Free w/ $15 donation to SBAF: AEC 4.4mm Pentaconn plug

I have acquired 3 sample units of these AEC 4.4mm Pentaconn plugs, and am keeping one for myself.
https://www.aecconnectors.com.tw/en/2-678-13334/product/AUDIO-PLUG-AP4-4-550-id226505.html

Spoiler: Invoice photo

The internals look pretty much the same as this one that cost $30 from OC Studio, but the barrel doesn't provide any additional strain relief screws.



Schematic can be downloaded from here:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/cable-building.86/page-42#post-315576

They cost the equivalent of $13 each, so I will send one to the first two people that provide proof of donation of $15 to SBAF (or if you want both, donate $30). I will cover shipping worldwide by standard int'l post w/o tracking. If you want fancier shipping, let me know and I'll price it out at your expense.

I take no responsibility for any psychological damage caused during the soldering of wires to this connector.

 

I'll throw down a little extra from my last donation, but I have no use for the plug. Thank you for the reminder to contribute back to this community of friends.

 

I’ll solder the wires for anybody who donates $50 to SBAF and provides the plug and wire.

Caveat: No romex

 

Ugh I hate these connectors. Best success I had was pre-tinning the connector, then using enameled wires with only a couple mm burned off and tinned. Chopsticks may have been involved.

 

The soldering itself wasn't actually that bad. Helping hands and tweezers to hold the wire down were all that was needed (no chopsticks). I was debating whether or not to post these pics because a suck at soldering, but wft ...

(I'd plan to do a detailed write-up in the cable building thread, but here's a preview for the Pentacunntal part.)

This is the OC Studio plug, but I think it's identical to the AEC, except for the barrel. It made sense to me to solder each set of wires sequentially in a spiral to space them out. I've had problems with shorting due to melted insulator, so I put some heatshrink on first. In hindsight, I should have wrapped with Teflon tape as it's a lot thinner and doesn't melt as easily. I thought the smallest solder tube at the tip was going to be the hardest, but that was the easiest as there was the most room to work with.



The second one wasn't too bad either.


Nor the third, though it was getting progressively harder with less and less space to work with. This is the most embarrassing pic. My tip was too big to get in there and I ended up getting solder on the threads and melting the shit out of the heatshrink, which I had to shave a lot off to get the barrel screwed on.


I guess I could have worked downwards or maybe spiral in the other direction so I'd have more room to work on the last joint as I need the iron in my right hand ... if there is a next time.

Anyway, I'm scarred by the experience, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

 

I use liquid safety flux and solder to pre-tin all of my wire ends. The liquid flux helps wick the solder into the wire, allowing me to bend the exposed copper at various angles to help with soldering. I also pre-tin the pads I am attaching to at the time (though this has backfired before with super small or cheap connectors as the internal insulation can melt). Pre-tinning both sides when possible helps reduce the amount of time with the iron to get good adhesion and avoid melting the insulation too much. I haven't done a 4.4, but have done quite a few 3.5mm trrs with similar pad structure. For these, I use right angled wire ends that lay across the pad, and alternate sides. Once I confirm continuity and a good joint, I glob hot glue on to add some additional security. And yes, teflon tape is the go to for melted insulation issues.

And also, you are doing great for basically a novice at cable making. I have made messes (and still do occasionally) much worse than anything you have shown.

 

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, @fraggler. All this is your fault, really . The cable you made for me is my golden sample and I go back to it every time I make another one. Will get some flux to reduce iron time.

More will come later, but here are a couple of teaser pics of the Cu/Ag hybrid cable I made. Pentaconn was to let me use it with the ZX300's balanced out, but I'll mostly be using my desktop amps so will probably swap it back eventually.