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RCA plug and jack cleaner. I sure know the benefit of removing and cleaning all my RCA connections at least 1X/year. I can't really get into the pin portion of the RCA female though and this looks like it may help.
E
T
Follow Ups:
I over-torqued 2 rca plugs on my Cary preamp with these. I thought the tight fit would clean 'em real good! Nope. Junky non-compliant non-porous plastic, providing too much grip and not enough "slip"
They are not made from the same porous material the original Signets were, and don't accomplish a damn thing. I bought some and ended up throwing 'em out. I just use a small amount of Deoxit with either pipe cleaners or a lint free piece of cloth *carefully* moved around with a chop stick.
Edits: 12/13/14
I do that for everything but the RCA jack female portion. Unless you take the component apart or remove the jack trying to clean it isn't easy and you have no way to visually inspect that portion before or after. Thanks for your experience both w/ the original Signets and these. Music Direct has the Signets for $3 ea.
E
T
Edits: 12/14/14
Yeah, cleaning the female jack is tough. The original Signet's - due to being porous enough to kind of "soak up" oxidation/grime - did a pretty good job. But as mentioned, they got dirty quickly and I had to use several of 'em to clean all my connections just once.
IME the new ones aren't porous at all. I found using them pointless.
Be very careful of using the male end because mine broke off in the rca jack even used gently. Now I've got to figure out a way to get the damn thing out without hurting my C-J CT 5.
what a relief that it wasn't.
You should get rid of those miserable things.
Use XLRs without the body so you get something like the ultimate EICHMANN plug (and jack). Be sure to get silver plate.
Obviously, you only use two of the pins - you will need to come up with your own protocol. Assuming you are not a component of the week guy.
Next best thing to no jack at all.
And simplicity to clean.
I'm sure that time will come some day........
E
T
...I use pipe cleaners with some isopropyl alcohol to clean RCA jacks. Usually I twist half an inch of the end 180 degrees to get a tight fit into the jacks. Repeat until there's no more black stuff on the pipe cleaner. Works pretty well for me.
That's what I had been doing. I always had a little fear of bending the inside of an RCA jack or getting some part of the pipe cleaner to come off inside but never did.
E
T
....... is to pick up some of those really great little stiff nylon bristle brushes from Mike Percy. They're called "Socket Savers" and the larger-sized one does a very fine job of scrubbing clean the RCA female's center pin hole (gently, but effectively.) You can find them halfway from the bottom of page 17 of the most recent Percy catalog, for US$12.95. I use them all the time.
However, you can find these same type nylon bristle-type cleaners at pipe and tobacconist stores probably much cheaper, and those soft pipe cleaners that R Browne speaks of as well.
As for the Signet-style RCA jack cleaners mentioned in the OP, well, I never felt they worked nearly as well as the nylon bristle brushes, Q-tips and soft pipe cleaners, but maybe others feel differently. YMMV, and all that.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
WS
Yes, the nylon bristle brushes found at tobacconists also work very well. While I tend to favor soft pipe cleaners, you can also use bristle pipe cleaners for more agressive cleaning that works similar to that of a nylon brush.
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Formerly made by Signet, IIRC. I found the center pin to be delicate and easily broken.
Also they turn grungy black after a a few uses, and I found no easy way to clean them. Legacy for me; now off the list. Along with Navcom rings for CDs.
I like Navcom rings. You didn't like them?
Just curious.
Jack
got them 20(?) years ago. My experience echos yours
Yes...I use and like them very much!!!
Just make sure you DON'T TWIST them in the female chassis socket!! Push them straight in and pull them straight out 3 or 4 times with a little bit of your fav. cleaner applied.
Take care...old guy
Cool! Thanks, I did read that about straight in and back out. I think I'll buy some. Do you get the sense they wear or become less effective over time? I'll just be cleaning both ends of 7 RCA cables. 7 total; three analog pairs and one digital, not seven pairs.
E
T
Funny that you mention about the wear-out potential. I thought about the same thing when I bought them about 2 years ago, so I bought 4. I'm still using the 1st one!!
But, my system is very simple...Amp. Pre-Amp, and CD player. I also only clean the system every 6 months. YMMV, as you know.
Take care...old guy
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