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I have a small vintage cassette player that runs on 3 AA batteries.
I had 4 assorted head sets.
2 work with this cassette player and the other 2 do not.
The ones that don't are not broken, etc.
What sizes of plug in connectors are there, and which ones are standard?
In the photo the two on the left do not work, and the two on the right do work.
They appear identical.
There are really only two commonly used STEREO headphone connectors. They have three conductors, the body, the next section, and the tip. The body (also the longest portion of the plug itself) is the ground. The other two conductors carry the + signal for the two channels.
1/4 inch headphone plug, the standard before the Walkman became popular
1/8 inch headphone plug, the new standard, used in most mobile devices
There is one variation of the 1/8 inch plug for phones that has an additional conductor for a microphone.
There are really only two commonly used STEREO headphone connectors. They have three conductors, the body, the next section, and the tip. The body (also the longest portion of the plug itself) is the ground. The other two conductors carry the + signal for the two channels
There was a switch on one of the non working head sets, that was stuck in the off position.
So, with a 2nd cassette player, 3 head sets work, and the 4th one does not.
With all 3, how far in the plugs are, determines what you hear. On each one it varies.
With some degree of plug insertion, you hear sound on one side of the headset, with another degree of insertion of the plug the other side of the headset has volume, then another degree of insertion and you hear sound on both sides.
One has to be plugged in as far as it will go to hear sound on both sides.
With another one, all the way in gets you only one side.
I'm not clear, on what each part of the plug, does what.
That is what I'm seeing, I can not tell which part of the plug controls the sound on both channels.
There was a switch on one of the non working head sets, that was stuck in the off position.
So, with a 2nd cassette player, 3 head sets work, and the 4th one does not.
With all 3, how far in the plugs are, determines what you hear. On each one it varies.
With some degree of plug insertion, you hear sound on one side of the headset, with another degree of insertion of the plug the other side of the headset has volume, then another degree of insertion and you hear sound on both sides.
One has to be plugged in as far as it will go to hear sound on both sides.
With another one, all the way in gets you only one side.
I'm not clear, on what each part of the plug, does what.
That is what I'm seeing, I can not tell which part of the plug controls the sound on both channels.
The assumption is that the plugs would be pushed all the way in during use. Those sections on the plug are making separate connections inside the receptacle, so yes, as you slide them in and out the sound may change. There is only one part of the plug that controls both channels, as someone said above. I don't remember which section on the plug it is, but they all work the same.
Maybe something in this article will help. It also mentions the third size of plug which is becoming more common, the 2.5MM.
There is only one part of the plug that controls both channels, as someone said above. I don't remember which section on the plug it is, but they all work the same.
Yes, there is a "common" [ground] connector between the right and left channels, it's the "sleeve" [the collar closest to the main body of the plug.]
The ring and the tip are the right and left "hot" connections.
If one of the channels seems dead, try some good contact cleaner. A can of this will last many years: DeoxIT Mini Spray, mcmelectronics
Also, if one of the channels is still dead, a very common breakage point is in the wire right near the body of the connector. Try gently bending/pushing the wire at that point and many times you'll hear the absent channel come back to life. A tech could then resolder a new plug onto the wire, if the phones are worth repairing.
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