Electronic – How to neatly solder the following TRRS connector

soldering

I would like to solder the following TRRS connector, which seems to be more difficult than the usual TRS connectors:

enter image description here

I already know the order of the connections (TRRS = left, right, gnd, mic), what I would like to know is how to make the solder neat.

I tried putting the wires coming off to the side and it was messy and took a while to get it right such that the cover would fit back on. What is the correct way to tackle this solder job? Should I be guiding the connections sideways or straight? Do I need a smaller soldering iron because I am melting the plastic?

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The idea of using magnet wire to make the connection has been offered, but I am not clear on how to do this in a way that will not interfere with the casing of the connector.

EDIT:

I have found a video that deals with soldering this connection, albeit for small headphone wires. The technique used is to put a drop of solder on each contact before pressing in the tinned wires (still quite tedious). I suppose this means that the connection was designed for smaller wires and I will have to either splice to a different cable together (yuck) or look for a different component.

I am still interested for any answers which would allow the pictured cable and TRRS to join together neatly.

Best Answer

The most common mistake most people make when soldering connections like this is to use a soldering iron without enough power, which causes the connector to heat up slowly and in the process transfer heat to the plastic and melt it. The key is preparation and speed, get in get out as fast as possible and you won't melt the plastic; to do this you have to be able to get a lot of heat into the connector very quickly. The MetCal (on Amazon.com, now unavailable) soldering iron is what I use, and is ideal for this sort of task it can very quickly put huge amounts of power into the connector (if you want to know how look up how RF soldering irons work, very clever.). You must prepare the wires by tinning them first with solder, and also the connector separately. Following this, allow them to cool and ensure the tinned ends are trimmed to just the right length. After that, place the tinned wire-end on top of the tinned connected, heat with a very powerful iron for less than a second and hold the wire still while it cools, and you will have a perfect connection.