Tip of jack stuck!

Allerian · 2014-09-23T14:19:34.000Z

After doing a few simulations, I’ve found that a drill press solves a lot of the problems in terms of aligning everything without touching the sides. I’ll post results.

The lesson to us all: If you buy used gear, look inside every single hole. Don’t get someone else’s f*ckup pushed on you.

Allerian · 2014-10-26T19:14:09.000Z

Following an afternoon full of building Mythbusters-quality jack tip removal devices, this problem is headed for Sweden.

natrixgli · 2014-10-28T00:32:51.000Z

I’m the guy who sold the OT to Allerian. Someone bought it from me before Allerian and promptly returned it along with this little added bonus in the right main output jack. Somehow both of us missed it on inspection…

Anyway, Allerian’s good people and a fellow Brew City Elektronaut so I promptly offered to buy it back for what he paid me for it. (To prove what a cool cat he is, he even let me keep the 64GB CF card he bought for it!)

Took it home, scarfed down some McDinner, and then got to work.

10 minutes later…

I was elated to find that the offending jack tip was completely hollow, making it fairly easy to get a grip on it from inside rather than trying to use glue or pliers. I got it past the first metal tab inside the jack with a long self tapper cased in rubber cable shielding (to protect the jack), then carefully guided it out with a small screwdriver while gently nudging the second contact out of the way with an even smaller screwdriver.

Now the only questions that remain are:

1: Should I send the offending tip back to it’s rightful owner?

2: Does some cosmic force REALLY want me to have this Octatrack? Should I keep it? I already have Ableton/Push and a MPC-1000.

De_wouzer · 2014-10-28T00:46:24.000Z

once I had this problem. After many experiments this one worked.

I used a screw and turned it in the plastic on the back of the tip. then I took out the scew, the tip came out with the screw.

this worked because of the place the jack was broken. Mine was broken on such a way, the plastic middle-part of the tip was still in, together with the metal front. there was a hole in the plastic tip. the screw fitted in this hole…

i hope its clear, i find out it;s difficult to explain for me.

jeffe · 2014-10-29T01:08:02.000Z

Really wish yer picture worked - I got to see this.

What did you pull it out with exactly?

De_wouzer · 2014-10-29T01:50:50.000Z

""jeffe"":

Really wish yer picture worked - I got to see this.

What did you pull it out with exactly?

?

Accent · 2014-10-29T02:55:06.000Z

[quote=“” natrixgli""]
I’m the guy who sold the OT to Allerian. Someone bought it from me before Allerian and promptly returned it along with this little added bonus in the right main output jack. Somehow both of us missed it on inspection…

Anyway, Allerian’s good people and a fellow Brew City Elektronaut so I promptly offered to buy it back for what he paid me for it. (To prove what a cool cat he is, he even let me keep the 64GB CF card he bought for it!)

Took it home, scarfed down some McDinner, and then got to work.

10 minutes later…

I was elated to find that the offending jack tip was completely hollow, making it fairly easy to get a grip on it from inside rather than trying to use glue or pliers. I got it past the first metal tab inside the jack with a long self tapper cased in rubber cable shielding (to protect the jack), then carefully guided it out with a small screwdriver while gently nudging the second contact out of the way with an even smaller screwdriver.

Now the only questions that remain are:

1: Should I send the offending tip back to it’s rightful owner?

2: Does some cosmic force REALLY want me to have this Octatrack? Should I keep it? I already have Ableton/Push and a MPC-1000.
[/quote]

You’ve owned the OT 2.5 times now. I think that’s a sign that you should just keep it.

jeffe · 2014-10-29T16:01:12.000Z

[quote=““De wouzer””]

[quote=“jeffe”]Really wish yer picture worked - I got to see this.

What did you pull it out with exactly?
[/quote]

?[/quote]
His picture doesn’t work over here.

natrixgli · 2014-10-29T19:01:18.000Z

Sorry, not sure what happened to the image, here it is again:

poonti · 2014-10-29T19:56:20.000Z

""natrixgli"":

Sorry, not sure what happened to the image, here it is again:

octafixed.jpg640×480 116 KB

You’d make a good road-side dentist on the streets of Jaipur!

Allerian · 2014-10-30T15:01:39.000Z

The miracle worker! Kudos for stepping up and offering to take the machine back months later. You are one seriously stand-up dude.

aeoner · 2014-10-31T03:53:39.000Z

Argh!

I´m having the EXACTLY same problem right now. An adapter just broke inside my new Octatrack main output!

I´m desperate! What you recommend me to do, based on the photos below? (sending back to Sweden is not an option right now)

Even if I manage to grab the head with glue, how do I take it out, as the jack have a kind of “grip” inside?

IMG_4905.JPG480×640 157 KB

(the second one is just for comparison)

IMG_4899.JPG480×640 94.1 KB

natrixgli · 2014-10-31T04:20:31.000Z

Read my earlier post. Lucky for you the tip is hollow. A bit of patience and finesse will get it out. You need some precision screwdrivers, a long self tapping screw, and a cable you can cut some shielding off of. A Ethernet cable ought to work. You may need to file down the tip of the screw a bit if it’s really pointy, but get it wrapped in cable shielding then twist it into the jack tip. That might be enough to pull it straight out, but if not you should be able to work it out the rest of the way with the small screwdrivers.

If you can get the screw into the jack tip, work it out of the socket while turning it clockwise to keep it lodged in the tip. Otherwise a flat headed precision screwdriver with some lateral pressure applied ended up doing the trick for me once I got it about halfway out with the screw. I used a thinner screwdriver to press the metal tabs inside the socket out of the way.

natrixgli · 2014-10-31T04:25:52.000Z

Also your photo gives a real clear idea of how this can happen with cheap cables. The inside of the socket has those metal tabs which have rather sharp edges that can shear a loose tip off, so it’s a good idea to avoid dodgy cables or adapters. From now on anything that I plug into my gear is getting a quick pull test to make sure the tips are on good and tight.

Accent · 2014-10-31T05:21:01.000Z

So, Natrixgli…you gonna keep it this time? Embrace the Octatrack, my man. Give in to the dark side.

aeoner · 2014-10-31T11:51:01.000Z

@natrixgli , thank you SÓ MUCH for the help!

However, as I don’t know exaltou the way the jack works inside, I still have a doubt: the metal tabs are mobile (based on the clicks that I hear/feel, I supose there are two of them; the first one that we can see in the picture and another one holding the jack tip)? I

So, if they are mobile, what I should do is press them, right?

Thanks a lot!

natrixgli · 2014-10-31T13:32:13.000Z

""aeoner"":

@natrixgli , thank you SÓ MUCH for the help!

However, as I don’t know exaltou the way the jack works inside, I still have a doubt: the metal tabs are mobile (based on the clicks that I hear/feel, I supose there are two of them; the first one that we can see in the picture and another one holding the jack tip)? I

So, if they are mobile, what I should do is press them, right?

Thanks a lot!

Yes, you want to press them towards the outside of the socket so the plug tip can clear them. Just do it gently because you don’t want to permanently bend them as then your jack won’t make good contact.
If your screw can get a good enough hold on the broken tip, you might not need to fiddle with the metal tabs inside the jack at all, just applying a slight bit of leverage to the screw in the direction opposite of the tabs might be enough to get the tip to clear the first tab. Again, gentle. The housing of the jack is plastic and from what I’ve seen in pictures online, it does not look fun to replace.

Based on the picture you posted that should be really easy to get out with a bit of patience and persistence. Lucky the tip is hollow so you can get a screw into it.

ehrek · 2014-10-31T15:44:12.000Z

“Just the tip”…

oldest trick in the book, lol

natrixgli · 2014-10-31T15:50:03.000Z

""Accent"":

So, Natrixgli…you gonna keep it this time? Embrace the Octatrack, my man. Give in to the dark side.

I haven’t really decided. I can spend VAST amounts of time having a blast with the Octatrack. Problem is I never really seem to get anything done with it. I find the Ableton/Push combo to be far more to my liking as far as actually completing things.
However it’s nearly winter and it’s about to get horrible out, so I will probably hang onto it just to keep myself occupied for the next few months. I have some other pieces I’m parting with which I will probably parlay into a couple choice bits to feed interesting noises into the OT and see how I get on.

aeoner · 2014-11-01T13:59:16.000Z

Thank you so much! It worked perfectly. As I´m not very skillful with small screws, I took some prints from this topic and showed to my friend that fixes my Technics and mixer.

He first suggested the “superglue” solution, but I convinced him that based on @natrixgli experience it could be done just using two screws: one for the plug pin and the other one for gently pressing the metal taps.

In less than five minutes it worked :)))