Soldering Tiny Headphone Wires - Simply Put

[gonepostal]

Nice video! Very relatable.
I read about a way to handle this many years ago, it can be deceptively easy, no fire needed. All you need is a bit of fine sandpaper. Make a small fold of it between your fingers, grit side in. Gently pull the wire through the sandpaper, don't squeeze the sandpaper too tight just tight enough to feel the drag, usually only a few quick strokes and you have bare copper wire for your soldering pleasure. I have not tried burning off the enamel first, but as far as I see, there is no harm at all in doing so.

[nicola]

Simply put, that’s exactly what this is. In the first two minutes,
I learned about five YouTube videos worth of stuff, including what I needed to know as well as what’s good to know - presented in a way that’s 100% relevant and clear without all that other, well, you know, it’s kind of a bit like that other thing, or maybe it’s not but I’ll talk about it anyways .... wish they were all like this, thanks!

[davidjones]

I’ve had similar problems but used a hot solder blob on the iron and ran the phone’s lead through it, this removed the insulation and tinned the wires.
I like the breakout board and will make one but with a number of pcb headers for each lead so I can connect the scope plus other things in one go, great idea. Thanks.

[astrocapsule]

I can't thank you enough
This is a fantastic intro to soldering related to headphone wires. Totally clear, informative, and mostly: encouraging!!

Thanks a lot my man!! bless you

[kindspirit]

Bless you man, Thanks to you i fixed my ear buds, with them crazy wires like a hairs breath or like cotton, its almost like they don’t like you to fix stuff anymore yourself !!!!
Thankyou so much man

[JOEZEP]

Stumbled onto this video & watched to the end. Very interesting & well presented. I have work on several small wires like you are showing & it was painstaking. My DIY channel is dedicated to repairs & recycling so I am very familiar with the
" non static " mess LOL. With several projects always going on at once I have to stop & get reorganized every so often.
👍 # 95
Stay Well, Joe Z

[oleskool]

Now that was a regular hodgepodge of knowledge you definitely explained it well it’s unbelievable how small the wires are.

[MrLuigge]

Dude I am trying to fix the cable on a earphone, right on the mic board.

The problem I face is the same as yours, the wire is like a brush, it is hard to effectively remove the protective coat without creating another carbon coat thus making it difficult to solder. If the people on the factory can do it, so we must be able to...

It can't be that difficult, there must be a better technique to do this...

Things to test as suggested here on comments:
Acetone or alcohol lamp.

[freesaxon]

This is the sort of chap that could talk rs232 all day, and you would love it, 😁

[ketas]

depends on alligator clip type, but those cheap ones can also break wires. it just cuts through anything you have around conductor. they do make different clips, just have to search for it

[TimothySmithii]

Brother, I tore out the IC from a dead $3 BT adapter off AliExpress and was convinced the wires were colored until you just told me different. The fact that they are stranded is wild. Using a break-out is inspired. Love the TRS wrap too.

[seditt]

FFS The constant jump cuts gave me a seizure and I am waiting on the results from the doctor to see if I got cancer from it or not.

[ketas]

enamelled wire bundle cables are amazing stuff. it's thin and durable for flexing. they use it for usb charging only cables too. some of the headphone cables do up to 10 core. some of the cables manage to make shielded conductors out of just strands that go inside and ones that wrap around. iirc some did twisted pairs too. burning them carefully works. it tends to burn so blow it out. actually flame is way too hot. i'd just dip it into solder. it's plastic, it doesn't need yellow hot flame. and you can also melt copper there. yes, flame is enough to melt copper. the reason why you can't melt big block in lighter flame is energy and heat conduction. this is also why heatshrink should be flamed on very carefully. still flame is too hot. have to move it. get hot air station if you can. it's also plastic, it shrinks on low temp, once. i melts and degrades on higher. so yeah...

[ysamuelarai]

Just FYI there's no "acrylic insulation" on the wires. They are enameled wires. This coating is made from polyimide or other polymers, not acrylic.

[Soulcommander]

I have discovered I can just solder these wires and there was no need to burn the ends as the solder and the iron does it for you.

[bobweiram]

If you just want a breakout, you're much better off just using or reusing a female jack and solder its terminals to whatever you want. You can even solder it directly to the perfboard or extension wires.

[jgquinton]

Thanks!! Just needed to know how to get the insulation off the wires. You saved the day!

[mohanvvip]

Thanks, I did all of the things you did, burning the insulation, etc, but in the end I had to use a different set of wires which weren't made up of coated strands. I wonder if acetone would dissolve the coating. Good video.

[ketas]

also good one on manufacturing 3.5mm socket on breadboard. the problem is lack of proper contact maybe

[darkacademia]

I can't thank you enough man! your great that well help me win my school project