View Full Version : Headphone repair
Jaguarstrike
2008-10-29, 16:36
Ignore nonbold text to skip backstory.
I had a pair of earphones that worked great. You could hear even the quietest subtleties awash in most cacophonous tracks. Sadly one of the speakers was ripped from the housing and now they are completely borked.
One of the wires is enameled and the other is not, but they are both braided so stripping the enamel off of it will be a bitch. I whipped out my multimeter and determined my solder points (strangely there were 2 unused points, i confirmed this by dissecting the other ear piece).
I have heard that you can solder enameled wire straight onto a pad without stripping it because the enamel will melt away, is this true or do I have to abandon this repair and shell out for a new pair of earphones?
PirateJoe
2008-10-29, 17:34
Its worth a shot. I would try to melt the enamel off with a lighter first though.
Jaguarstrike
2008-10-29, 18:14
Its worth a shot. I would try to melt the enamel off with a lighter first though.
But the braided strands are so fine they might burn...
ArgonPlasma2000
2008-10-29, 18:35
I think that it will be possible if you use enough flux.
Spatula Tzar
2008-10-29, 20:58
I've done it many times. Keep heating it with the iron, and the flux will quickly penetrate the varnish coating. Heating it with a lighter will cover it in soot and ash.
I've done it many times. Keep heating it with the iron, and the flux will quickly penetrate the varnish coating. Heating it with a lighter will cover it in soot and ash.
This. I've soldered quite a few headphones back together for friends.
Jaguarstrike
2008-10-30, 00:50
I've done it many times. Keep heating it with the iron, and the flux will quickly penetrate the varnish coating. Heating it with a lighter will cover it in soot and ash.
I dont have any flux atm, would heating the wire and scraping it with a soldering probe (chisel type) work?
Spatula Tzar
2008-10-30, 01:40
Most electronics solder contains flux inside. You won't be able to do this without flux. If you don't have rosin core solder, a few drops of lemon juice will suffice until you can get some.
phmeworp
2008-10-30, 03:37
Most electronics solder contains flux inside. You won't be able to do this without flux. If you don't have rosin core solder, a few drops of lemon juice will suffice until you can get some.
Whoa... I never heard of the lemon juice trick before, but yeah... enough heat and cleaning agent (for me, read: flux) will clean enough of the plastic residue away for the solder to stick to the fine ribbon-like conductor for your project to work.
Protip: the reason that the nasty copper-ribbon-laced-with-plastic conductors is there in the first place is to minimize wire fatigue in the wire. Make sure that you employ some kind of stress/flex relief for the wire just beyond where you make the repair or it will break in short order after your repair. My first choice would be some heat-shrink tubing, next would be at least a few wraps of electrical tape. I guess the last thing would be some heartfelt prayers every night from now on. ;-)
Dude, if it can break, we can tell you how to fix it!!! go &t
I've done it many times. Keep heating it with the iron, and the flux will quickly penetrate the varnish coating. Heating it with a lighter will cover it in soot and ash.
this.