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Forums :: Ask Harp Mic Expert Greg Heumann

Solder a switchcraft screw-on connector 2501F?

1 reply [Last post]
Mon, 05/01/2017 - 15:03
Jonathan Ahlberg
Jonathan Ahlberg's picture
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Level 7
Joined: 01/24/2016

I really want to learn how to repair my harp-cables (switchcraft screw-on connector 2501F).

I have fixed the "1/4-Inch male" before but never the screw-on part. Is there any instruction books or videos online? If not can someone please explain to me a good method to repair/solder the screw-on part on my cables?

Thanks/ Jonathan A

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Mon, 05/01/2017 - 16:38
#1
Greg Heumann
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Expert
Joined: 04/29/2010
Hi, JonathanPhysically

Hi, Jonathan

Physically soldering these connectors is easy. Strip your cable, solder the shield to the spring, insert the cable and spring into the connector and solder the center conductor to the center of the connector.  After you do this a few times you can get good at it. However understanding how and why they fail, and using assembly techniques to help guard against that failure, is much more elusive. Those are secrets most cable builders have learned through the experience of making dozens or hundreds, or MILES, in my case, of cables and selling them for years and years. When one fails and a customer sends it back, I always perform a "post mortem examination" to better understand the failure. I'm afriaid I'm not shaing all of those secrets - it is precisely that kind of knowledge that allows me to operate a business successfully. But I can tell you that if you look at the entire assembly you can see that the strain relief spring does nothing to prevent the cable from spinning inside the sprint, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that if the cable spins inside the spring, but the center conductor is soldered to the center of the connector, sooner or later bad things will happen. You want to try to take steps to guard against that. 

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