Tblues1
29 posts
Apr 22, 2013
5:07 AM
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Anybody have experience with excessive wear and tear on Amphenol/screw-on mic adapters?
Is it a bad idea to remove the screw-on adapters in between gigs?
It seems like there is a moderate amount of wear on the contact on both the mic and the adapter that occurs from removing/installing the adapter regularly.
The adapter is only tightened to just being snug.
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jbone
1240 posts
Apr 22, 2013
5:42 AM
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Why not leave it on? I used to have that issue esp on cables hard soldered to an amphenol. Lately I use a 5/8" to 1'4" guitar jack and leave it on the mic. no probs in about a year now.
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Tblues1
30 posts
Apr 22, 2013
6:35 AM
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jbone,
Thanks for the response. I figured there would be less wear laeving it on. It just doesn't fit as nicely in the mic slot in my gear box.
I may need to rearrange a bit.
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barbequebob
2248 posts
Apr 22, 2013
8:06 AM
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With my JT30's, which have those connectors, I always use the adapters and leave them on. Besides, with the adapter, you can use a guitar cable and you have a wide choice of cables and many more high quality cable choices than using the screw on cables.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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HawkeyeKane
1600 posts
Apr 22, 2013
8:19 AM
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I learned a long time ago to screw my adapter onto the mic, and leave it there. Same went for a screw-on cable when I still used them. You're absolutely right Tblues. The solder dot on both the adapter and the mic barrel will inevitibly wear down with each time you place and remove it. And repairing a solder dot on those can be somewhat of a pain as I quickly found out when I was repairing my JT-30 a while back.
Sidenote on this....does anyone happen to have any of the Amphenol 5/8" to 1/4" female adapters that have the on/off switch that they'd be willing to sell? I know they're rare, but I could really use one on my JT-30.
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Hawkeye Kane
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MP
2717 posts
Apr 22, 2013
1:44 PM
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"With my JT30's, which have those connectors, I always use the adapters and leave them on. Besides, with the adapter, you can use a guitar cable and you have a wide choice of cables and many more high quality cable choices than using the screw on cables."
True Dat!
that little solder connection gets worn out. i would leave it connected unless you are handy w/ a soldering iron.
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MP
affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info-
repair videos on YouTube.
you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
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MP
2718 posts
Apr 22, 2013
1:48 PM
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"Sidenote on this....does anyone happen to have any of the Amphenol 5/8" to 1/4" female adapters that have the on/off switch that they'd be willing to sell? I know they're rare, but I could really use one on my JT-30"
i sold my last one Hawk. aside from extending the plumbing on your mic, the solder on those guys will loosen and short out too.....unless left alone permanently.
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MP
affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info-
repair videos on YouTube.
you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
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shbamac
307 posts
Apr 22, 2013
3:59 PM
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I have never had a problem with either the barrel connectors or the adapters solder points wearing out. My old PA amps have the original barrels connectors that are 60+ years old. Just my experience...
HawkeyeKane do you mean the mean one of these
I have never seen 5/8" to 1/4" w/ on/off. I believe I have some.
Last Edited by shbamac on Apr 22, 2013 4:00 PM
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ReedSqueal
422 posts
Apr 22, 2013
4:00 PM
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Note about the solder bump. If set and soldered correctly, there should be no solder bump. When I build a cable and use the Switchcraft solder-on adapters, I set the center wire -below- the ring, and let the solder settle down inside, in a concave well. Let the rivet ring be the contact set, not the solder ball.
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Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
-Dan Castellaneta
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dted
51 posts
Apr 22, 2013
6:01 PM
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Another solution is to use an internal 1/4" jack. I posted a couple of pics on the ForSale page (thanks to hawkeye for photobucket codes!!!)
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Greg Heumann
2108 posts
Apr 22, 2013
10:38 PM
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In this photo, the "coupling ring" that would normally hold the two connectors together has been removed. There is no solder on these connectors - they are virgin. You can see that the rivets touch easily - they don't need to be any higher. (The ground connection is normally made by the coupling ring.)
When you tighten the connector it just bends the brown phenolic disks down - it is like a spring. If you have a solder bulge, it can bend the disks too far which leads to them deforming or even cracking. Bad idea.
If you're using a 332 adapter there's no reason not to leave it connected. If you're using a cable I recommend removing it. The reason for this is that it is much harder to coil the cable when it is connected to the mic without inducing twisting stress where the cable enters its connector. And that in turn is what leads to early cable failure. If the cable spins inside the strain relief spring (a very poorly named object) it will soon fail. Good cables are made to mechanically lock the cable to the connector so that this won't happen, but I include instructions with every cable I sell that explains how and why they eventually fail, and how to avoid it. Briefly, hold the cable just beneath the connector and then coil it.
1/4" jacks can't be installed in some shells - and I don't care for them anyway. Step on the cable - interrupt your solo.
I've been gigging with the same screw-on cable for over 3 years. I carry a backup AND a 332 adapter as a backup to that.
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/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
Last Edited by Greg Heumann on Apr 22, 2013 10:40 PM
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didjcripey
531 posts
Apr 23, 2013
2:40 AM
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I've used two cables with screw connectors (one as a backup) that I made up myself about five years ago, they get taken off and put on about three times a week and I have never had one fail.
Coil them properly and don't overtighten and they should be fine.
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Lucky Lester
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Tblues1
31 posts
Apr 23, 2013
3:10 AM
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My thanks to everyone for the tips. I will just leave the adapters on from here out.
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HawkeyeKane
1606 posts
Apr 23, 2013
9:49 AM
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@shbamac
Yes....LIKE that, but as I said, with the 1/4" female jack on the outgoing end. I've only seen them on a couple of occasions.
I know Gruenling tries to keep a decent number of the ones with 5/8" on both ends on hand, but I'd rather have the 1/4" one. The double 5/8" ones would require me to do one of two things. Either use a cable with a 5/8" coupling (which I dislike with a passion), or screw the usual 5/8" to 1/4" adapter on after, which would lengthen my connection stalk far longer than I want. At one point, I had a 5/8" cable chopped off at about 6 inches or so and a 1/4" female barrel attached to the whip end, but per usual, the 5/8" end connections became intermittent, and that's what led me to stop using the cables altogether.
@MP
Drat the luck. :-/
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Hawkeye Kane
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