3 ms·

This is somewhat unrelated, but I find that switching from analog to digital hardware is also forcing consumers to replace their hardware instead of fixing it.

by mrpopo 11y ago

This is somewhat unrelated, but I find that switching from analog to digital hardware is also forcing consumers to replace their hardware instead of fixing it. Turntables and tape recorders, you could somehow tweak it and it would "work again". It's becoming increasingly difficult with new tech. I broke countless headphone jacks, and if I was lucky, all I had to do was resolder the pin. Can I still do that if my USB-C headphone plug now comes with a bloody decrypter + sample-rate converter built-in?

berberous 11y ago
I imagine the DAC would be built-in to the headphones, not the cord. And I'm sure some models will still offer cords that detach at both ends. Also, realize that no normal consumer is resoldering pins. You are in the extreme minority. And there seems to be plenty of repair shops that can fix high-end digital components (e.g. iPhones).
logfromblammo 11y ago
When my headphone jack broke on my laptop, I desoldered the microphone jack and resoldered it into the headphone jack's slot on the motherboard. It had seven pins, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get a replacement part for it that would fit the existing PCB holes in any other way, short of buying an entirely new motherboard. I guessed one pin each for tip, ring, and sleeve, one each for tip disconnect and ring disconnect, but then there were two pins left over. Perhaps signal and disconnect for a second ring? I couldn't find a near-enough match for the part from anywhere that I knew to look for it. If there were a universal 3.5mm TRRS standard, I could just buy the standard jack receptacle and replace the part, rather than cannibalizing my microphone jack. The other problem is that if I just removed the broken jack, my laptop would never use the speakers again, because it would think that tip signal and tip disconnect were no longer shorted, and ring signal and ring disconnect were no longer shorted. Electrically, removing the part is the same as always leaving a 3.5mm jack plugged in. I'd have to permanently short those contacts on the board to simulate a never-in-use jack, and I didn't know the pinout for the 7-pin device in my hand unless I wanted to disassemble it with forceps. So yeah, screw the 3.5mm TRRS port. Give me a universal standard. And let's not just specify the mechanical properties of the plugs, but also the allowable locations and spacing of the pins for compliant through-hole, cable-connected, and surface-mount devices!

by mrpopo 11y ago

berberous 11y ago

I imagine the DAC would be built-in to the headphones, not the cord. And I'm sure some models will still offer cords that detach at both ends. Also, realize that no normal consumer is resoldering pins. You are in the extreme minority. And there seems to be plenty of repair shops that can fix high-end digital components (e.g. iPhones).

logfromblammo 11y ago

When my headphone jack broke on my laptop, I desoldered the microphone jack and resoldered it into the headphone jack's slot on the motherboard. It had seven pins, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get a replacement part for it that would fit the existing PCB holes in any other way, short of buying an entirely new motherboard. I guessed one pin each for tip, ring, and sleeve, one each for tip disconnect and ring disconnect, but then there were two pins left over. Perhaps signal and disconnect for a second ring? I couldn't find a near-enough match for the part from anywhere that I knew to look for it. If there were a universal 3.5mm TRRS standard, I could just buy the standard jack receptacle and replace the part, rather than cannibalizing my microphone jack. The other problem is that if I just removed the broken jack, my laptop would never use the speakers again, because it would think that tip signal and tip disconnect were no longer shorted, and ring signal and ring disconnect were no longer shorted. Electrically, removing the part is the same as always leaving a 3.5mm jack plugged in. I'd have to permanently short those contacts on the board to simulate a never-in-use jack, and I didn't know the pinout for the 7-pin device in my hand unless I wanted to disassemble it with forceps. So yeah, screw the 3.5mm TRRS port. Give me a universal standard. And let's not just specify the mechanical properties of the plugs, but also the allowable locations and spacing of the pins for compliant through-hole, cable-connected, and surface-mount devices!