How to solder ground wire to RCA Jack

[northernsky]

Hi,

please can you tell me where and how to solder the ground shield and one of the internal wire of a balanced shielded interconnect cable to the ground connection of a Cardas RCA male jack (see attached picture)?


Thank you a lot

Renato

 

[mavric]

check the post from "funkwrenh" its basiclly the same situation

 

[bill_a]

I think you're a bit confused - an RCA connector is not balanced, it's designed for single-ended signals. If you connect either of the two inner conductors of a balanced signal to the outside shell, you've just unbalanced the whole thing in a rather poor fashion.

If you have a truly balanced signal, with a shield, you need to use something designed for that, with two signal pins and a grounded shell.

Bill

 

[northernsky]

check the post from "funkwrenh" its basiclly the same situation

my problem is that I do not know "where" to solder the ground wire on the RCA jack. I tried to solder with the wire passing through the fissure present on the jack, but then I cannot screw the RCA cap (I apologize for my terrible English).

I think you're a bit confused - an RCA...

What I would like to build is a single ended interconnect according to the suggestions of Van der Hul cable builders (I also found this proposal somewhere else). Indeed he suggests to use a balanced cable even for a single ended connection. The two internal wires are devoted one for the signal and one for the ground. The shield shoul be connected to the RCA ground just on the source side, while it should be insulated on the amp side.


Renato

 

[bill_a]

Ok, I understand. The picture is sort of from the wrong view, but it looks like the shell/shield is the cylindrical part with the cut-out. Solder the shield and one wire to it and the other (signal) wire to the center pin (I can't see it in pic, but it's there somewhere).

On the amp end, just solder the one ground wire to the same shield ring and cut the cable shield back so it doesn't contact the metal. A bit of heat-shrink over the cut end of the shield would ensure that doesn't come in contact with the connector shell.
Bill

 

[jleaman]

You can solder on either side of the ground jacket.

 

[mavric]

if you solder your ground on the inside, i wouls suggest some hot glue to secure the connection, this way if you have to move it in any way, your connection is solid! Just check before use of the glue, there is no real way to clean it again. Best of luck. Mav

 

[tinitus]

Is it really supposed to be soldered
Looks more like the shield is supposed to be screwed together while assembling

Theres an open slit at top
Maybe the shield goes in there

Before soldering the positive lead in the middle, put a small piece of plastic isolation onto the lead, maybe heat shrink tubing
Push it up while soldering, and push it down when done

Always handle the finished cable very carefully, no pulling, no bending, dont ever turn it while connecting, etc

 

[Enzo]

WHy not send them a message asking for installation advice on the connector?

support@cardas.com

 

[Geek]

Exchange it for a nice Neutrik instead?

Well, that one you pictured solders like a PL-259 RF connector... you trim and tin the centre conductor and shield, insert, then solder through the slot.

Cheers!

 

[northernsky]

Hi,

thank you for your suggestions. I had no problems in the past with cheap RCA jacks (it was very intuitive). I verified on the net that most of the "expensive" connectors are shaped like the Cardas RCA I have, with a slot that I also assume is the place where the ground should be soldered. But I found very difficult to allow for the screwing of the connector cap.


Renato

 

[northernsky]

Hi,

just to tell you that a more careful read of the Cardas web site already gives the official answer. Quoting from the Cardas web site:

Q.) Greetings! I just bought 2 meters of Crosslink II interconnect cable and 2 pairs of AGMO RCAs. I just want to inquire how is the proper way of connecting the RCAs to the cable? - Thanks, Ran

A.) Ran, First you must tin the ends of the two Litz conductors. This is best done with a solder pot, but it can work with a very hot solder iron and some patience. Once the wires are tinned on both ends you solder the hot wire to the center pin at each end, then the ground wire to each RCA body at both ends. Last, you solder the shield to the body of the RCA at the source end only.

Some times it's easier to just wrap the shield and the ground wire together at the source end. Cardas RCA plugs tend to need more heat for the solder to flow. The best place to solder the ground is directly under or on the side of the bridge. - Brian

It seems that my problem is that I have not a sufficiently hot solder or... a sufficient patience

thank you again

Renato

 

[jleaman]

Exchange it for a nice Neutrik instead?

Well, that one you pictured solders like a PL-259 RF connector... you trim and tin the centre conductor and shield, insert, then solder through the slot.

Cheers!

These are very nice, i just ordered many pairs

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

 

[northernsky]

Hi,

just to complete the information; I got an answer from the Cardas support, see the attached picture

Renato