HyperX Cloud II repair + 3.5mm 4 Pole TRS male plug soldering issues

[HanoiHannah]

Hey guys and gals,

I am in the process of repairing a HyperX Cloud II that had the minijack broken off in an unfortunate accident. I am experiencing numerous issues with this repair, I can get all the copper wiring separated just fine, get the insulation burned off, clean the wires, pre-tin the wires and plugs and get everything soldered on just fine, the issue I keep running into is two-fold, first and foremost the microphone which is soldered onto the sleeve never works. Secondly the left and right speaker work just fine, right until the minijack is twisted or rotated while plugged in , the sleeve and ground pins seem to rotate freely, intertwining wires and breaking the connections, is this a production error, or am I doing something wrong there?

https://www.reddit.com/r/HyperX/comments/9rnord

, this is the wire-setup I used on on one of these Minijacks https://www.av-cables.dk/3-5-mm-min...-3-5-mm-stereo-minijack-stik-til-lodning.html, I double-checked the connections and pins with a continuity check, but the moment the rubber protector goes on or I mess with the jack at all things just go topsy-turvy. Has anyone had any issues with these specific minijacks? I can see that they use different ones in the UK and US where the solder points are all in one line, separated with plastic, instead of on 3-4 prongs sticking out.

With kind regards
N

 

[rjenkinsgb]

I'd say that is a badly made plug problem.
If there is not enough tension to stop parts rotating, it's not enough for good internal connections either!

The plastic sleeve ones may be better, less chance of shorts.

Re. the mic.
Are you separating the the inner (Mic signal) and outer (mic ground/screen) in the copper "wire" ?
It's a tiny screened cable, so thin it's easily confused with a single core, like the others.

To stop things twisting or moving around once you get it working properly - take the plug sleeve off again to just clear of the plug contacts, put a few drops of epoxy in the plug and some more in the sleeve, then re-assemble it before it starts to set. It's messy but very effective!

I do that as a "strain relief" with cables that are too large for the folded tags in the plug to grip properly..

[Edit, just on the offchance - The mic will not work if you connect a four contact headset to a normal PC; they only have three contact sockets.
Try it in a smartphone or xbox controller to test the mic, or you can get an adapter cable to split out the mic to a separate plug for PC use].

 

[HanoiHannah]

Thank you for the response, I have some plastic ones lying around which are these:

Standard 4 polet 3.5 mm stereo Minijack stik til lodning

Standard 4 polet 3.5 mm stereo Minijack stik til lodning - Max kabel diameter på op til 5 mm. Plug - 3.5 mm - stereo - 4 contacts plastic version with cable...

www.av-cables.dk

which I will try to use. I'll see if I can get some epoxy, do you think hot glue will work? I have seen other people use nail-polish as well but I guess that won't stop the sleeve from spinning but just isolates the cables. It is extremely frustrating to do functional work and then 'for some reason' it stops working when it's moved! I'll keep updating this.

In regards to the microphone there is a white cable which, if you see the Reddit picture is hidden behind the golden wire which I believe is uninsulated. The golden wire is the microphone ground, the red and gold is the speaker ground, I burn off the insulation of the red and gold one, clean it and then twist the gold wire around it, which I then solder to ground (right prong), then microphone to sleeve (bottom), green in the middle (up) and blue to the left.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

That sounds OK.
I don't know the arrangement of the contacts within the plug, they vary from make to make.

The normal sequence on the plug pin should be, starting from the plug tip:
Left earpiece,
Right earpiece,
Ground/common,
Microphone.

Some early gear using four contact plugs had L, R, M, G so the ground and case were also the plug body, but that arrangement does not work reliably for the headphones when used in three-contact sockets. The two are not interchangeable in four contact sockets either..