Please consider supporting us on Patreon: / filmmakeriq Did you bust an XLR cable? Need to make a new one? Here's a demonstration on how you can solder new XLR heads on an XLR cable.
A good electrician's trick that will make your finished XLR cable like a pro-tech did them: Crimp all the connections first, then solder them all. You get two things from this, great insulator alinement to the cable stress crimp and double the strength with solder and crimps on all connection. :)
I think many of the tutorial makers on RU-vid should have a look at your video, because it is damn near perfect. You talk at the perfect speed, not like others who fire words like a machine gun or at the other extreme where you fall asleep. Next your camera angles are good and do not move about too much while viewers are trying to look. You also do not constantly back-track on what you have just said like others do, so you avoid confusing people. So to summarise your video is excellent!
Not only did you help me train my XLR cable craftsmanship, but you also helped me learn to use the exact same cable tester I recently bought. You, Sir, are a scholar. Thank you for this great video! +1
I was once told by my Dad never to blow on the solder, it just might cause a dry joint as it dries too fast. He was a rad/tech in the airforce of the old days...learnt a lot from him. Otherwise your instructions are pretty down to earth.
Just an FYI..I have always heard that blowing on solder can lead to a "Cold Solder" joint because it makes the solder solidify too quickly. Just let the solder joint cure naturally. Beside that a good video.
Thanks for the clear instruction! I've got a pile of cables needing a refresher. I have a Pyle cable tester and love it. Thanks again! Much appreciated.
I used this video to remind myself how to make one! Thanks! Mine I was having some crossed lines (it’s a very very small/ tight 90 degree angle connector on both sides) so I ended up adding hot glue to keep the wires nearby separated . Also added shrink wrap with a heat gun to protect the wires as well. I tested it out, works like a charm.
I've always struggled with soldering and this should help me deal with the pile of broken cables I'm about to fix. Thanks. One tip about the cable tester. Hit the reset button above the intermittent led lights. They'll only come back on if the continuity is broken. This allows you to wiggle the cable to test the connection.
I put 3 male and 3 female connectors on some wire that was already ran through conduit in our church building. I showed up with a soldering gun and some rosin core solder. That's it! I found a knife to cut and strip the ends and started to tin both the wire and the connector. I had no third had so I found a piece of metal that was on the back side of a cabinet door lock was just the right thickness that I could slightly jam the male pins onto it and it was my holder. The next thing I did was solder #3 first then the rest of them. The middle conductor help hold the other two wires steady. A piece of masking tape held the unstripped portion of wire in place. I had the best luck not tinning the connectors. I tried not tinning anything and that worked also. For the female end I just taped that and the wire down to a piece of wood that was used as a communion bench. Perfect! Thanks for the video!
You should put the boots on the cable first - before stripping your wire. Sleeving the shield is also a good idea. For a clean shield, you can cut the braid down to about a 1/4", then tack-solder a piece of ground wire on to the remaining braid. Takes more time, but it's cleaner. I like the way you stand the iron and work the wire and connector. Good video.
Thanks bro. Did my first cable then decided to check if it was correct. Trimming the cable lengths to get a neater more compact end makes all the difference. The cable stand / helper is a must. Trying to hold with pliers while leaving the solder iron on the stand is not very effective..
Thank you sir, I appreciate the time you took to share your knowledge. This video has now helped me understand how to more efficiently solder my own cables.
One addition .. I would push the "reset" button on the cable tester. The vertical column of LEDS will be reset and go dark. Then, I should shake the heck out of the cable. IF any sort of intermittent open or short does occur whilst shaking the cable, the corresponding LED in that leftmost column will light .. AND STAY LATCHED ON (until you push the "reset" button again.) This is really handy for testing intermittent suspect cables! Great job on the video though .. :-)
Very good very concise yet thorough. So these comments aren't meant to belittle this excellent video. 1. Get better strippers, and a separate crimper. You will thank me. 2. Home made cables when done right are far superior than the junk they have at most online and physical music stores. I had to solder all my instrument cables. I watched this because I have the same problems with my xlr cables and I am going to solder new ends.
John, love your stuff, but I thought you always tried to make the best (whatever) that you can? Neutrik connectors are industry standard and with good reason. They are a very well designed product with excellent strain relief (and therefore VERY rugged). They may be a little more expensive - $4 vs $2 - but it's not going to blow your whole budget if you use Neutrik and they could save you a hundred times that in saved time when you find that one of your connections is dodgy and have to stop everything whilst troubleshooting. They do screw terminals also (although I know some people prefer soldered connections) which makes the whole process easier. I don't work for Neutrik, but I use Neutrik connectors on all my important connections and they are awesome. Can't recommend highly enough. Hope this helps.
This will be handy to make short run cables/snakes for my monitor rig. I can make a 16 channel snake, with 1 foot lengths using 2 10 foot mic cables, and XLR ends (Neutrik of course). Thanks for the tutorial. Handy to know, especially at the price for GOOD XLR cables!!
Great video. Good explanations. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to use Neutrik brand connectors instead of the cheapo's. Neutriks have much better strain relief which makes them superior!
No. A continuity test in a multimeter will beep whenever there's an electrical connection between the black and red probe. You stick a probe into each end of the cable and check the corresponding pins. So, touch pin 1 on each end (you can just slide the probe into the holes in female connector), listen for a beep, repeat for pin 2 and 3. This tester is nice since you don't have to clamp the cable so it doesn't slide around the desk while you try to put your probes in, and it does all the pins at once.
Just for information on soldering, when you blow on a solder joint you create a cold solder joint. You should always let the solder joint harden by it self without blowing on it.
I have a Karaoke mic cable that crackles, I looked that wiring and the coax sleeve is soldered to two of of the terminals , its linked across. I checked the other cable as i thought it could be a mistake but that is the same. I intend to strip back and re wire following your guide but not sure to go with your way or repeat what is there now
Just one little thing about that tester is that you need to press on reset and wiggle your wire around, if one of the intermittent lights turns on, then you know you have a short somewhere along the wire or at a connection.
Totally agree. The XLRs used in the video look like Switchcraft, and I would only use those if I had no other option. The strain relief is very poor. Always go with Neutrik if you are able, they are considered to be the industry standard in all fields that use XLRs.
You can wire the pins together but YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! Each of the five pins is carrying a voltage, if you combine pins you can blow out what ever it is you're connecting
Apologies, i havent checked all the comments and replies. Is there a suggested make/model soldering iron and also whats a type of solder you'd suggest?
8 years later so you've probably sussed this by now, that cable tester, if you hit the rest button then wiggle the cables around a bit and those lights come back on there is a fault in the cable somewhere, if they do not come back on then the cable is good :)
Les Kanekuni Thanks! It came with a Solder Removal tool (basically an iron with a bulb for sucking up solder). Only think to be concerned about making your own cables is durability - but I guess it's not any different than buying cheap cables.
Howdy- So forgive me as I dont have a clue to electronics or technical names for parts. I have a problem not with The pins or the wires but when you plug in the pins connecting to the female plugs thing that seems to be loose inside and moving .. Is that an easy fix? Thanks
I'm looking for a very weird cable. I bought I Chinese microphone. with a USB to XLR Cable but this have 4 fins. instead of 3. ¿Do you have this kind of product?
XLR is an analog signal, USB is generally digital data. You could technically send analog audio down the four cables of USB... But I haven't seen it before. Best bet would really try to buy another one. USB is pretty hard to fashion by hand.
I was sent an XLR to USB cable from Amazon. It works, but the Dynamic mic I'm using is registering with very low input volume in Windows 10 even with all gains and boosts checked. Lots of reviews on Amazon point to faulty wiring so I pulled back the shield and it looks like the Ground wire is ALSO connected to the Negative wire. The 3 port (ground) is also only connected to the clamp, not an actual wire. Is this normal?
When wiring balanced XLR to an unbalanced source like phono or RCA, it's typical to wire the ground to the negative side. This sounds like an issue of line/mic levels mismatch - the computer is expecting a line level with lots of power but is only getting a mic signal.
That's a tough one and I don't want to give you advice that would ruin your batteries. The tutorial above is really for audio cables. My guess (and this is only a guess) is that you treat it like an electrical cable where as white and black are Positive and Negative. The remaining pin for ground you would leave off. If you have one end that's still connected you could look at it to match the configuration. Be careful.
Dude! great job.......I got a ?? about breakout cables.... Can I use a 1/8" trs to duel xlr to the back of my Crown CE-1000 in Channel 1 and 2 inputs .... will the same signal be on both channels
My ebike came with these connecters but it onlt has red and black two wires but what's with 5he ground shield wire how do you get away with getting around that
