Creating an RCA cable

[ALL212]

For some reason the theme to Gilligans Island comes to my head every time I start building these...

I've built a number of RCA cables and my favorite solid state amplifier creator uses Groneberg cables internally.  I have the same cables as speaker cables so by creating RCA cables I have the same cable throughout the entire system.

The TS Premium cable (I believe this is also called the Quattro Reference) is not end user friendly.  It has a thick outside jacket, braided shielding, a thin mylar layer, 4 conductors and a center drain.  But... it is possible.

I use Cardas SRCA connectors as these can take the 10mm outside jacket of the Groneberg.  My only gripe is how the ground wires attach but with the proper tool you can make it work.

Tools - nothing special here... maybe a surprise though.   

(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi905.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fac253%2Fall212212%2FRCA%2520creation%2Ftools1_zpsgz6stacn.jpg&hash=2e99a528ca55ed923e5e7b2cd4557bbd0741687a)

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(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi905.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fac253%2Fall212212%2FRCA%2520creation%2Fsolder_zpssmaqt96h.jpg&hash=2aaed324c513754d1db2296534faf76edc290dca)

The wire:
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1st Cut:
I like to see just a bit of the jacket starting to show in the first gap so that's my measurement.
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Here we go!
Shield is just aluminum strand, drain is copper as are the four conductors.  I'll remove that mylar and cut most of the shield back.  IHMO I really don't need it all - and I'm not sure that you could get it all in anyway.
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Start of the prep:
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Wire's stripped.  Shield and drain wire pulled back:
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Sorry for the blurry shot.  Red connectors are now twisted together and soldered.  I'll cut the paired center conductor tip off to square it off and then take a slice out of it diagonally so I can fit it in the center pin socket.
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But first you've got to get it in the RCA connector.  I just pull it all together and shove with a twist.
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Just prior to soldering I use a dental pick to pull all of the loose wire up through the RCA connector.  This step is critical.  Some of the aluminum may break off and you cannot have any loose ends in the connector or it will short out.
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Center now soldered.  My poor soldering iron is on max speed when doing this.  It takes a lot of heat to get this done and you don't want to bake the RCA for a long time on low heat.
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I'll clip all of the ground wires back and tuck them into the connector before attempting to solder.  I use a couple of clipping plyers to hold this steady and provide some heat sink to the center connection as I'm soldering.
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi905.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fac253%2Fall212212%2FRCA%2520creation%2Fgroundready_zpskwldirnb.jpg&hash=ac3d56076a59ee896c87b64f6eb315f9cb6c6dcc)

Another semi-blurry shot.  Post soldering.
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Next step involves that tool you might have been surprised to see.  The way that ground wire builds up with the solder will not allow the cover to go over the RCA connector.  I carefully tap that band down so that I can get the cover on.  If you tap too hard it will break - don't ask how I know that.  I've also prepped that band in the past by denting it slightly but with this much wire it really doesn't help much.

It may take a few tries - don't force it or you'll strip out the RCA shield threads.
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I attach the braid and drain to just one end of the cable and then mark that end.  The opposite end only has the two black wires attached to it.  The end with the braid and drain wires attached would go to the preamp or amp.  Ungrounded end to the source.