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Soldering Cardas interconnect cables

Hi,

Need some help on soldering the Cardas Cross interconnect cables to the RCA plugs.

After I cut away the rubber shielding, the center core has 4 sets of cables - colored in white, green, blue and black. Just outside this set of 4, there are a few strands (copper) that goes round this set of 4 and then just underneath the external brown rubber there are a larger strand of copper cables.

Do I solder the set of 4 into the inner pin of the RCA and the external strand of copper (just beneath the brown rubber) on to the external shell of the RCA plug?

I did that and the sound through the cable was very soft. Anyone knows whats wrong or am I doing it wrongly?

Thanks for any heads up!!
hlgoh2006
5 responses Add your response
hlgoh2006 OP
10 posts
 
Geez, that looks like the case. I wrote to Cardas about it and they replied that it would cost $50 per single end....was planning to terminate 2 pairs which would cost $300 (2 of the ends already has Cardas RCA jack. Going to skip it I guess...don't really feel like spending the $300. Probably will list the cables for sale here for the cheap.

Any takers? Cable is the Cardas Cross.

Tks for all the advise!
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
According to the Cardas web site it's "enameled." Knew I should have looked it up as I was struggling with the correct word.
And yes it is difficult to work with. I had a pair of Straightwire Blac Silc cables that I wanted to reterminate. They have a similar enamel coating which required a solder pot to remove the coating. Even though I now have a solder pot, (ebay) I'll think twice before attempting that again.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,460 posts
 
its not epoxy..it's a ceramic coating...very difficult to work with.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
You don't specify what model the cable is. Some Cardas cables have an epoxy coating (I think that's what they call it) on each strand of wire which must be removed before soldering. That's the first thing to check.
I would contact Cardas, they may provide some instruction. Otherwise, Driver has a good suggestion.
driver's avatar
driver
750 posts
 
If I were you and ever wanted to have the chance to resell these cables, I would send them back to Cardas & have them do the work. If you don't have the certification, they can take care of that at the same time.
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