Wiring and jack of headphones
Wiring and jack of headphones is something we should know. The headphones today are one of the most common instruments for listening to music on the market. Since its creation, they obtained a rapid expansion and consumers quickly opted to acquire them since they are quite affordable and easy to use because mostly they only have to be connected to the device since they function in the best and effective way because nowadays the technology has done great things to simplify our lifestyle and our needs, of course, trying to find a way to earn money from it.
But like almost everything in life, it has its disadvantages because they are often damaged by poor quality and poor durability.
But everything has a solution and they will be presented in the first instance which are the cables, types of cables so that they work and also how to repair them in case they are damaged or have a defect.
The type of wiring and connector that the vast majority of headphones use is the analog audio connector which the male connector is called “Plug” and the female connector is called “Jack” (it is the place where the plug and that’s why it is called female). Within this type of wiring, certain subcategories fulfill specific functions.
The connector called TS (tip sleeve) is wiring in which it is sound is mono and in most cases, the listening quality is not the most optimal, for this reason, it is known as an unbalanced connector.
In contrast, there is a type of TRS connector (tip ring sleeve) in which the sound system is mostly stereo and has a high quality to reproduce the sound and this is why it is called balanced wiring.
There is another way to find these headphones of the type TRS that is called TRRS (tip ring ring sleeve) which has the same quality of the TRS but it adds the ability to listen to the wearer (microphone) this what it does is that the connector can transmit the frequencies of sound transmitted in the air.
As an additional fact, there is a certain degree of world standard in which the input of this wiring tends to have a proportion of 3.5mm for the vast majority of devices.
It is important that devices that work using a wireless connection are already being developed and are being introduced so that problems with the wiring and others are non-existent and if any problem occurs it is directly in the headset.
The problem with these devices is that they are usually more expensive and difficult to acquire since there are prices up to almost $ 300 so they are affordable only for a certain social group in most cases. There is another type of connector input not so common that has an approximate dimension of 2.5mm.
It is important to clarify that a cable that is not balanced means that as we know the environment in which we live is covered by all kinds of frequencies that transmit invisible information then all these interferences can be perceived in unbalanced cables unlike if they were balanced.
There is a standardized code that describes what functions each cable that makes up a headset receives and this code was created by Microsoft and Intel to have a greater understanding worldwide about computer wiring and now this instrument is followed by the great Most electronic devices that meet the characteristics of requiring systems similar to headphones for example. The 3.5mm connectors are mostly TS or TRS and when with the following wiring.
- TS wiring: they usually only have a pink or red cable in which it is known to fulfill the function of microphone which allows the capture of certain frequencies in the air and transformed into electrical impulses that carry the information towards the microchip to be processed in information understandable by us.
- TRS wiring: this type of wiring if you have a greater number of cables on which you can support by design.
- Green: the green wire usually and according to the code mentioned above, the audio output function is that which is responsible for the sound frequencies that transform into frequencies understandable by us. This cable connects directly to the headphones to give a direct output in the form of stereo sound for the front audio channel.
- Black: this type of cable, like black and gray, is an audio output that connects directly to the speakers or headphones but for logical reasons, it must have a difference and that is that the audio channel to which it goes directed is the butt.
- Gray: the gray cable, in particular, has the same functions as the two previous cables (green and black) but with the difference that the output channels for this case are lateral. This of the channels makes more sense since as one of the characteristics that stereo sounds have is that the ability to generate a surrounding environment and therefore the ability to transmit simultaneously, or synchronous sound through different channels ( audio outputs)
- Orange: This cable usually has the function of transmitting the sound of the subwoofer, what it does is take care of the bass sound and its correct transmission. The output channel that corresponds to it is the central one and it has a great additional feature that is present in the latest models of the sound devices that what it does is that it can transmit dual sound, that is, use the central channel to emit the sound and also, some other channel simultaneously.
- Blue: what this cable does is receive the sound, that is, it captures the sound frequencies and converts them (similar to how the pink/red cable does in the type of TS wiring). It has another peculiarity and is that it transmits sound at the line level, that is, it receives signals even stronger than those of a microphone to mention an example.
It is important to mention that these are the most common colors found and their most standardized use within the market for sound devices but some products do not follow the code created by Microsoft and Intel and therefore can not be the same behavior.
Also, a device may have all these cables or not because this depends on the needs and characteristics that are to be covered in the device being manufactured.
To repair the cable of a headset that meets these characteristics you must first know where the damage is in the cable. If it is near the connector, a process is done a little different from that which is another part that is not near the connector.
To realize and locate where the damage is in the cable, you must place the headset on the device (connect) and play music. Then with your thumb pressing the surface of the connector, pass the cable to the right side of the finger and continue touching the surface of the cable until the place where the fault is located.
If the damage is caused far from the connector, the following must be done to learn Wiring and jack of headphones:
- Mark the area where the damaged cable sector is located should be covered with an adhesive tape to be able to delimit and lose sight of the affected area. Try to put the center of the tape exactly in the center of the damaged area of the cable.
- Use a wire stripper or knife carefully to cut the approximately one-and-a-half-inch shield that covers the internal wires of the headphones. This process must be carried out with the two ends that cover the affected area of the cable delimited by the tape to be able to work exactly with the cables that are damaged.
- With the internal cables, cut them and then it must be verified on which side the affected or crushed area is and when it has already been located that part and the other end of the cable must also be cut so that both parts are exactly in them proportions If the cables do not remain the same, a short circuit in the wiring can be caused, so it must be verified that both parts are the same size.
- Place a heat shrink tube in one of the cables that do so is to protect the damaged area that will be covered by this tube once it has been unified in the cable. If the cable has a lot of damage then for each damage that the cable has, a protective tube of the aforementioned must be placed.
- The two ends of the wiring must be joined taking into account connecting the cables with their respective colors, that is, do not intermingle the colors to avoid an electrical failure that can be fatal for the headphones and that causes a situation in which they are irreparable.
This union can take two forms. The easiest but least effective way is to place both ends of the wiring together and then with your fingers twist them together in a single direction so that they are very close and the connection between them is not lost.
The hardest and most effective way is to place both ends of the cable in opposite directions and together to then twist them with your fingers first in one direction and then in another to make them firm.
- With a soldering iron and solder, the repaired part of the cables that make up the headset must be released so that the electrical energy flows better. The internal wiring is usually covered by an insulating material that protects it so it is recommended that before welding that material must be removed to obtain a better transmission of energy between the cables. This is done with the soldering iron by gently burning the exposed part and trying not to breathe the material because it can be harmful to health.
- Once the repaired site has been correctly welded, then the protective tube that was previously inserted must be placed in the affected area to protect it. Once placed on top of the repair, a lighter or lighter can be used with care to bring it closer to the tube so that it shrinks and adheres correctly to the wiring and is not exposed.
As mentioned above there is an almost standard 3.5mm input dimension but there are also very common ones such as one of the oldest ones measuring approximately 6.35mm which of its beginnings was used in telecommunications with devices that require the device but over time the range of products that used this input was expanded and now musical instruments such as electric guitars or bass commonly use it.
The process for when the damaged area is close to the connector is almost the same only that certain aspects vary such as that only one end of the cable must be cut and the connector discarded because it is damaged.
Then you must buy another connector which replaces the previous one. These connectors have at the end a surface designed to join the internal cables of the wiring to the connector and to finish the union precisely.
As a recommendation, caution should be exercised when using the soldering iron or any mentioned device that could cause injuries since they are instruments that its manipulation needs to be performed desirably by a professional in the area and if not by a prudent person and able to handle the tool effectively and without causing damage.
This is because there are many cases worldwide of children and even adults who have suffered serious injuries due to the mishandling of the mentioned tools.
To conclude, as previously the headphones are a technology that revolutionized the way we listen to music and managed to meet a need that people had to listen to music privately.
Despite this great impact, due to the massive sales and economies of scale, these devices in many cases are made of not very good quality materials, so knowing how to repair them and how they work can be very useful for any occasion when it is required. For all of the above Wiring and jack of headphones is important to know.
Finally, if you want to buy a pair of safe headphones, then below is our list of recommendations based on quality, price and users’ feedback
For more information about noise cancelling headphones and headphones in general you might want to have a look at our list of e-books below
- Your health and headphones
- The In and out of anti-noise headphones
- Evolution of headphones technology
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