Cutting Stereo Cable

[hop]

I have a 3.5mm male to female stereo cable.

1) It works.
2) I cut it in half.
3) I reconnect all the wires.
4) It doesn't work.

What the hell?

The cable is 2 parts, one contains copper wire, red wire and white fluffy stuff, the other copper wire, dark blue wire, and white fluffy stuff.

Not a single combination of copper/red/blue to copper/red/blue lets any signal through.

?

[dysfunction]

Make sure all the wires are isolated. Try running electrical tape between them to make sure they don't touch before taping the whole cable back up.

[tr1p1ea]

When you say you reconnect, do you mean that you are just twisting them together? Some of the higher-quality cables have their individual strands coated with a rubber/plastic layer of insulation, often you will need to solder them back together since the heat will melt it off somewhat.

[hop]

I don't see any coating but I guess it's worth a try. I'll take some pictures.

[benryves]

The two types I can think of are copper braid and white fluffy impossible-to-cut stuff around some coloured rubber insulation with more copper inside, and two enamel-coated coloured wires with no rubber insulation and white fluffy stuff. The latter will need the enamel to be removed with glass paper or scratched off with a knife.

Also, some cables have a common connection (usually the uncoloured copper) in both left and right leads, but only one of them is connected at the jack plug end.

[hop]

My new phone's camera is made of fail and blur. No autofocus or any other means of focusing an image. Not that I could find anyway.

And I can't find the stuff to solder with. Only the soldering iron.

Then my internet fails in the middle of this post and college work.

Everything going smoothly again.

Weekend here I come.

[JoostinOnline]

The "stuff to solder with" is called solder.

[hop]

I know, it's only got one extra e in my language and even soldering iron can be translated directly into the words for solder and iron.