K-Tek Soldering Help

iamlance

iamlance

Well-known member
I began to have problems with my K-Tek 110CC boompole recently, first with the cable tangling inside the pole (temporarily fixed by doing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE1FB3u5WJE), and then with the tangling coming back along with the internal cable failing altogether (buzz sound without any signal going through). After calling K-Tek's customer service (which was fantastic, by the way), they helped me locate the problem: The wires at the end were being pulled loose.

52430.jpg
This is a similar end piece where the wires were being pulled from. It's where the 3 internal wires of the coiled xlr cable separate into 3 separate ones.

They suggested I purchase a cable kit and send in the boompole to have it fixed, but that would have cost $80 plus shipping both ways. (I asked them why it costs so much compared to other cables and they could only say it's what the manufacturers charge. A regular cable is $20 - $40. Their cable is $80! Labor would be free.)

To save myself from spending $100 to fix a $220 boom pole, I'm going to try to solder the wires back onto the connector myself. Any tips? Which color wires go on which pin?

If the problem lies within a different part of the cable internally (after fixing the loose wires), I'd really rather not pay that crazy price. Any suggestions on getting it fixed cheaper elsewhere?
 
Let's not bother with your second question yet. It is highly unlikely it is inside the pole, unless you have really gone nuts spinning the pole and ruining the cable. It should fail first at the connectors.

Just take the other end apart and copy the colors from the other side. Be sure to check the pin numbers when doing this. The connector pin positions look backwards because it is the opposite sex. So if your not careful, you may mis-wire the pins.

Ignore the color designators in this picture. I just want to show you how the pins look reversed on the male and female connector when looking from the front.

th
 
Thanks for the help! I'll look into that on Monday when I get my pole back. Loaned it out for the weekend as an external coiled pole.
 
1) Stop letting people use the pole who are abusing it like that. There is no excuse for that. Thousands of people use those things with no problems like that. I am one of them.
2) It is easy enough to open the female XLR connector at the mic end and see which wires connect to which pins. Or you can use a simple meter (or even a simple continuity checker).
3) Unscrew the male end and re-solder the wires. This isn't rocket surgery. Anyone with basic soldering skills should find this bog-simple.
4) That is a very specialized, custom-made coiled cable. If you can really find an exact replacement for "$20-40" then you can make a lot of money underselling K-Tek.
 
$80 seems like a reasonable price. An ordinary coiled XLR cable is typically $40+. Installing one in a boom pole is more labor intensive, and the cable itself was chosen or made for K-Tek for it's mechanical low-noise, anti-tangle and other specific properties.
 
I guess I was referring to the normal straght xlr cables, not the speciality coiled cables. I guess the price makes more since now that I take that into consideration, but it still isn't something I'm happy about.

I'm not always on set with the people who use my pole, so I cannot say if they treat it well. I've definitely been warning them recently to take better care of my gear (even simple stuff like not closing a stand or coiling a cable properly). I'll be doing some investigation soon to see if they are twisting it/jamming it and put an end to that if it is indeed happening.

I know how to solder, but wasn't sure if soldering for sound equipment was different than soldering for electrical equipment. I guess it's the same then!
 
Hard to imagine any service provider selling a $30-50 cable, adding receiving and shipping time + some technician time to do the install and whatever paper trail they need to create for $80 total. A lot of hands need to touch this before you get it back. K-tek is probably losing money on this or at best giving the service away at cost. Whenever I have needed anything service wise from K-Tek, they have been awesome to deal with, prompt and very reasonable.

Something you might want to think about: The model pole you have has the cable connector coming straight out of the bottom. So whenever anyone sets the end on anything like the ground, either with or without a cable, there is going to be some stress on the connector. K-Tek also make side exit poles which eliminate this issue.

Grant
 
I agree that they have great customer service. I just am not too happy with the price, even though it may be reasonable after all.

I'm curious what you mean by "with or without a cable". I understand an external cable attached to the connector could be damaged if set on the ground (bending the wire). I use right angle xlr cables to solve this problem. But how would setting it on the ground without a cable in it damage the connector? Or even have the connector itself damaged with a cable attached?
 
If something poked into the xlr plug cavity, the pins could be easily bent, dirt entering a plug connection is always bad, and using it for a walking stick would stress the entire plug assy even with a right angle cable attached. By the wat, did you test your cables? Did you say you weren't the only user? Did you make any money renting out your gear?

If you prefer to save some money, provide your own labor., this isn't a highly technical project. How much do you charge for your time?
 
I should know which colors go to which pins, but I don't, and our solderer left for the day, so I can't ask her, but if you are in a hurry you can check the female XLR connector at the top. If you want, you can get just the cable kit for the pole, so you'll have a brand new cable kit. We can send it to you and you can install it yourself if you know how to solder. We always recommend people send them in because we like to look over the entire boom pole and sometimes if we notice something small that needs replacing or fixing (something you may not have noticed) we'll just fix it for free if it's really low cost. But, like I said you can purchase a cable kit for your pole and we can send it to you.
 
ggrantly, I'm a student right now, so am not making any money on the productions in which I work. I loan out my equipment to other students who I (usually) know personally, for small film projects in a club I help lead.
I'm home for Spring Break right now and have plenty of time to freshen up on my soldering abilities, so don't mind doing the soldering myself.
As for the side exit poles, those will definitely be my pick the next time I purchase a pole.

Dave, you and the rest of the team do an excellent job, but I would prefer to save a couple bucks before purchasing an entirely new cable, especially if the only problem is the soldering joints. I'll use the info others posted, and open up the top connector for reference.

Thanks everyone for giving wonderful knowledge and advice! I really appreciate it!
 
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