lav mic cable SEVERED- fixable?
 

Stuff happens; in this case, my cat chewed through the cable of my Tram TR50 lav mic in several different places. Both an electrician and an experienced audio engineer I showed this to said 'not fixable'.

So I've pretty accepted this unit is toast, but before I throw in the towel I thought I'd just ask here: has anyone ever attempted such a repair? With success or failure?

thanks!

You can send it to Tram and they can attach a new end connector at the point of the break. The cable going into the capsule end is not replacable so you'll end up with a mic with a shorter than normal cable So the big question becomes how much cable is left between the break and the mic - is it enough for the mic to be usable? From your pics it doesn't look like there's a lot of cable between the last chew point and the capsule.

If you're going to toss it, I'll give you $20 for it. It's worth trying to fix, at least.

Anyone worth their salt with a soldering iron and heat shrink tubing can fix that in 5 minutes. Even if the entire cable was hamburger, as long as there are both connectors with a good 2 inches of cable on each end, a length of new one can be spliced in.

If your options fail, contact me for a fix. 10 years on the road as a tv uplink engineer teaches you that there are NO cables that can't be fixed.

I absolutely agree. But if you have to pay someone else to do it, it changes the economics of repair vs. replace.

Very true. Only thinking in cases where a replacement cable is unavailable - either a time constraint, or where the mfg says..."I'm sorry, we don't sell just the cable seperately".

Thanks for the replies gentlemen, will follow up via PM

Just happened to be looking at the repair service information on the Tram site just the other day and they claim there's no way to attach a new cable at the mic capsule end, that its strain relief is integral to the capsule body and must be attached as part of the capsule manufacturing process. They're happy to replace the connector or swap it for a different type but if the damage is too close to the capsule they say nothing can be done.

Yeah, I saw that too Steve. Pardon my ignorance, is the capsule the microphone part?

Not sure if you'd want to do this, but you could put a connector on the end that's 4" from the mic head and create a jumper cable. Pretty ultra-low budget fix, but it'd work.

just splice it together. I've done this in the field 1" from a mic capsule with a sony ECM 44. the wire is a PITA to solder, but doable. send it to TREW audio in nashville if you can't do it - they can make up a new connecter end, mic wire, and splice it close....

Yep, the end you talk into <grin>

What about if there's a shield braid that is completely severed? That would be difficult to splice.

Yes, difficult, but not impossible. It still comes down to how much $$ is it worth to fix vs. toss and replace. I have "rewoven" braid shields in cases where there was no viable alternative. But, as you imply, perhaps not worth the effort in this case(?)

I have read there's a repair service somewhere in the UK that can repair Tram cable/head issues. Can't recall much more than that it wasn't cheap or I would have sent them a few with the usual intermittent cable/head connections.

aluminum foil :) solder the two center wires together. probably only have room for electrical tape, one wrap, each wire. one more wrap around both to be sure they will stay insulated. then solder the braid together by pulling some wire out of it from one end to bridge the gap. then wrap the open area with foil if you want, and finally heat shrink tube the entire thing. you'd also be surprised at how bad some audio wire is with shielding, as in 50%. a small gap in the braid also generally won't make a difference, but thats heresy for another day :)

Not a direct answer to your question but a CEO accidentally pulled the capsule off of one of my TR-50s years ago. Took it to the Location Sound (in LA) repair department and they re-attached it and I have happily used the mic for another eight years so far. They charged me $50.00 but they did say that if it was ever ripped off again, they would not be able to repair it.

I agree with the others, doing a cable splice in as long as you have a few inches near the capsule would be child's play for any good repair tech. Location Sound or Coffey in LA could handle it and Trew is the best on the east coast.

Dan

The first break is clearly part way down the cable.

The solution is a new cable with a proper connector.

You either join that to the existing cable by splicing the two together (which leaves a lump) or putting a plug and socket at the join (which leaves a bigger lump) - the choice is yours.

I agree with Dan, I had a damaged Tr50 (connection was bad at the capsule) & got a quote from someplace in LA & they said that they could repair it for $100 or so. But they said if it had been repaired before, they couldn't do it again.

A in-line splice is more do-able than one right at the mic.

Call around & you'll find a place to fix it for you for less than the cost of a new one.

Already fixed and mailed back. Publicly awaiting Ben's rating.

Now, what about "fixing" the cat (issue)?

<evil grin>

Andrew

Looks like a good repair to me. Hope it works for you for many more years.

Dan

Hail Tom the CableMaster
 

apologies for my delayed public props-

Tom is the man- the pictures say it all, and mic is good is new. What seemed like an impossible fix was apparently simple to Tom as he received, repaired and mailed back same day- *without even mentioning money*.

Very grateful for experts like Tom who are generous with their knowledge and that places like DVINFO.net provide a trustworthy resource and community.

My hearty thanks again to Tom (let's settle up!) and also everyone else who offered advice.

Re: lav mic cable SEVERED- fixable?
 

Hi everyone! I have 2 TR50s (Sennheiser locking connector) that are kinda desoldered at the connector. I mean, they work, but you have to jiggle the metal sleeve a little bit until it works, and if it gets moved drastically it may or may not stop working again. So, I'd appreciate some help as to where I could take them to repair. I know I can send it directly to tram but it's a flat rate of like 60 usd each for a repair, but I guess it's not a difficult repair, and I was hoping that someone could shed some light as to where to take/send them. Thanks!

Re: lav mic cable SEVERED- fixable?
 

My friend Eric Toline in Florida builds and fixes cables for G2 and G3 and other audio gear. Very reasonable rates and a real nice guy.. highly recommended
If you contact him, tell him I said hello.
Eric Toline, Elder Audio
954-255-7628 audioetc@bellsouth.net

Otherwise, any of the usual suspect location sound shops could fix those. I don't know of any specific shop in your area so you will likely have to mail them to the USA. (still cheaper than replacement)
Some of these shops are; Location Sound, N. Hollywood CA, Trew Audio in Nashville TN and Toronto Canada, TAI Audio in Orlando FL., Gotham Audio and Professional Sound Services both in New York, NY