Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

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J,R,D, Ltd
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Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by J,R,D, Ltd » Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:34 am

Hello,
I need some audio cables which have an 1/8" stereo plug on one end and two 1/4" stereo plugs on the other and the 1/4" ends need to be the kind that you can open up and repair/modify.

Do you know if such a cable exist's or if I would have to make it?

If I have to make it, is there a better place to buy connectors than Radioshack?(ie. less expensive and still good quality)
And where would be a good place to buy wire?

Thanks

kozikowski
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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by kozikowski » Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:24 pm

Newark, Digikey, and Markertek. I think I have accounts with all three. I've been known to buy the closest R/S part and then take a soldering iron to it for changes.

R/S has started carrying Monster Cable branded cables and the older cheap cables are getting harder and harder to find. The company has been appearing in business magazines from efforts to make a lot more money than they have been. Remember "Tandy Company?" That lasted for what, three months? Now it's "The Shack."

What's the application?

Koz

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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by J,R,D, Ltd » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:03 am

You mean "Tandy Corporation"?

I want to connect my mixer (link to manual) to my recording computer via the Insert I/O Jacks on the back. According to the manual:
See page 20 of the manual wrote:These are unbalanced TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) phone-type bidirectional jacks.
...
Note: Connection to an INSERT I/O jack requires a special separately-sold insertion cable such as illustrated below.
The plan is to connect the tip and ring of the 1/4" jacks together and connect one wire to the tip/ring combo and the other to the sleeve. I would have two of these assemblies attached to one 1/8" plug. I doubt I could get two cables into the 1/8" plug so I could have a 2 conductor wire going between the two 1/4" plugs and then a 3 conductor wire going from one of the 1/4" plugs to the 1/8" plug.

I have already tested this idea and it does work.

I never thought about buying these parts from the major electronics houses, I have a Mouser account.

I will end up needing 8 1/8" plugs and 16 1/4" plugs if this idea sounds like it is good.

Any suggestions on plugs and/or wire are appreciated.

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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by steve » Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:07 am

J,R,D, Ltd wrote:I need some audio cables which have an 1/8" stereo plug on one end and two 1/4" stereo plugs on the other and the 1/4" ends need to be the kind that you can open up and repair/modify.
Try "CPC" / "Farnell"
They carry an enormous range of leads.
9/10 questions are answered in the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by J,R,D, Ltd » Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:22 am

steve wrote:
J,R,D, Ltd wrote:I need some audio cables which have an 1/8" stereo plug on one end and two 1/4" stereo plugs on the other and the 1/4" ends need to be the kind that you can open up and repair/modify.
Try "CPC" / "Farnell"
They carry an enormous range of leads.
Do I have the correct sites?
http://cpc.farnell.com/ http://www.cpcaudio.com/ or is the first one the one you are referring to?

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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by steve » Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:23 pm


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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by J,R,D, Ltd » Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:58 pm

Thanks Steve, I don't see what I need there though.

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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by steve » Sun Feb 06, 2011 1:38 am

If CPC don't have them you'll probably need to make one.
9/10 questions are answered in the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by Trebor » Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:58 am

It would be possible to create this by a combination of available leads and adapters ...

1X
headphone splitter.jpg
headphone splitter.jpg (17.66 KiB) Viewed 2973 times
2X
3-5mm plug-to-plug lead.jpg
3-5mm plug-to-plug lead.jpg (12.76 KiB) Viewed 2973 times
2X
quarter inch Stereo Plug to 3,5mm Stereo Socket Adaptor.jpg
quarter inch Stereo Plug to 3,5mm Stereo Socket Adaptor.jpg (10.44 KiB) Viewed 2973 times
[/url]


[but making (soldering) your own would be cheaper and a more reliable connection}

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Re: Specialty cable? 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" stereo plugs

Post by J,R,D, Ltd » Tue Feb 08, 2011 12:10 am

Thanks Trebor, that would work with the right parts and some modification. But as you said it would be more expensive and less reliable than the right cable for the job.

So does anyone have any wire suggestions?
What do you use for making two (signal + shield) and three (signal + signal + shield) conductor cables?

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