2. tech-talk
  3. 1070057695

HELP Pin stuck in the female RCA connector

HELP!!!

While doing some tube rolling in my Blue Circle preamp, I had to disconnect my interconnects. The Stealth IC that runs from my preamp to my power amps came out, but left a pin from the male RCA connector in the female RCA connector of my preamp.

I made matters worse by "trying to get it out". Whereas it was just inside of being flush with the female connector, various means of me trying to pull it out have now left me with the pin about 1/8" - 1/4" inside. I also tried to wedge a pin in there, get under it, and pull it out to no avail.

I don't want to go in from the back, since it is all sealed up, and I will have to desolder and resolder the connection(don't want to use a different solder than is currently present). Besides, I am not even sure I would be able to get to it from the back - it might be closed.

Two ideas I am kind of kicking around are to attach something to it, and then pull it out via:
1) Super glue

or

2) Solder

I am not sure how the piece stuck in there will solder up, and I definitely don't want to harm the teflon which lines the connector.

As an aside, I have newfound disrespect for the Neutrik male RCA connectors at the end of my Stealth IC. I've always thought they worked kind of funky. Now, they are causing me a real problem. A stupid design, and one that seems to use a 2 piece pin, one of which broke off and is now embedded my preamp. And, companies advertise this plug as a feature? Phooey!

On the bright side, do those Valvo 7308 tubes ever sound terrific!

Anyway, any and all suggestions will be appreciated in helping me kick my temporary Blue Circle Blues.

Thanks to all in advance. Doing the unstuck(hopefully),
Joe
trelja
mwilson
430 posts
 
By all means, if you've already scored the inside of the RCA jack of your BC by trying to remove it (wedging a pin into it etc), send it back to the manufacturer to have the jacks replaced. You're looking at no more than a $50 bench fee and $30 for jacks, tops. Don't even THINK of solder - it will attach to everything but what you want it to attach to. Life is too short to have this on your shoulders - have the manufacturer deal with it, they'll do you right, I'm sure. I feel for ya - I've had some close brushes as well, but I always came out of these scrapes best when I called the gear maker and told them the deal. They'll help!
brf
1,715 posts
 
Find a very fine threaded screw (like a mini drywall screw) which is just a bit larger than the shank hollow. GENTLE drive the screw into the shank hollow until the tapered screw head takes hold. Once the screw has grabbed the inside of the pin shank, slowly extract the screw and hopefully the pin will follow.
mfkeleher
146 posts
 
I apologize in advance for too obvious a suggestion, but many of my RCA jacks were pretty open from the inside. Can you open the box and just push the pin out from inside?
trelja OP
3,223 posts
 
Thanks to all for the suggestions!

Mfkeleher, this was one of the techniques I tried, after trying to fish it out. Unfortunately, the back end is sealed shut.

Brf, this was something I was thinking about. Although, I wonder if it would work? I am sure the pin is pretty hard.

Mwilson, the teflon lining the RCA jack is not yet scored. I was very careful, and once I discovered that this technique had not much chance for working, I stopped.

My father is an electrical engineer, technician, and electrician(yes, rare to be all three), and when he called me last night, I asked for his advice. In typical fatherspeak, he assured me that both of my ideas were ridiculous, and that the only way to do it was to remove the jack, and push the pin out from the rear. He also said this is as common as Tuesdays, and not to worry about it.

However, I do worry that the solder we use will not be the same as what was originally employed.

And, a prince among princes even offered to send me a new jack along with the wrench used with it! What a guy! I will be sure to patronize this gentleman in the future, if he sells to small timers like me.

One of the great things about Blue Circle preamps is that they feature two sets out preamp outputs. So, despite my predicament, I am still in business. I will say, however, that AtmaSphere amps definitely sound better with balanced cables going into them - lower noise floor.

Thanks to all, and if there are any other suggestions, please let me know.
More to discover