I was making some patch cables to connect the pedals on my board with some low profile switchcraft input jacks and Canare GS-4. I tested two of them after they were finished and there was a significant signal loss.
It doesn't make sense, i used the same cable to make a different patch cable and there was no change in signal.
Could it be bad jacks?
Did I wreck the jacks somehow during the soldering process? Or the cable?
I was using a lot of heat on the soldering iron so that I could get the solder to adhere to the inside of the flat part of the jack (for grounding). Could this have done something to wreck the jack?
Anybody have any ideas?
It doesn't make sense, i used the same cable to make a different patch cable and there was no change in signal.
Could it be bad jacks?
Did I wreck the jacks somehow during the soldering process? Or the cable?
I was using a lot of heat on the soldering iron so that I could get the solder to adhere to the inside of the flat part of the jack (for grounding). Could this have done something to wreck the jack?
Anybody have any ideas?
What does an ohmmeter measurement reveal?
"a lot of heat" on any connector is usually not a good thing.
Use a higher temperature setting with a larger soldering iron tip and you will only need to leave it on the part to be soldered for a shorter period of time, thus the heat does not have time to spread to the whole part and melt things that should not be melted...cable included.
IMHO:
generally
less than 1 second is good
about 1 second is usual for a 1/4" phone plug is OK but for 3.5mm is too much
about 2 seconds for GND on a 1/4" phone plug is OK but for 3.5mm is almost too much
There are exceptions.
Some 1/4" phone plugs are constructed using fiberglass insulation. They can take more heat for longer periods of time.
I have also bought very cheap 3.5mm connectors made using soft plastics. These will be destroyed with 1 second of heat to the inner connections.
Hope that helps
"a lot of heat" on any connector is usually not a good thing.
Use a higher temperature setting with a larger soldering iron tip and you will only need to leave it on the part to be soldered for a shorter period of time, thus the heat does not have time to spread to the whole part and melt things that should not be melted...cable included.
IMHO:
generally
less than 1 second is good
about 1 second is usual for a 1/4" phone plug is OK but for 3.5mm is too much
about 2 seconds for GND on a 1/4" phone plug is OK but for 3.5mm is almost too much
There are exceptions.
Some 1/4" phone plugs are constructed using fiberglass insulation. They can take more heat for longer periods of time.
I have also bought very cheap 3.5mm connectors made using soft plastics. These will be destroyed with 1 second of heat to the inner connections.
Hope that helps
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