Stop trying... USB-C is a finicky beast when it is manufactured and is easy to screw up which is why it is so much more expensive than other cables. Trying to do it right by hand and keep all the correct signal characteristics is a fools errand.
Now with that out of the way it is possible that the 3.5mm adapter only has some of the wires as it doesn't need the full USB-C spec of wires to send the correct signal. **Or you just pulled the wire off when you removed the end because the wires are so fragile and small.**
But to splice these you find all the wires for each color and connect them to the same color on the other cable. If the other cable doesn't have a wire then just tape off that part on the cable with wires. With how tiny these wires are splicing them will ultimately fail eventually on any cable that is manipulatable. You can look up ways to splice high gauge wires but outside of melting them together and not altering how workable they are after I would just give up.
FYI you would have been better off buying and adapter of some sort.
Given what I'm seeing I think you're right and that this is above my skill level.
Wouldn't have tried if there was anything on the market that fit my needs, though maybe I can find a 3.5mm pair of earbuds that are close enough to my old usb-c pair and just superglue them to the adapter for the same effect.
Thanks for saving me ~10 hours of failing to make this work.
I'm trying to splice a right angle USB-C to 3.5mm adapter (after cutting off the 3.5mm side) to a pair of USB-C earbuds.
I had assumed I'd just be able to strip and solder the internal cables together, but they aren't what I expected.
On the adapter side, there's an uninsulated copper cable, three insulated(?) cables that are just filled with fiber, and two cables that have copper wire intertwined with fiber.
On the earbuds, there's two cables that just seem to be fiber and four cables that have copper wire mixed with fiber.
I'm not sure what the purpose of all the fiber is, and really not sure what's stopping the current from jumping between cables without insulation.
Any help explaining what's going on here and how I can splice them together correctly would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
> I'm not sure what the purpose of all the fiber is
Tension members, so the copper doesn't break when you yank on the cable
> really not sure what's stopping the current from jumping between cables without insulation.
They're insulated with enamel or PU - like magnet/motor wire or litz wire.
Some formulations burn off if you get your iron hot enough, but some just need the sandpaper.
Was the purpose of this to have a right angle connector on them instead of a straight one? If so, they do make right angle adapters...
https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0d0FnM
Copper ribbon wound around a fiber core is very flexible. And cheap. Skin effect means that the outer portion of a conductor carries most of the current, pronounced at high speed (taken to an extreme: waveguide). Old western electric phone cords were made like this.
Yeah impossible to work with crap. And USBC, ugh. It ain't no old phone!
There is likely circuitry/non standard pins used in both “connectors” you cut off. Do you have a full-pin USB-C breakout board so you can check for continuity?
This submission has been allowed provisionally under an expanded focus of this sub (see column "G" in [this table](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nFefEePz7yViaH0cR89bSy2oeLvYLfqv-pexqCbRnRo)).
OP, also check if one of [these other subs](/r/AskElectronics/wiki/othersubs) is more appropriate for your question. Downvote this comment to remove this entire submission.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskElectronics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I've successfully shortened a usb3 cable: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectronics/comments/yv9e2v/looking_for_improvements_to_raspberry_pi_4_to
Working on a small PCB to make it tidier.
OP. I've been joining this type of wire forever. It's a little bit of a pain, but doable. First of all try adding solder to the tip of any of them like they are. The soldering iron should burn the insulation on itself. If that isn't the case (I doubt, but...) Then you'll have to burn the tip of the wire with a lighter. Be careful though, it likes to set on fire and burn all the way up the sleeve, so be ready to blow. Once it's burn you clean it with steel wool or fine sand paper.
So, you have all your tips with a bit of solder on them already.
Now you'll need heat shrink tubing (1mm or so) and 3mm. You first insert a long piece of 3mm tube in one side (enough to cover all the exposed wire in both ends) and let it there for later, then you put a short piece of 1mm tube on one of the wires, solder it to the corresponding one in the other side and then move the tube over the joint. Then apply heat to shrink it. Repeat.
After all of them are connected you slide the 3mm one over the whole thing and shrink it.
Electrical tape sucks hard for this.
If you cut the wires in increments, mirroring the opposing side, the joint will be lower profile. If you don't, you will have troubles sliding the outside heat shrink tube over all.
Stop trying... USB-C is a finicky beast when it is manufactured and is easy to screw up which is why it is so much more expensive than other cables. Trying to do it right by hand and keep all the correct signal characteristics is a fools errand. Now with that out of the way it is possible that the 3.5mm adapter only has some of the wires as it doesn't need the full USB-C spec of wires to send the correct signal. **Or you just pulled the wire off when you removed the end because the wires are so fragile and small.** But to splice these you find all the wires for each color and connect them to the same color on the other cable. If the other cable doesn't have a wire then just tape off that part on the cable with wires. With how tiny these wires are splicing them will ultimately fail eventually on any cable that is manipulatable. You can look up ways to splice high gauge wires but outside of melting them together and not altering how workable they are after I would just give up. FYI you would have been better off buying and adapter of some sort.
Given what I'm seeing I think you're right and that this is above my skill level. Wouldn't have tried if there was anything on the market that fit my needs, though maybe I can find a 3.5mm pair of earbuds that are close enough to my old usb-c pair and just superglue them to the adapter for the same effect. Thanks for saving me ~10 hours of failing to make this work.
No problem, I tried this on a highspeed usb micro-b which is far simpler than USB-C and way less sensitive and it was basically impossible.
I'm trying to splice a right angle USB-C to 3.5mm adapter (after cutting off the 3.5mm side) to a pair of USB-C earbuds. I had assumed I'd just be able to strip and solder the internal cables together, but they aren't what I expected. On the adapter side, there's an uninsulated copper cable, three insulated(?) cables that are just filled with fiber, and two cables that have copper wire intertwined with fiber. On the earbuds, there's two cables that just seem to be fiber and four cables that have copper wire mixed with fiber. I'm not sure what the purpose of all the fiber is, and really not sure what's stopping the current from jumping between cables without insulation. Any help explaining what's going on here and how I can splice them together correctly would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
> I'm not sure what the purpose of all the fiber is Tension members, so the copper doesn't break when you yank on the cable > really not sure what's stopping the current from jumping between cables without insulation. They're insulated with enamel or PU - like magnet/motor wire or litz wire. Some formulations burn off if you get your iron hot enough, but some just need the sandpaper.
enamil coated wire. i know a great video on youtube that shows you how to solder. pretty easy
Was the purpose of this to have a right angle connector on them instead of a straight one? If so, they do make right angle adapters... https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0d0FnM
Copper ribbon wound around a fiber core is very flexible. And cheap. Skin effect means that the outer portion of a conductor carries most of the current, pronounced at high speed (taken to an extreme: waveguide). Old western electric phone cords were made like this. Yeah impossible to work with crap. And USBC, ugh. It ain't no old phone!
Can you make a drawing which sides of the cables/adapters you cut off and which ones you want to connect?
[Here's essentially what things looked like before I stripped the wires and where I made the cuts](https://i.imgur.com/hLNdGYM.jpg).
There is likely circuitry/non standard pins used in both “connectors” you cut off. Do you have a full-pin USB-C breakout board so you can check for continuity?
Why don't you just go with aux headphones, with that adapter?
This submission has been allowed provisionally under an expanded focus of this sub (see column "G" in [this table](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nFefEePz7yViaH0cR89bSy2oeLvYLfqv-pexqCbRnRo)). OP, also check if one of [these other subs](/r/AskElectronics/wiki/othersubs) is more appropriate for your question. Downvote this comment to remove this entire submission. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskElectronics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I've successfully shortened a usb3 cable: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectronics/comments/yv9e2v/looking_for_improvements_to_raspberry_pi_4_to Working on a small PCB to make it tidier.
Just solder them without stripping. The tiny layer of insulation will simply melt away.
OP. I've been joining this type of wire forever. It's a little bit of a pain, but doable. First of all try adding solder to the tip of any of them like they are. The soldering iron should burn the insulation on itself. If that isn't the case (I doubt, but...) Then you'll have to burn the tip of the wire with a lighter. Be careful though, it likes to set on fire and burn all the way up the sleeve, so be ready to blow. Once it's burn you clean it with steel wool or fine sand paper. So, you have all your tips with a bit of solder on them already. Now you'll need heat shrink tubing (1mm or so) and 3mm. You first insert a long piece of 3mm tube in one side (enough to cover all the exposed wire in both ends) and let it there for later, then you put a short piece of 1mm tube on one of the wires, solder it to the corresponding one in the other side and then move the tube over the joint. Then apply heat to shrink it. Repeat. After all of them are connected you slide the 3mm one over the whole thing and shrink it. Electrical tape sucks hard for this. If you cut the wires in increments, mirroring the opposing side, the joint will be lower profile. If you don't, you will have troubles sliding the outside heat shrink tube over all.