Why can't these goddamned mutherfuckin' cable makers make connectors
that last? It's not fucking rocket science. It's just a goddamned
soldered wire connection and any idiot can make one that should last
FOREVER. But time and time again I will experience a connector failure,
be it audio, USB, or whatever.

Someone gave me a pair of Dell stereo speakers. (I don't use that
7-channel or whatever surround bullshit.) They worked great for a while
until the damned fucking plug failed and one channel was dead.

At first I just planned to cut the cable and then solder on a new
audio plug, but trying to solder those tiny stranded wires into
the tiny and tight spaces of a 3.5mm plug is a pain in the fucking
ass. So I purchased several of these:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/tensility-international-corp/CA-2207/701168

I just cut the cable and made the splice. No soldering required but
it would be the best.

"Big deal," I hear the assholes say.

Listen, motherfuckers. This was not an easy job.

After I cut the cable I used a stripping tool to remove the insulation
which revealed 2 very tiny stranded wires plus the ground shield copper
strands.

Those fucking wires were less that 1 mm thick. No stripping tool
could accommodate them. The only way to strip them is to insert
them between the blades of a wire cutter and then press very gently
into the plastic insulation. Then, the wire is pulled through
the blades with a hope and a prayer that the action does not cut
the wire or sever some copper strands.

Fortunately I did a perfect job both times.

The splice was made and now I have superb sound on one of my GNU/Linux
machines and it will last FOREVER.

Why can't those goddamned mutherfuckin' cable manufacturers do the
same?

They very likely use Microslop specs.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

--
Systemd: solving all the problems that you never knew you had.

Xavier Dominica wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> Why can't these goddamned mutherfuckin' cable makers make connectors
> that last? It's not fucking rocket science. It's just a goddamned
> soldered wire connection and any idiot can make one that should last
> FOREVER. But time and time again I will experience a connector failure,
> be it audio, USB, or whatever.

Didn't your mother teach you not to pull out plugs by the wire?

> <rantsnip>

--
The trouble with opportunity is that it always comes disguised as hard work.
-- Herbert V. Prochnow

On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:15:57 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

>
> Didn't your mother teach you not to pull out plugs by the wire?
>

That does not make a difference.

A properly made soldered connection is as strong, or even stronger,
than the wire itself. A simple yanking of the plug by the wire
should have no effect -- unless it's a cheap Chinese shit plug.

I should actually take apart the defective plug to see what junk
is inside, but that would entail carving away the plastic jacket
that is bonded to the metal beneath, and that is a big job. I'd
need to clamp it in a vise and just whittle away. I could burn it
off but that would leave charred ash everywhere.

No. I have made soldered audio plugs properly using shielded cable
and quality plugs and they have NEVER failed and they NEVER will fail.

The question is why can't cable manufacturers do the same?

Xavier Dominica wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:15:57 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:
>
>> Didn't your mother teach you not to pull out plugs by the wire?
>
> That does not make a difference.
>
> A properly made soldered connection is as strong, or even stronger,
> than the wire itself.

So the wire could be the weakest link, especially with well-soldered
connectors.

> A simple yanking of the plug by the wire
> should have no effect -- unless it's a cheap Chinese shit plug.
>
> I should actually take apart the defective plug to see what junk
> is inside, but that would entail carving away the plastic jacket
> that is bonded to the metal beneath, and that is a big job. I'd
> need to clamp it in a vise and just whittle away. I could burn it
> off but that would leave charred ash everywhere.
>
> No. I have made soldered audio plugs properly using shielded cable
> and quality plugs and they have NEVER failed and they NEVER will fail.
>
> The question is why can't cable manufacturers do the same?
>

--
Linux, the way to get rid of boot viruses
-- MaDsen Wikholm, mwikholm@at8.abo.fi

On 10/13/24 1:20 PM, Xavier Dominica wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Oct 2024 12:47:27 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:
>
>>
>> So the wire could be the weakest link, especially with well-soldered
>> connectors.
>>
>
> Nope again.
>
> I did a continuity test just to make sure (and avoid wasting time).
> There was a break at the connector.

Of course, since that's usually where one will find a stress riser.

>
> Wires don't fail. Especially stranded wires do not fail even
> if they are bent repeatedly (work fatigue). It would require
> tremendous force to break even a 24 gauge wire.

Which is why professional mountaineers use copper wire cables instead of
synthetic ropes! /s

> A properly made cable/connector should NEVER fail anywhere along
> its length. NEVER. As I mentioned, this is not rocket science.

Every design is a trade-off. A proper design should anticipate the
conditions under which failure occurs, and typically makes a
cost-benefit assessment on if the failure is unlikely enough at a
particular design price point.

> In former times, whenever a problem occurred, I would NEVER suspect
> a fault with the cable/connector because that should NEVER fail.

Which was the 1990s when you were a toddler yanking on a lamp's power
cord? /s

> But now, because I recognize that cables are so fucking cheaply
> made, it is the very first thing that I will examine.

Examine it...for just what? Be specific.

> Recently, I plugged a USB HDD into my machine using an extension
> cable. It would not mount. I said: "What the fuck?" But sure
> enough, it was the goddamned cable/connector.
>
> Don't buy cables/connectors from anyone but the most reputable
> manufacturers even if that means paying a premium price.

With that sort of philosophy, you'll soon be buying Apple computers too,
as their design teams are superior to your cobbled together DIY junk.

-hh