DIY headphone repair with volume control

Are your favorite headphones out of order? If you have a little free time and want to save money on buying a new headset, then you can do your own headphone repair. Moreover, the breakdown is often not so serious as to immediately go to the store.

As a rule, if you have the slightest idea about working with a soldering iron, solder, wire cutters and glue, then you should be fine.

If you still have the instructions for the headphones, read them before starting work. It may contain a sequence of actions for a malfunction similar to yours.

The most common breakdowns are:

• broken cable;
• plug malfunctions;
• microphone problems;
• failure of speakers;
• breakdowns associated with the volume control;
• malfunctions of the earbuds;
• problems with the mounts (boom) of the microphone.

Despite the apparent simplicity, headphones can break for many reasons.

This is probably the most common headphone breakdown. To repair them, we need the following tools:

• soldering iron;
• sharp knife and wire cutters;
• heat-resistant glue and tubes;
• high strength threads.

First, you need to determine where the cable broke off. After all, it often happens that the upper rubber ball does not have any visual evidence of a rupture. You may need to connect the headphones to your phone or computer to search, and then gently bend the wire until you hear a sound.

Having determined the place where the cable broke, cut it at a distance of two to three centimeters on each side of the probable problem point. Now you need to remove the insulating layer and "tin" the wires.

Use any of the available fluxes to prepare the cable surface for soldering. Put it on a wooden board, press down with a heated soldering iron and make the movements as when cleaning the wire from varnish, for example.

After tinning, put heat-resistant tubes on the electrical cable and solder, paying attention to the colors of the wires. Now, to improve the connection, fold them with the letter Z and secure with threads.

If desired, you can decorate the cable with heat-resistant glue. It must be carefully applied with a soldering iron. This will prevent the threads from unwinding and will make the joint aesthetically pleasing.

Problems with the plug may be due to inaccurate use of technology

In most cases, you will have to disassemble the plug first and then reassemble it. Its problems can be conditionally divided into two groups: mechanical and non-mechanical, associated with a cable break directly at the bend near the plug.

The disassembly process is similar for almost all headphones and will consist of carefully cutting the plastic along the part in order to get to the wires.

If the last link of the plug breaks down and it remains in the sound supply device, remove the rest of the part with tweezers or an awl and go to the store for a new plug, because it is no longer possible to repair it.

When you rotate the first link of the part around your body, you will notice that the sound has become as if from under water, and the volume has decreased. You can repair the plug if you solder the contacts between the link and the petal so that they do not move relative to each other.

If the cable breaks at the base of the part, you will need to cut this wire 2-3 cm above the breakage point and solder back, taking into account the color scheme of the power cords included in the plug.If it is difficult to determine exactly which wire to solder where, use an ammeter to measure the resistance between the cords.

As a rule, electret capsule microphones with amplifiers are installed in headsets. This means that during repairs, you need to carefully monitor the polarity, you can not clean their holes mechanically and prevent a long-term increase in temperature. The latter means that it is necessary to solder quickly, but at the same time very carefully.

For the best soldering process, use an organic flux. And you can check if the microphone is working without special devices if you replace it with another one or connect it to another device that probably works.

Otherwise, you will need an oscilloscope, an active working speaker system, or a good knowledge of electrophysics to assemble an inverting amplifier circuit yourself.

The speaker winding burns out if the power supplied to it is exceeded. The severity of the breakdown is determined using an ammeter or multimeter. The resistance of the windings of the working speakers will be almost the same (plus or minus about 10%) and varies in the range of 16-100 ohms.

Wheezing in headphones is usually caused by membrane or winding problems

If a speaker produces sound, but wheezing is mixed into it, then this indicates a problem with the winding or membrane. The winding from a strong blow, displacement of the magnet or exceeding the maximum permissible power is peeled off from the membrane. It happens that the coil leaves the membrane due to mechanical damage.

For repairs, you will need superglue, a toothpick (sharp match), and neatness. Be careful, because after gluing, it takes time for the parts to take the correct position.

The main reason for the failure of the volume control is the accumulation of a large amount of dust on the resistive layer, which leads to poor contact with the slider, which is activated by the control. The malfunction gives itself out with a crackle or complete loss of the signal in the headset.

To eliminate the breakage, graphite grease or technical petroleum jelly must be applied to the surface of the resistive layer.

A broken ear hook can be easily repaired using a thin piece of metal, small screws, epoxy glue, and a drill.

In the case of repairing the microphone boom, you need to understand that it is difficult to recreate the full functionality, but it will not be difficult to fix it in a fixed position. You will need a wire with a diameter of 0.7-0.8 mm, a drill and heat-resistant glue. Please note that when gluing, you can wet your hands with water, and then you will be able to give the new part the desired shape.

Since the store sells a huge number of headphones from various manufacturers, you may encounter breakdowns not described above. The main thing is not to panic, but to think that in this situation you can do it yourself.

Headphone repair: how to disassemble and solder with your own hands, wiring the microphone, repair the circuit and plug

Headphone repair: 7 frequent breakdowns

Headphones are an indispensable attribute of the everyday life of a modern person. Have your favorite headphones stopped working? You should not immediately throw them out, if you have a little time and a desire to save the budget for the purchase, you can carry out the repair yourself yourself. Most often, the breakdown is not serious, so do not rush to purchase a new product. Basically, if you have even a little understanding of the use of a soldering iron, solder, wire cutters and glue, then the work should pay off. Pay attention to the instructions for your headphones, maybe there is a description of your problem.

Today, in the hardware store, you can see a large number of stereo headphones, ranging from wireless, vacuum ones and finishing the list with standard large computer devices. Each of them is arranged differently.What external designs are not being sold in modern markets. Almost everyone has one or more headphones. They are purchased for different purposes, for example, for home use or for long subway rides, they can be both cheap and expensive, but they all have one big drawback, they break. A familiar situation, the wire is frayed and one earpiece becomes silent, instead of the usual music, there are scraps, wheezing and interference. The repair can be done at home.

Headphones are a pair of small-sized sound emitters that can be worn on the head or inserted directly into the ear canals

The following 7 breakdowns are most common:

• Cable break;
• Broken plug;
• Microphone problems;
• Speaker malfunction;
• Volume control problems;
• Defective temples;
• Microphone mount malfunctions.

If you are faced with one of these problems, do not rush to go to the service store, you can carry out repairs yourself with your own hands. The first thing to do is understand why the headphones stopped working. Basically, breakage occurs because the wires of the headphones are bent and their wires are broken. In this case, the wire will need to be cut, cleaned and re-soldered. If the breakdown is related to something else, then you have to tinker.

If your wire comes off, it's not as easy as repairing the shackle, and if you just glue the last one, then here you need to find the breakdown, unsolder the connections, fix and re-solder. Sometimes the device cannot be repaired and will need to be replaced. The most common problem with modern headphones is wire breakage. This happens most often on headphones from a Sony or Samsung phone. Vacuum headphones from Sven, Sony, Panasonic, Beats, Dexp, Ergo, Samsung, Philips, Sennheiser and jbl are also not insured against this. In order to fix this problem, you will need a number of tools.

In most cases, you will be able to repair the headphones yourself.

To begin with, we determine exactly where the wire broke, because very often the damage is not visible on the upper plane and there is no confirmation of the break. To do this, you will have to connect the headphones to a sound reproduction source, for example, a computer, or a phone and bend the wire until the sound appears, this must be done very carefully.

When you determine the required place, we proceed as follows:

1. You will need to take scissors and cut it at a distance of 2-3 cm from the problem point;
2. The insulating layer is removed, and the wires must be "tinned";
3. Take one of the available fluxes and prepare the cable for soldering;
4. Put the wires on a surface, it is better to use wooden blocks and press down with a soldering iron, repeat movements similar to cleaning varnish from a wire;
5. After the wires go through the tinning process, put the tubes on the cable and solder them taking into account the colors;
6. In order to make the work more reliable, fold the wires with the letter Z and wrap them with threads;
7. In order for the cable to look presentable, cover it with varnish or glue, this will add reliability.

The last point is desirable, since the threads will begin to unwind over time, and you will have to re-solder all the connections. You can check the work using a computer. Another important point, if the contacts are the same and you can forget where to connect which one, pinout will help you, that is, the numbering of each contact.

If you are faced with a broken plug, then get ready for the fact that you will have to disassemble and reassemble it. This applies to most cases.

It is necessary to work with the details carefully, each core of the wire is very thin and fragile

Problems associated with the plug can be roughly divided into 2 groups:

The last malfunctions occur subsequently when the cable breaks at the bend of the plug.Speaking about the process of parsing the plug, you can immediately clarify that it is identical for all models of headphones and consists in carefully removing the plastic layer along the entire surface. The purpose of this action is that we need to get to the wires.

If the last link of the plug breaks, and it remains in the phone or computer, then remove it with tweezers and an awl. There is no way to fix such a breakdown, so you will have to purchase a new plug.

While listening to music, you turned the plug, and the sound became dull, and the volume decreased significantly, then this can be corrected by soldering the contacts so that they do not move nearby.

If the cable breaks off at the base, then the wire will need to be cut a few centimeters above the point of breakage and reattached with a soldering iron, taking into account the color combinations of the wire. If you do not know which cable to connect to, use an ammeter and measure the resistance of the cords.

When one of the two contact earphones breaks down, we are unlikely to purchase a new set, so we fix everything with improvised means. If you doubt your abilities, you can watch the video. It is there that you will learn how to make solders, how headphones are disassembled, or rather their case, how to open it and why a number of earbuds and plugs are used.

In general, headsets are equipped with electret capsule microphones and amplifiers. This means that during the repair process, you will need to observe the polarity. In no case should you clean the wires by a mechanical method, just make sure that the temperature does not rise, that is, you will need to solder at a fast pace, but carefully, so it is important to immediately learn about the properties of the cord and which wires are suitable where, so that you can immediately solder them ...

A single-wire headphone consists of two insulated wires (left signal and right signal) and one uninsulated ground

In order for the soldering to go well, it is best to use an organic flux.

You can check whether the microphone works without using special devices. It is enough to replace it with another microphone or connect it to a device that is likely to show results. Otherwise, use an oscilloscope.

Most often, the speaker winding fails. This is due to the excess of the calculated power. How serious the breakdown is can be determined using a multimeter ammeter.

There are many reasons for speaker breakage and a few basic methods to fix them.

The resistance of the windings should be relatively the same and vary from 16 to 100 ohms.

If your speakers reproduce sound, but along with it you hear wheezing appearing, this may indicate that the winding or membrane has broken.

The winding mostly breaks from impact or from the fact that the magnet has shifted. It so happens that the coil leaves the membrane. In order to repair this part, you need glue, a sharp needle and neatness. Be extremely careful, because after the glue is applied, the parts must take their correct position.

Soldering plug repair is the most crucial step in headphone repair. It depends on him how well the headset will work.

You can repair a lot yourself - the main desire and ability to work with various tools

The repair scheme consists of the following stages:

• The wire is threaded through the plug cover;
• A spring is put on the wire;
• Each stripped wire is serviced;
• After the flux has been used, use tin to cover the wiring;
• All contacts of the plug are serviced according to the points above;
• The wires are soldered to the contacts, it is best to start with a common channel and only then deal with the left and right;
• After that, we clamp the cable to keep the wire from breaking and restrict its mobility;
• We isolate the contacts and close the plug.