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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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#1
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
I have an inexpensive pair of powered computer speakers. I didn't pay
much for them. but they have worked pretty well for the last year or so. All of a sudden they became touchy and would not turn on, or would shut themselves off. Bending and twisting power cord makes it work (maybe), for a short time. The power comes from a wall transformer labeled output 7.5V 350MA. The plug on the cord end that plugs into one of the speakers looks like this: http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/content...apter-fig5.jpg (probably not the same dimentions) I put a meter on the plug, wiggled the cord and there is no loose connection. I opened the speaker and found that if I wiggle the male plug socket soldered onto the circuit board, I make and break the connection. Using the ohm scale on my meter, it appears the outer shell terminal is the one at fault. (Not the center pin). Pushing a thin jewlers screwdriver under that plug seems to maintain a connection. In brief, that male connector has a bad connection and needs to be replaced. I am aware these plugs come in many sizes, and finding the right one could be a challenge. That eliminates shopping online. This leaves me with only Radio Shack, meaning I'll have to take the transformer along and see if anything fits. My question is DO THEY MAKE INLINE MALE PLUGS FOR THESE KINDS OF PLUGS? Im sure finding one that will fit on the circuit board will be near impossible. But I could easily run 2 wires out the back and solder on a male inline plug. If all else fails, I will probably just cut the female plug off the cord and solder the cord right into the speaker. I'm not willing to spend much money or a lot of time on this project, but they work fine othewise so I want to fix them. By the way, is there a name for this type of plug? |
#2
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
In article , boomer#6877250
@none.com says... I have an inexpensive pair of powered computer speakers. I didn't pay much for them. but they have worked pretty well for the last year or so. All of a sudden they became touchy and would not turn on, or would shut themselves off. In brief, that male connector has a bad connection and needs to be replaced. I am aware these plugs come in many sizes, and finding the right one could be a challenge. That eliminates shopping online. This leaves me with only Radio Shack, meaning I'll have to take the transformer along and see if anything fits. They are called coaxial power plugs. I bought some male and female pairs a while back off ebay for only a few dollars. Maybe you can just buy a pair of them to get the sizes to match and replace both pieces. |
#3
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
On Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 5:03:12 AM UTC-5, wrote:
If all else fails, I will probably just cut the female plug off the cord and solder the cord right into the speaker. I'm not willing to spend much money or a lot of time on this project, but they work fine othewise so I want to fix them. By the way, is there a name for this type of plug? Might be easier to go back with BNC, if there's room in the speaker. |
#4
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
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#6
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
On Fri, 2 Dec 2016, Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article , says... In article , says... Might be easier to go back with BNC, if there's room in the speaker. BNC for power? Mike. Probably way too hard to get the wires attached to the male part of a BNC. I sort of thought phono plug but that would leave the male part where it could short out to something when unplugged if the male was hooked to the power supply. Ebay has lots of the coaxial type power plugs and sockets for a few bucks. Just buy a matching set so they will fit without any problems. But if you use shielded cable, BNC wouldn't be too hard. I thought I'd seen them used as HV connectors in power amplifiers somewhere. Michael |
#7
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
On Friday, December 2, 2016 at 12:31:29 PM UTC-5, Michael Black wrote:
On Fri, 2 Dec 2016, Ralph Mowery wrote: In article , says... In article , says... Might be easier to go back with BNC, if there's room in the speaker. BNC for power? Mike. Probably way too hard to get the wires attached to the male part of a BNC. I sort of thought phono plug but that would leave the male part where it could short out to something when unplugged if the male was hooked to the power supply. Ebay has lots of the coaxial type power plugs and sockets for a few bucks. Just buy a matching set so they will fit without any problems. But if you use shielded cable, BNC wouldn't be too hard. I thought I'd seen them used as HV connectors in power amplifiers somewhere. Michael I've seen them used for power somewhere. Maybe it was a lab for some school course. I've had second thoughts though. A BNC is a pretty firm connection. If somebody trips over the cord it will yank the guts out of the speaker. Then I thought of a phono plug, but yeah that might have the problem with the short. Could go to some kind of automotive molex? maybe? My thought is there are plenty of inexpensive and available connection options that I would use before hardwiring this. For one thing, wal-warts do go bad. The other is the trip hazard problem. Or, what about an F connector? Plenty of those around. |
#8
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
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#9
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
In article ,
Tim R wrote: Could go to some kind of automotive molex? maybe? My thought is there are plenty of inexpensive and available connection options that I would use before hardwiring this. For one thing, wal-warts do go bad. The other is the trip hazard problem. Or, what about an F connector? Plenty of those around. Consider Anderson PowerPole connectors. They've replaced Molex throughout much of the amateur-radio community - they're more rugged, even the little 15-amp contacts will handle more current than you'll need, and they pull apart and reconnect cleanly and easily. There's a de facto standard in the ham community for a two-contact configuration for ham radios operating on 12-14 VDC. If your speaker uses a different voltage, you could pair up the contacts differently (I use a "top and bottom" vs. "side by side" orientation whenever I do this). |
#10
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
On Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 2:03:12 AM UTC-8, wrote:
I have an inexpensive pair of powered computer speakers. ...[ wilth loss of power] I put a meter on the plug, wiggled the cord and there is no loose connection. I opened the speaker and found that if I wiggle the male plug socket soldered onto the circuit board, I make and break the connection. In brief, that male connector has a bad connection and needs to be replaced. No, it seems that the printed wiring board has a crack and needs repair. Or, the solder joint to the connector that connects it to the printed wiring board is faulty, and requires a bit of solder flux and reheating. Get a lens out, and examine carefully. |
#11
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
Maybe we're over thinking this. How about a pair of binding posts on the speaker, and strip the ends of the power supply wires? |
#12
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
In sci.electronics.repair, on Thu, 01 Dec 2016 04:02:02 -0600,
wrote: I have an inexpensive pair of powered computer speakers. I didn't pay much for them. but they have worked pretty well for the last year or so. All of a sudden they became touchy and would not turn on, or would shut themselves off. Bending and twisting power cord makes it work (maybe), for a short time. The power comes from a wall transformer labeled output 7.5V 350MA. The plug on the cord end that plugs into one of the speakers looks like this: http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/content...apter-fig5.jpg (probably not the same dimentions) I put a meter on the plug, wiggled the cord and there is no loose connection. I opened the speaker and found that if I wiggle the male plug socket soldered onto the circuit board, I make and break the connection. Using the ohm scale on my meter, it appears the outer shell terminal is the one at fault. (Not the center pin). Pushing a thin jewlers screwdriver under that plug seems to maintain a connection. In brief, that male connector has a bad connection and needs to be replaced. I am aware these plugs come in many sizes, and finding the right one could be a challenge. That eliminates shopping online. This leaves me with only Radio Shack, meaning I'll have to take the transformer along and see if anything fits. My question is DO THEY MAKE INLINE MALE PLUGS FOR THESE KINDS OF PLUGS? Im sure finding one that will fit on the circuit board will be near impossible. But I could easily run 2 wires out the back and solder on a male inline plug. If all else fails, I will probably just cut the female plug off the cord and solder the cord right into the speaker. I'm not willing to spend much money or a lot of time on this project, but they work fine othewise so I want to fix them. By the way, is there a name for this type of plug? At hamfests over the last 4 years, I think it's more than one person who has been selling a little transparent bag of 7 power plugs, all different, and I those 7 make up 99% of all the plugs used. At hamfests one bag was only $2 so I bought 3 on the theory I'd need 3, all the same size. But that doesn't mean you'll be able to find this. You very often see more than one vendor at more than one hamfest in more than one state selling the same stuff, but how often that happens nationwide, or where you and I are, I don't know. And a lot of hamfests are so small no one is selling this. This is no good because it's $30. FWIW the plugs are longer than my $2 set. :-) https://www.amazon.com/Generic-Strai.../dp/B00DC1PCJ8 This is $6 plus shipping: https://www.altex.com/6-Power-Cable-...0-P143451.aspx A more likely bet and something always available online is that there are also universal power adapters, that have a range of voltages from 3 or 4.5 up to 9 or 12, and they have SEVEN or so power plugs on the end all attached at once. Make sure you get one with enough power for yoru speakers because they come in 500ma and 1000mamp iirc. Even the big one is no more than $10. I have 3 or 4 universal ones of various ratings and I use them to figure out the minimum voltage I need to make something work, if it's not labeled, and to use temporarily until I find or make a one-size adapter. But sometimes temporarily drags on for years, like for my router. I used a universal temporarily until I found an exact replacement on ebay. That worked for a year or two before it burned out in the same way the first one did. Someone, maybe here, said they were known to be unreliable. 5 minutes after the second one broke, I was back to the universal, which was still lying on my desk behind the monitor. Make sure the voltage and amperage goes high enough. $18 for 1300 ma but you can probably do better https://www.amazon.com/PowerLine-903.../dp/B00CWR39TI I hate to push walmart but this at least looks like the same thign, $13 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Original-...apter/16778839 Microcenter has more than one model, not especially cheap. FINALLY THIS is what I meant $8.35 http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-DC-Wall-P...AOSwv0tVLb2 D Well I like the ones where they are all wired in at the same time, including to replace a 9-volt battery, but maybe you don't care. |
#13
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
You might just bag it and replace the entire adapter. See: http://www.powerstream.com/ac-07505.htm
Anything 7.5 V and greater than or equal to 350 mA will work. There is a little ICON on the adapter that can tell you if center is positive. You have to have the correct polarity. The URL, I mentioned has an adapter set and a reverse polarity adapter available if you need it. 5.5/2.1 and 5.5/2.5 are vary common sizes. The problem is the 5.5/2.5 fits on the 5.5/2.1 receptacle. With a caliper, you can measure the OD in mm. The ID can be measures using a known receptacle and/or a drill bit. For the 5.5/2.1 & 5.5/2.5, I use two of the known receptacles. If they both fit, it's the 5.5/2.1. There are plenty of sizes to choose from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_power_connector |
#14
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Defective male power connector on computer speakers
On Sun, 4 Dec 2016 18:25:58 -0800 (PST), "Ron D."
wrote: You might just bag it and replace the entire adapter. Why? The adapter works fine, it's the female plug on the speaker thats bad. |
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