Backstory: We like to watch a little TV before drifting off to sleep. So we have a 13 inch TV in the bedroom. But sometimes my wife wants to go to sleep before I do and the sound/light from the TV bothers her.
So I have a pair of Video glasses plugged into the output of the television. This blanks the screen/sound and allows me to lie in bed and watch television without bothering the Missus. This has worked for several years.
But…! After years of use the cable connectors have gotten a “short” in them. So I went to the store and bought a new cable for a few bucks. Got it home and…the damn thing wouldn’t work!:mad: This guy has an auction for cables that look identical to the cables I have that have a short, also they look exactly like the cable i bought that don’t work, Even his auction says MANY CABLES LOOK LIKE THEY WILL FIT & WORK IN YOUR PORTABLE DVR DEVICE, BUT YOU GET HOME FROM THE LOCAL ELECTRONICS STORE, & FIND OUT THE CABLE WILL NOT WORK?
WTF? How could the original cables from my headset look identical to the one I bought at the store yet not work? How are they different?
A mini jack to three RCA cables isn’t exactly a standard setup. Just a mini jack with that many conductors is not standard in any way. It’s entirely possible that multiple manufacturers use such a setup, but since it’s completely nonstandard, there’s nothing suggesting that they’d arrange the connections in the same way. Each of those metal sections on the mini jack ends up connected to one of the pieces of metal on one of the RCA connectors. If they aren’t done in the same arrangement as your equipment requires, they won’t work.
How well do those video glasses work? I’m pretty into tech geek stuff but I didn’t know those were even available. Would they be better to use say on a plane then watching a smartphone or PDA screen?
Besides trial and error, an ohmmeter would be useful to sleuth out the connections from end to end. An ohmmeter would also tell you if you really have a “short” in your original cables. What makes you think that is the problem? Could the problem be in the device, not the cables?
Unless the common on the new mini-barrel plug is in a different location than the old one. Then switching wouldn’t work. Still worth a try though - can’t hurt anything.
Yes. They work very well. And they (at least mine) simulates watching a 64 inch screen television. I can lie in bed, in the dark, and watch television (or a DVD/VCR) with the ear plugs in, and not disturb my wife. It runs on a rechargeable battery. They are made of very hard plastic, so if I fall asleep and roll over on them they don’t break. I just flip them off my face onto the floor. I have used them when flying.
I’ve done this tirelessly with the new cables. No success.
Bending the [old] cable a bit with my fingers corrects the problem [temporarily]. There is indeed a short in the cord.
Note the banding. each signal band is separated from the next, with a ground in for common ground. You see 3 silver bands, each apart from the next by a yellow band. The point is the common ground. This allows Composite SD Video and 2 audio signals to carry on the one connector.
Folks sometimes get a mini jack that looks the same but does not carry full signal. Perhaps this is what happened here. Also, very cheap knock-offs of this design may be made a few thousands out of tolerance. This means the bands don’t line up with the relevant holes inside of the device and you don’t get video. ( or full stereo audio ).
Go to a store like Best Buy or Radio Shack. Get a demo cable in your hands, make sure it carries full signal. It may be a bit more inconvenient than shopping on the Interwebs for this, but will guarantee that the cable you buy is carrying full signal.
Well, it probably is at least 50/50–the ground should be either first or last right? I guess it is moot at this point as it appears the shuffle has already been tried and failed.
That won’t work in this situation. The short is way at the end, very close to the plug. There isn’t enough cable to tape. Besides, I don’t want to screw around like that. I want a new cable that actually works.
When you say ‘went to the store and purchased a new new cable for a few bucks’, was the store Brookstone? If not, I don’t see any way to confirm that you have an exact replacement cable.
After years of use the cable connectors have gotten a “short” in them. So I went to the store and bought a new cable for a few bucks. Got it home and…the damn thing wouldn’t work!:mad: This guy has an auction for cables that look identical to the cables I have that have a short, also they look exactly like the cable i bought that don’t work, Even his auction says MANY CABLES LOOK LIKE THEY WILL FIT & WORK IN YOUR PORTABLE DVR DEVICE, BUT YOU GET HOME FROM THE LOCAL ELECTRONICS STORE, & FIND OUT THE CABLE WILL NOT WORK?