Ace 350 headphone jack relocation

[Trooper Bri]

My only real complaint with the 350 so far has been the headphone cord.
Mostly it's location to be specific, length is secondary. Plugging into the side of the head unit, it magically snags on my glove strap, branches in the woods, somehow wraps around the head when I want to set the 350 down, and unless I set it down right next to me, the cord is starting to stretch. I'm sick of dedicating time to wrangle with it.

Had my ah-ha moment when I replaced the lost arm cuff screw with a nut & bolt, and saw how I wanted it done. Only change is how I ran the cable.
Went to Cables & Connectors in Newington Saturday, and spent $6 on a 1/4" right angle stereo plug and inline jack. The 1/8" stereo jumper cable shown is from my stock, and sacrificial lamb. Didn't want to use the thicker cable that goes with those jacks having planned on running the cable under the top of the grip originally. And it's less weight.

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Cut the plugs off my 1/8" cord to start routing wire, and realized pretty fast that getting the cable under the grip was going to be a PITA, and not look too pretty. So, had no choice but to drill a couple 7/32" holes. Matches all the holes in the shaft, and it's less weight!
Snaked the cable through, soldered the angle connector up front first, and built up the cable with a couple layers of shrink wrap where you screw the connector clamshell down so it had something to bite. Plug it in, and cut the tail end to length plus an inch or two of slack to work with. Soldered up the inline connector with the same shrink wrap trick, and pinched down the tabs for it.

Final part is what gave me the ah-ha moment. A 1/2" rubber insulated clamp to hold the inline jack ($1.80) under the cuff wings on that nylon nut. Garrett somehow knew I was doing this and molded 2 ribs that the clamp seats nicely in so it can't spin. The clamp is a bit too small for the jack (what I wanted) so I had to shim between the clamp with a couple small washers. Done!
Total cost: $7.58.

Feels better, but it needs a field (or woods) test! Thanks for reading all. I am VERY handy with a soldering iron. If anyone in the area needs something, lemme know. Be happy to take a look. On with the pics of the final result!

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[coinnut]

That's a work of art :clapping: It looks like it will hold up nicely during a hunt too. Great job.

[OxShoeDrew]

That is AWESOME Brian. I forgot about that stupid jack location. That is really cool :thumbsup02:

[Twobit]

You had me at "headphone cord".....
That is a genius fix for an annoying problem. I contemplated just buying a headphone with a straight cord hoping that would fix my issue but I read too many complaints about those. This is perfect! If I fail trying this I will have to sub the job out to you. My problem may be that I'm tall and I use the full length of the handle. I'm not sure I'd have an extra hole for the cable to go I to the tube. I will likely be a drill and grommet type situation. Thanks for the completely sick idea.

Lou

[Trooper Bri]

Thanks gents. It is annoying. The frippin' thing plugs in 3" in front of your swinging hand. No wonder the cord has a love affair with branches. I won't even mention the inline volume control getting bumped occasionally, blowing my eardrums. That may get addressed next.

I'm 6'2" Lou. Mine is maxed out for length. Don't care about drilling 2 holes in the shaft, and you can see I don't have much wiggle room with that smaller 1/8" jack cable and some chaff protection. To insert a grommet, you'll need a big hole for something that's not factory. The spring button holes for adjustment are only 1/4". The 2 holes I drilled are up by your hand, so they won't see much action. The only thing I forgot to do was leave 2 pieces of shrink wrap on the cable for routing through those holes, so I pulled slack and wrapped them with tape. Holler if you need a hand.

[Twobit]

Thanks gents. It is annoying. The frippin' thing plugs in 3" in front of your swinging hand. No wonder the cord has a love affair with branches. I won't even mention the inline volume control getting bumped occasionally, blowing my eardrums. That may get addressed next.

I'm 6'2" Lou. Mine is maxed out for length. Don't care about drilling 2 holes in the shaft, and you can see I don't have much wiggle room with that smaller 1/8" jack cable and some chaff protection. To insert a grommet, you'll need a big hole for something that's not factory. The spring button holes for adjustment are only 1/4". The 2 holes I drilled are up by your hand, so they won't see much action. The only thing I forgot to do was leave 2 pieces of shrink wrap on the cable for routing through those holes, so I pulled slack and wrapped them with tape. Holler if you need a hand.

Gonna have to get all the parts...fortunately I can ride a bike to Cables and Connectors. Unfortunately, I haven't seen my soldering iron in many years. I'm likely going to call a Hail Mary and enlist my nephew who wires emergency vehicles for a living. He has all the parts at home already except maybe the right angle plug. If I can't get him you may be hearing from me! Thanks for the brilliant idea.

Lou

[MangoAve]

I just did something similar with mine today. Mine actually only cost me $0.21 :lol:. Already I had a bunch of zip ties and those square sticky clips. There is no such happy medium with headphones. The coiled ones seem somewhat restrictive and the straight ones don't coil up and get in the way with digging. I was having the same irritating issues with mine catching on branches and brush and getting exactly where I happen to want to dig when the detector is down, and getting snagged on the back of the arm rest at times. I just have so many earbuds that I feel it's better now to just utilize those. They are cheap and can easily be replaced with one of the other 10 I own.

Since I used the earbuds with a 3.5mm jack, I needed a 1/4 to 3.5mm adapter which I already owned. A while back I needed the inline volume control which just adds length to the line that for the 3.5mm. That works the same the wire you had to add. I just bought a right angle 1/4 to 1/4 jack which is what cost me only 21 cents. I searched on Amazon for 1/4 to 3.5mm right angles which were like $10 while any other configuration was $2-4...wth... Then radioshack it was 92 cents for the 1/4 to 1/4. I went there and see it's on clearance for 47 cents. When I pay they ring it up correctly and it was verified but was ony 21 cents. I had to pull my detector apart to get off the foam piece. The wire went through foam and I put the foam back on shaft. I added wire clamps on screws holding box (which are too big but provided some security/guidance for wire), zip-tied it after the box, and put on the two adapters. After the foam toward the back I just used zip ties to secure it to shaft and I had to coil up some extra wire there. I stuck the square clip on bottom side and used it to zip-tie the volume control. Just gotta see how well the sticky stuff holds in the 'field'. If it fails I gotta come up with a way to secure the volume control on the side of the arm rest by using the screw there.

[Trooper Bri]

Look at that receipt. It must cost 25 cents to print! No wonder they're going out of business soon.

Congrats on the mod, you're going to be much happier. I've been out 3 or 4 times since doing mine, and it's sooo much better. It hangs down my chest on the right side, and up to my elbow. It still hooks something now and then, but that's to be expected.

[MangoAve]

Look at that receipt. It must cost 25 cents to print! No wonder they're going out of business soon.

Congrats on the mod, you're going to be much happier. I've been out 3 or 4 times since doing mine, and it's sooo much better. It hangs down my chest on the right side, and up to my elbow. It still hooks something now and then, but that's to be expected.

Now reading your reply a second time (this time logged in to actually post) I feel the same. I don't snag it on branches anymore which is a good thing. (untangling the earbuds before I start I can't avoid until I replace them when exhausted all my earbud supply) It still snags on the back arm rest but it's now like 20% of what it used to be. But since you see how much wire was coiled up you can grasp how the shorter wire is a little restrictive when you put machine down to start digging something. There is some tweeking due but I gotta figure out what way is best. Just with the end and whether or not strain relief is needed. But thanks for idea.

[MangoAve]

Bri,

When you first posted about this, back then I had a different idea which I will elude for a min. I do wonder if it will induce some extra falsing even tho the frequency is quite a bit higher. They make the Deus and a few Minelab with wireless headphones. The only thing is finding a way to clip it to the machine. It has to be secure while hunting but able to be removed for charging, granted you can always bring the machine inside and just plug the charger into the wall. The majority of todays chargers are a switchmode plug with a USB cable output which allows any type of cable like the mini USB end needed to charge. But I was thinking to just go wireless completely. Again, there are so many manufacturers and models to choose from so I have to choose what's best. Do I need "up to" 7 hours run time or "up to 10 or 11 hours"? (Rhetorical there..) Then I get a set of bluetooth headphones to go with the transmitter. Or I can buy a receiver as well, which will cost just a little less than headphones and use it with my ridic amount of earbuds... The main thing to take from this is using bluetooth to eliminate the cords. Bluetooth headphones willl eliminate all cords, but using a receiver will just mean a short cord on the body that isn't prone to snagging.


Edit I found something on Kelly Co. Same thing as yours but you spent less.
http://www.kellycodetectors.com/products/headphone-accessories/14-1626000/at-pro-headphone-adapter

[Trooper Bri]

Something wireless like a Bluetooth did cross my mind, but for a $300 detector decided that the cost justification wasn't there. Maybe my next rig if it doesn't have wireless already.

[MangoAve]

Lol. $40-50 is all it would take to go wireless. When you go with a more expensive machine, it most likely will already have it and you don't need to buy it seperate. What I looked at, a set of Bluetooth earbuds, a transmitter, a light so I can read display when it gets dark (which I realized last night), a set of headphones (which is extraneous if i get earbuds), and a receiver (which is extraneous if i get either headset but will allow versitility to be used with ANY headphone set) will run about $80.

[Trooper Bri]

I've got other detecting gear I still need versus gear I want Jim. That cord fix is plenty fine for me.

I'm sick of beating up my good Columbia PFG UV fishing shirt as a mosquito shield. Gotta hit Cabelas or go online and get something skeeter/tick resistant. Still need waterproof boots, and was reminded of that Sunday in the fields after the rain. Like to get a decent backpack too. And my Fiskar's garden knife is surprisingly good for 10 bux, but I'd like to replace it with a better quality Lesche or maybe Model 31C. My initial spending spree is paid off I believe, so it'll happen real soon.

[MangoAve]

Haha. I wasnt forcing or persuading you. Just saying it's not as expensive as it might seem. Sure if you go with the Jabra earbuds that are $150 it will be a little expensive. The thread was about the machine and earphones, not the attire or trowel.

The $10 Ames that I got online but you can get at HD works pretty well FYI. It's not pointed like the Lesche which the point might make it easier to dig in the compact dirt versus using the flatter front Ames one. I like the split in the middle for cutting the roots. As we all know, it doesn't matter which digger you have, we all end up nicking a coin or two as we dig it. I killed my first mini size shovel the first time I used it. The frozen gound killed the threaded piece (the shaft unscrewed in the middle) so I had to go with another style. Live and learn.

[Trooper Bri]

Earbuds I could do, but who makes them with volume control?

After today, my next investment is a suspension rig. And soon. Del (Dan) invited me along on a hunt (thanks again!), and was surprised to hear him mention what I've been realizing quickly is the next pain point to get addressed. The Husky belt and pouches I bought to wander in the woods all day was cheap and does everything I need it to so far, but heavy with a couple bottles of water, gear, Clif bars and finds hanging on it. Digs into my hips, and drags my pants down. I want that weight on my shoulders.

Bucket Boys makes some affordable stuff, and Amazon carries it.

[del]

I got to see Brian's handy work on that Garret , he did an excellent job on that machine :clapping:looks very "factory done" .