Dirty headphones jack on a walkman?

[Narcosynthesis]

hello, not strictly an effect/building question, but kinda related...

i use a sony walkman for music, and recently i get scratching noises through the headphones, usually when i move the jack about, i bought new headphones, but i still get the same scratching noise with the new ones, so i am guessing the jack may be dirty

the question is, is there any way for me to fix it myself? will contact cleaner fix it or will i be stuck paying some silly amount for sony to send it off and replace the jack on it?
i dont have any contact cleaner or anything around, so i would have to go buy some, though i could get hold of some compressed air at work (in a can, used for cleaning photo machines) if that would help at all

David

[Dai H.]

Yes could be that it's just dirty. try deoxit or alcohol.

[Narcosynthesis]

Yes could be that it's just dirty. try deoxit or alcohol.

i am slightly worried if i used alcohol or something that i could damage something inside the player, i guess a little nail polish remover (the closest to alcohol i would have about (my mums of course, not mine...)) on a cotton bud would be safe enough

just checking that shooting some air inside it (a can of 'air duster' i have at work for photo stuff) wont damage anything delicate

David

[Dai H.]

alcohol or deoxit or anything else meant for that sort of thing is safe. This sort of noise you mention happens on my ipod and lots of other things with jacks due to oxidation, so I use alcohol (in a spray can--alcohol evaporates as well as deoxit which is mostly napthta IIRC--which is btw another good cleaner but not as safe to humans as alcohol I think) or Deoxit. If the problem is oxidation, just blowing air probably won't do it. Alcohol is also used to clean parts off before soldering, cleaning tape heads, good for cleaning glass (like your PC monitor), etc.

[Narcosynthesis]

would nail polish remover do the job then? or is there much other stuff added into it?

David

[Dai H.]

i have no idea. Isn't it a solvent or something? You should just buy something meant for the job because it'll be useful for efx., anything with contacts (jacks, connectors, etc.) anyway.

[bwanasonic]

Nail Polish is acetone. Nasty stuff, but a good solvent. Not very useful for removing oxidation though. Get some Caig Labs DeOxit; really the best thing for jobs like this (IMO the only thing).

Kerry M

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Maybe the springy contact is screwed. These consumer things aren't intended to actually be used. Can you get inside & do a permanent wiring job on the phones? Solder beats Deoxit!

[gtrmac]

would nail polish remover do the job then? or is there much other stuff added into it?

David

I wouldn't use nail polish remover on anything except my wifes toenails.

Get some contact cleaner at Radio Shack.

[Narcosynthesis]

would something like surgical spirits work as a cleaner? i know thats mostly alcohol too, just not sure if it will do or not, just trying to find alternatives before having to make the trek up to maplins

someone else mentioned the jacks joint to the pcb becoming loose, which would need resoldered, definately not something i would do myself

it was bought last november, so its about a month out of warranty, but i will go back to the shop and see what they say

David

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

The jacks (and the way they are soldered to the board) are definitely a weak point. And a real bitch to fix.
But, you can try alcohol, it won't damage anything. The trouble wiht nail varnish remover is, it MGHT contain something else as well as the acetone.

[niftydog]

there's an important distinction that needs to be clarified here.

isopropyl alcohol is primarily used as a cleaning agent. It doesn't deoxidise and in order for it to be effective it needs to be combined with some physical abrasion (ie; wiping, rubbing etc)

Deoxit is a specialist electronic deoxidising agent and will work to some degree to deoxidise contacts without any physical abrasion. Spray with deoxit, insert and remove the headphone plug a few times over and repeat the process once or twice. Allow to dry for ten minutes or so (just to play safe) and bob's my uncle.

[Dai H.]

the stuff in the bottle I use is anhydrous ethanol. The stuff in the spray can (sold as contact cleaner for electronics) I think is just alcohol (smells like it's alcohol) and propellant but not sure. I don't know if it's the same stuff as isopropyl but it has helped such situations (the bottled stuff applied w/q-tips or sometimes paper towels). I try to use my deoxit more sparingly since it's a bit harder to get and somewhat more expensive.