Guide Simple Front Headphone Sockets

Simple Front Headphone Sockets

My Lian Li PC-50 came with two front USB ports under a flap, but no front audio ports. I've recently started online gaming, so a headphone and mic socket on the front would be very useful, all that reaching around the back to plug in the headphones was really annoying. So I've modded a headphone and a mic port into the front, and wires go through the case and out the back into the sound card. Plugging in the headphones kills sound to the speakers.

I'll go through how I made the headphone socket, but the mic socket's made in a similar but simpler way. The mic lead is basically just an extension lead mounted in the front panel.

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Parts

One 3.5mm stereo jack plug.

I got it from Maplin. It's a FJ99 and cost 99p.

Two 3.5mm PCB mounting stereo jack sockets.

Again, from Maplin. They are FK20W and cost 99p each.
This magic socket has 5 pins on the reverse. Without a jack plugged into it, the signal goes in through the wire from the sound card, then straight out again down the other wire to the speakers. If a jack is plugged in to the socket it physically breaks the connection to the speakers, while letting the signal go to the headphones.

I also needed a few metres of headphone cable. I butchered an old headphone extension lead, but any cable with three cores should do.

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Making the wire

1) Wire up the mini jack to the end of the cable, making note of which connection goes to the tip, centre ring and outer ring.

2) Plug the jack into the sound card. Run the cable where you want it to go, through the case to where the port in the front will be. Then cut it to length.

3) Wire up the socket.

a) The outer ring on the mini jack is ground and solders to the single middle pin. Use the clear top on the socket to work out which pins you need to solder the other two wires to.
b) Then wire the cable that will go to the speakers on to the socket. Again, the ground is soldered to the single pin. The left and right wires go onto the remaining two pins. Again, check to see which ones are correct.


4) Wire up the other socket to the free end. This will be where you plug in the speakers. Just wire it up the same as the first stage of part 3.

5) Wrap the sockets in electrical tape to stop any shorting on the case.

There you go, one cable ready to install.

The socket with two wires going to it mounts in front of the case, the other one (red) is for the rear.

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Socket Mounting

Drill a suitable size hole in the front of your case and mount the socket screwing it up tightly.

The grey wire is my mic lead.

Run the cables through the case.

Drill a hole in the rear of the case for the speaker socket. Mod a blanking plate and pass the wire through the back of the case and plug it into the sound card.


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End Result

Ta da!

 

Nice

Maybe if you used jack plugs like this, you would be able to get rid of the big loop of wire at the back?

Is there enough clearance between sockets on the back?

*n

 

I've never seen those before. I didn't know there were such things as right angled jacks.
I think they are a little bit too big though for me, but it's a nice idea.

 

The image itself is of a larger 6mm jack but you can get 3.5mm ones

*n

 

I'll try and find some rigth angled nimi jacks.

I've found these phono ones:
right angle phono jack

 

right angle mini jack

Found them
Right angled mini jack

 

Indeed nice mod

Might do that as well sometime...

 

have you tried the mod with the headphone jacks which will run off say the back headphone jack until something is plugged into the front one? (bad bad description)

If anyone knows where to get such a jack could they please let me know!! it just makes it easier because it allows you to have your say 2.1 speakers connected while you have your headphones running off your front jacks.

Thanks

 

Nice mod!

 

nice mod i would like to relocate some usb ports along with the audio after looking around i found a usb extension cable works good for me

 

Really nice mod !

The right angle jacks are a good idea but i remember that they broke pretty fast. Don't know how it's now, and mine were probably made out of cheap metal ;-)

 

fishthecat just wondering if youd be able to provide us with a wiring diagram for the 5 pin 3.5mm socket?

Thanks

 

I second that

 

i thired that as it would be nice to know what is right/left

 

Speakers using more than one input/output

Great guide but i have one question/prob.

The headphone socket intercepts the signal that would otherwise go to the speakers, and in your guide you make a new connector for speakers which you mounted in the rear of your case. here...

If this is intended as the new speaker output what happens if the speakers run off more than one output? My speakers are connected to s/card through two channels (left + right) presumably.

Any idea how you could perform mod but still accomodate speakers like this?

Hello to all in forum since this is my first post.
Fil

 

You want somthing like this then

RCA splitter

 

speaker output...

thanks Neo40k,

i have checked out the cinnections on my soundcard and it turns out they are actually font + rear outputs - black and green (Creative SB Live 5.1)

Your idea may work just aswell though, can always try..

Only prob i can see is that the RCA splitter you suggested takes a signal thats coming from only a single source (single connection in this case) so how is it then going to differentiate and split the signal into left + right/ front + rear?? i dont have a massive amount of knowledge in regard to electronics, but i dont see how this rather simple adapter can split a single signal into two...

prob just me being stupid!!

fil

 

To put it shortly, your correct. It is no more than a Y splitter (taking one input and converting it to two outputs). So something like that would not work for you. The only real way for somebody to do something like this if they run more than front speakers is to make a manual switch for the rear or supplimentary speakers. Basicly it's the same thing as described above, but a switch would be implimented insted (DPST switch would work nicely) of the headphone jack.

 

twin channel spkers

Cheers Malfoleo

At least you confirmed that i have some hint of an idea what i'm on about!!
Fil

 

something like that i think, get fishthecat (or someone else) to confirm its correct though, as that diagram was done ages ago and i aint tested it yet.