I've been having a similar problem with my ET. The male connector from the headphones slips out of the headphone jack on the detector while I'm detecting. Then when I push it back in I get a Crackling sound . So it could be caused by a loose or worn jack, or the rubber battery cover pushing against the male connector , Which would stop the male connector from making full contact while the rubber boot slowly pushes it out of the jack as your detecting
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My SE bit the dust today! :( :shrug: :cry:
- Thread starter Erik in NJ
- Start date
What sort of audio do you get from the internal speaker if you disconnect the headphones?
Does it sound distorted just like the headphones, or does it sound ok?
A few thoughts:
Corrosion or a dirty jack is entirely possible, as is mechanical stress on the jack contacts.
In any of these are suspected, and the internal speaker sounds like crap too, that still doesn't rule out the jack. On almost any piece of gear with an audio output where plugging in the headphones turns off the internal speaker (whether it be a detector or something else like a cellphone or boombox), the headphone jack has a normally-closed switch in it.
If the headphones are not inserted, the contact for the audio output presses against the contact for the internal speaker, and the sounds comes out the speaker.
When the headphones are inserted, those 2 contacts are forced apart and the output contact touches the contact on the headphone plug, sending the audio out the phones instead.
So dirt, corrosion, or mechanical fatigue in the jack could explain audio problems on both internal speakers or headphones. And sometimes it can produce strange things like no audio at all on either the internal speaker or phones, where neither are making contact at all. I had a palm treo cellphone once that did this after abused the headset jack enough (by doing things like slamming the cord for my wired headset in a car door and trying to walk away without realizing it, tearing the wires off completely) I had to use the bluetooth headset to use the phone at all after that until I got rid of it.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of leaving the phones plugged in being bad for the jack.
Can dissimilar metals react in way that cause them to corrode long-term? Sure, but I'll bet dirt and dust are a far bigger concern.
Also, if either the jack in the explorer or the plug on your phones is gold-plated, any sort of bimetallic reaction is unlikely.
And the constant plugging and unplugging of the phones will cause its own wear and tear on the jack, which might be worse. If you leave them plugged in, you'll get rotational wear on the jack from the plug spinning in the jack as your move around, part of why I loop my cord once around the back end of the machine and tie it off to reduce stress on the jack. If you unplug them, you'll still get that rotational wear while hunting, plus the wear from constantly plugging and unplugging, which may be made worse by any grit or dust present on the contacts.
The occasional use of canned air or a compressor to blow dust out of the jack isn't a bad idea though. A q-tip lightly (not soaking) wet with alcohol might not be a bad idea either, just be careful not to leave cotton strands in the jack. I suppose I should take my own advice and give my jack a cleaning..
Wear issues are a good part of the reason why the SE has a 1/4" jack instead of 1/8" like older models. 1/8" jacks should NEVER be used on equipment that's going to take a beating in the field, in my opinion.
Too bad it's so hard to get at the jack and inspect it, the way they put the machine together.
Does it sound distorted just like the headphones, or does it sound ok?
A few thoughts:
Corrosion or a dirty jack is entirely possible, as is mechanical stress on the jack contacts.
In any of these are suspected, and the internal speaker sounds like crap too, that still doesn't rule out the jack. On almost any piece of gear with an audio output where plugging in the headphones turns off the internal speaker (whether it be a detector or something else like a cellphone or boombox), the headphone jack has a normally-closed switch in it.
If the headphones are not inserted, the contact for the audio output presses against the contact for the internal speaker, and the sounds comes out the speaker.
When the headphones are inserted, those 2 contacts are forced apart and the output contact touches the contact on the headphone plug, sending the audio out the phones instead.
So dirt, corrosion, or mechanical fatigue in the jack could explain audio problems on both internal speakers or headphones. And sometimes it can produce strange things like no audio at all on either the internal speaker or phones, where neither are making contact at all. I had a palm treo cellphone once that did this after abused the headset jack enough (by doing things like slamming the cord for my wired headset in a car door and trying to walk away without realizing it, tearing the wires off completely) I had to use the bluetooth headset to use the phone at all after that until I got rid of it.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of leaving the phones plugged in being bad for the jack.
Can dissimilar metals react in way that cause them to corrode long-term? Sure, but I'll bet dirt and dust are a far bigger concern.
Also, if either the jack in the explorer or the plug on your phones is gold-plated, any sort of bimetallic reaction is unlikely.
And the constant plugging and unplugging of the phones will cause its own wear and tear on the jack, which might be worse. If you leave them plugged in, you'll get rotational wear on the jack from the plug spinning in the jack as your move around, part of why I loop my cord once around the back end of the machine and tie it off to reduce stress on the jack. If you unplug them, you'll still get that rotational wear while hunting, plus the wear from constantly plugging and unplugging, which may be made worse by any grit or dust present on the contacts.
The occasional use of canned air or a compressor to blow dust out of the jack isn't a bad idea though. A q-tip lightly (not soaking) wet with alcohol might not be a bad idea either, just be careful not to leave cotton strands in the jack. I suppose I should take my own advice and give my jack a cleaning..
Wear issues are a good part of the reason why the SE has a 1/4" jack instead of 1/8" like older models. 1/8" jacks should NEVER be used on equipment that's going to take a beating in the field, in my opinion.
Too bad it's so hard to get at the jack and inspect it, the way they put the machine together.
Erik in NJ
New member
Hi Chris! You make some very good points....I got through to a tech at ML and he told me to spray WD-40 into the headphone jack and wipe it out with a Q-tip. I wasn't in love with that idea, so I suggested compressed air first which I will try and I like your suggestion. WD-40 would be my last resort and I would only soak the q-tip in it. I'm not sure, but I believe the audio out of the speaker is OK, but good point I have to check that. I verified with the tech the thing about leaving the phones plugged in, but I feel that the stretching of the part may play a bigger role than the potetial corrosion, but you make a good point about the wear and tear too. I think I will continue to unplug the phones though from my units as the loss of "springiness" in there probably outweighs the wear and tear or unplugging in my humble opinion (plus that's what they recommened). Thanks for your post and I'll let you know what happens this weekend when I have a chance to look at it. Regards, Erik
I wouldn't go with WD-40 since it leaves a residue that may cause issues with dirt and dust sticking to it later. Use alcohol first, and if that doesn't work, get some stuff called "deoxit", it's a contact cleaner that's supposed to leave much less of a residue than WD-40.
And be careful not to lose bits of q-tip cotton inside the jack, given how the machine it put together, you're not going to easily be able to get at the insides of the jack any other way to clean stuff out of it.
And be careful not to lose bits of q-tip cotton inside the jack, given how the machine it put together, you're not going to easily be able to get at the insides of the jack any other way to clean stuff out of it.
jdigger1238
New member
You can also try a non residue contact cleaner sold at electronic stores and Radio Shack.
Make sure it is fast drying they usually evaporate quickly and non conductive.
Below is just an example of the type of cleaner you would be looking for, There are
many available
This is made by MG Chemicals
http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/409b.html
Electrosolve Contact Cleaner
409B
Fast dry
Safe on plastics
Zero residue
Contains isohexanes. Use when a zero residue contact cleaner is required. An effective and powerful cleaner that quickly penetrates and dissolves most soil types. For use on most electronic parts and equipment including connectors, contacts, LED's, PCB's, components, circuit breakers, tuners and microprocessors. Variable valve allows user to control rate of flow. Extra effective with the use of M.G. Cat.#'s 852 and 853 Hog Hair cleaning brushes.
Hope it helps!
Make sure it is fast drying they usually evaporate quickly and non conductive.
Below is just an example of the type of cleaner you would be looking for, There are
many available
This is made by MG Chemicals
http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/409b.html
Electrosolve Contact Cleaner
409B
Fast dry
Safe on plastics
Zero residue
Contains isohexanes. Use when a zero residue contact cleaner is required. An effective and powerful cleaner that quickly penetrates and dissolves most soil types. For use on most electronic parts and equipment including connectors, contacts, LED's, PCB's, components, circuit breakers, tuners and microprocessors. Variable valve allows user to control rate of flow. Extra effective with the use of M.G. Cat.#'s 852 and 853 Hog Hair cleaning brushes.
Hope it helps!
Erik in NJ
New member
n/t
Erik in NJ
New member
Hi - Haven't had a chance yet to work on it. Going to Staples today to get a can of compressed air and try to clean out any debris first. I'd like to order that stuff the other guy was telling me about - jdigger - it's been a busy week and the weekend just about lets me catch up on all the things I need to do in the house and in the yard to time in the field is somewhat limited for me. I'll let you guys know how it goes.......I'd also like to plant a test garden today.