3.5mm male-to-male coupler - does it exist?
January 17, 2011 5:31 PM Subscribe
I am in search of a 3.5mm male-to-male coupler.
This is to connect an FM transceiver to my mobile phone in my car without adding to the wire tangle. Essentially I need a 3.5mm male-to-male "cable" of zero length. I've found a female-to-female version, but no luck with male to male.
This is to connect an FM transceiver to my mobile phone in my car without adding to the wire tangle. Essentially I need a 3.5mm male-to-male "cable" of zero length. I've found a female-to-female version, but no luck with male to male.
12-Inch Shielded Stereo Audio Cable Model: 42-2497 Catalog #: 42-2497 at: Radio Shack
posted by jara1953 at 5:40 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by jara1953 at 5:40 PM on January 17, 2011
Yep, I got this at radioshack a few months back. Here's a 6 foot length.
posted by jourman2 at 6:16 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by jourman2 at 6:16 PM on January 17, 2011
Best answer: I would argue that you want a cable of length 0 less than you think you do. The audio jack in a phone is (typically) really poorly reinforced. If you attach something to it with a rigid coupling you're basically guaranteeing the jack will prematurely fail.
For this application (and I totally sympathize with the desire to eliminate cable hell) you either wan't crosbyh's retractable cable or something really short, like this one from Monoprice -- the key point being that all of these don't carry mechanical loads into the phone like a rigid coupling would.
posted by range at 6:50 PM on January 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
For this application (and I totally sympathize with the desire to eliminate cable hell) you either wan't crosbyh's retractable cable or something really short, like this one from Monoprice -- the key point being that all of these don't carry mechanical loads into the phone like a rigid coupling would.
posted by range at 6:50 PM on January 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
I bought this retractable one and am waiting for it to show up in the next day or so.
posted by Lucinda at 7:31 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by Lucinda at 7:31 PM on January 17, 2011
Here's a 1 Inch 3.5MM (Mini Stereo) Male-Male Coupler, but I agree range, you should consider mechanical stress on the jacks.
posted by Rob Rockets at 7:42 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Rob Rockets at 7:42 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
The other posters here are correct -- most headphone jacks are not built to withstand any sort of mechanical stress. 3.5mm connectors are, in fact, notorious for their reputation for poor build quality, with the connectors usually being soldered directly onto the device's PCB. Early model iPods had issues with the connectors becoming detached from repeated plugging and unplugging.
Instead, you want a ridiculously short cable, like these:
3 Inch
6 Inch
posted by schmod at 8:00 PM on January 17, 2011
Instead, you want a ridiculously short cable, like these:
3 Inch
6 Inch
posted by schmod at 8:00 PM on January 17, 2011
They are fairly cheap, so can afford to buy a few and toss them when they fail. Also, a male-male version is probably going to last you a long time. It's the female-female adapters (and the female chassis receptacles, as mentioned) that you have to worry about.
posted by Brocktoon at 9:24 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by Brocktoon at 9:24 PM on January 17, 2011
I'm just going to clarify in light of the comment above: Nobody here is worried about the failure of the coupler. What's going to fail is the 3.5mm jack built into your phone, which can only be fixed by buying a new phone.
posted by range at 7:37 AM on January 18, 2011
posted by range at 7:37 AM on January 18, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
You could also try a retractable cable if you don't need the transceiver held rigidly in place.
posted by crosbyh at 5:37 PM on January 17, 2011