, and I always double check the solder connections, but they don't seem to like to work (or work somewhat intermittently).

Definitely no screw terminal mini XLR.  Way too small to do it.  
 
Like Nikongod said, use flux.  Flux and pre-tin the solder points on the mini XLR as well as your wires.  Then you should only need a quick, firm press of a hot soldering iron to get a good joint.

 

[Taowolf51]

  I am not aware of any screw-terminal XLRs in a normal bullet-shaped XLR-looking package, but there are several companies that make larger XLR to screw terminal adapters.
 
Keep practicing your soldering. Maybe add some flux. If your iron is not very good invest in a better iron. 

I do have a rosin-core solder. My guess is that my iron sucks, at times I have to wait a good 30 seconds to get the solder to melt.
 

  I don't know of any XLR connectors with screw terminals, especially mini. If you'd like I can make you some cables, I don't charge for the work just the materials and shipping.
 

That's very generous of you! PM'd!
 

  Definitely no screw terminal mini XLR.  Way too small to do it.  
 
Like Nikongod said, use flux.  Flux and pre-tin the solder points on the mini XLR as well as your wires.  Then you should only need a quick, firm press of a hot soldering iron to get a good joint.
 

I do have rosin-core solder. Is that acceptable, or would it be best to have the rosin and solder separate? I think my soldering iron may suck, it takes a long time to melt the solder.

 

[nikongod]

  I do have a rosin-core solder. My guess is that my iron sucks, at times I have to wait a good 30 seconds to get the solder to melt.
 

 
Yup, the solder should melt REALLLLY quickly. Ideally within 10seconds. *maybe* 15-20sec if you are soldering 20ga or fatter, but 24ga wire is plenty fat for any headphones.
 
If you plan on doing more of this I would include buying a nicer iron in your plans - especially if you will be building stuff on circuit boards. With the nicer tips that you can get for nicer irons (in all sorts of interesting shapes for different jobs) AND the possibility of regulated heat control you will be loving it. 
 
Life is too short to put up with iffy tools.You can hate yourself once for buying a soldering iron that cost *how much* or every time you use it... Trust me, the pain of spending $50-100 on a soldering iron goes away the first time you use it. 

 

[Taowolf51]

   
Yup, the solder should melt REALLLLY quickly. Ideally within 10seconds. *maybe* 15-20sec if you are soldering 20ga or fatter, but 24ga wire is plenty fat for any headphones.
 
If you plan on doing more of this I would include buying a nicer iron in your plans - especially if you will be building stuff on circuit boards. With the nicer tips that you can get for nicer irons (in all sorts of interesting shapes for different jobs) AND the possibility of regulated heat control you will be loving it. 
 
Life is too short to put up with iffy tools.You can hate yourself once for buying a soldering iron that cost *how much* or every time you use it... Trust me, the pain of spending $50-100 on a soldering iron goes away the first time you use it. 

 
I'm planning on buying a nicer iron when/if I pick up the Bottlehead Quickie kit. Any reasonably priced one you would recommend specifically?

 

[deadlylover]

 

  I do have a rosin-core solder. My guess is that my iron sucks, at times I have to wait a good 30 seconds to get the solder to melt.

 
Just for clarification, is this 30 seconds from turning on the iron, or is it with the iron already hot? Are you using leaded, or lead-free solder? (you should be using leaded, it's easier to work with)
 
As suggested above, tinning the connectors on the plug is important to promote better heat transfer, and you need to heat up the connector for a few seconds before you bring the wire in. This is because the connector has a large thermal mass, and if it's not hot enough, the cable wont actually 'stick' to it even though you may have seen the solder on the wire melt. Try and get the iron's tip touching both the connector and the wire as you're making the connection. You might be fighting an uphill battle though, it sounds like your iron's tip is heavily oxidised if it's having trouble melting solder while it's hot, you can try tinning the tip and cleaning it a bunch of times, it might help.
 
For your first decent iron, I usually recommend the Hakko 936 clone, you can find one here. It's a great iron for the money, just hop on ebay and pick some some extra tips, I'd say a ~2mm chisel tip for most work, and a big 4-6mm chisel tip for big jobs (thick wire, pcb mounted heatsinks and the like).
 
If you're looking to spend more, the Hakko FX-888 (or the 888D) is a small upgrade from the clone I linked, it's the de facto standard DIY hobbyist soldering iron. It'll just be more comfortable to use than the clone, and it'll have slightly better thermal performance.
 
Honestly, I don't think there's anything the FX-888 can do that the cheap clone can't, but if you like nice things, then it's okay to splash out for it.