Need Pin/Blade Interconnect for SDA 1.2

dsaunder

Help!

The interconnect cable for my Polk SRS SDA 1.2 speakers was damaged in a recent move. Polk can't offer a replacement as the manufacturer of the pin & blade connector no longer exists.

Does anyone have a pin/blade interconnect cable -- or even just one end of the cable with the pin/blade plug -- that they'd like to sell? The only alternative Polk customer service could offer was to drill the current pin/blad adapter out of my speaker and replace it with a more common adapter.

I don't want to do anything to these speakers 'cause I love 'em!

Thanks,
-dsaunder-

hoosier21

Ken S. at Polk customer service told me that on the pin blade models you can just use speaker wire pushed in the pin opening. the blade opening really only serves as a place holder (nonfunctional) this will at least get you by till you find one.

har_navalta

Hi dsaunder,

We have the same problem when I got my 1.2TL's at ebay the owner doesn't include the interconnect cable. So I inquired at
Polk to Jason Melani about it.

His quote:
_________________________________________________

If you
have a pin and blade connection you would want to use speaker wire as an
interconnect. The blade functions as a support for the cable, so other than
that it has no function. We have found that if you take speaker wire and
solder RCA type connectors on the ends of the speaker wire, the RCA pin will
fit into the female end on the speaker.

__________________________________________________


So I made mine by soldering the RCA Pin into the speaker wire
and it works excellent. Later I will take a pic so you will see it
and you can do it the same as I did.

dsaunder

Thank you very much for your reply, Har!

I'm curious re: "The blade functions as a support for the cable, so other than that it has no function."

As I have one end of my interconnect cable (lost the other end because I couldn't pull it through a wall in which it had been custom-installed), I can see that both pin and blade have an electrical connection. There's a black wire connected to one part and a white wire connected to the other (can't tell which connects to which as I don't want to destroy the one plug that I have to find out!). It's mysterious that they would connect both pin and blade when the blade "has no function."

I'm glad to hear that your setup works well for you! I'll give it a try. Meanwhile, I'll try to fabricate a "plan B" that uses an RCA pin for one lead and a common blade connector (from RadioShack) for the other lead.

Thanks again for your info!

pensacola

>>The blade functions as a support for the cable

Being an audio signal, would it not need a (+) and a (-) hookup? I didn't think audio travels too well on a single wire. It isalternating current.

dsaunder

Well, I could see ways in which Polk could get away without sending the full 2 signal paths:

The interconnect cable just sends an out-of-phase version of the opposite speaker's signal. Assuming a common ground between left and right channels, one could just send the positive signal from speaker A to speaker B and leave it to speaker B to decipher what it's supposed to play.

I'm actually using separate amplifiers for left and right channels and I therefore have a "non-common-ground" version of the interconnect cable (just uses a tranformer in between the two end points so that the signal is passed without the need to share a common ground). I therefore must pass both + and - to the speaker. I have a second set of SDA's that don't use this special cable, however (and thankfully -- this ordinary interconnect cable is intact) and they do complete the signal for both + and - wires between the two points, though.

I would think that to accomodate both scenarios (common ground and non-common-ground), Polk would have to send both + and - to the out-of-phase drivers.

Either way, I know that I need both signals to make it through, so I have to either find an original interconnect cable or jerry-rig something on my own. I'd sure rather buy the interconnect pin/spade cable from somebody!!!

Thanks

har_navalta

This is what I did to make interconnect cable for my 1.2TL's
I have here lists of materials and steps of how to make them.

I didn't rely to Jason at Polk that he said THE BLADE USED ONLY
TO HOLD IT OTHER THAN THAT THERES NO FUNCTION.

So I opened and removed the Bass Radiator and took a look, and
I think that is like for ground. So I decided to make connection
instead.

har_navalta

continuation...

har_navalta

Steps to make them...

har_navalta

For step 3...


Slide the shrinkable tube through the speaker wire before soldering to the blade connector so that the tube will fit. After the speaker wire and the RCA Pin are soldered together slide the tube ( that is already through the wire ) over the wire and blade connector you soldered and then with the torch ( if you don't have a torch, a cigarette lighter is acceptable) shrink the tube with the flame so that the soldered part, the speaker wire and the blade connector, will be covered.


I hope this will help you.

Thanks,
Har

DarqueKnight

If you remove the four retaining screws on the binding post plate and look at the back side of it, you will see that there are wires soldered to both the pin and blade connectors. If you are curious about what those wires lead to, you'll have to take your speakers apart or dig up a schematic. Fortunately, schematics for the SRS SDA 1.2 and SRS 1.2TL are still available. Here, for your viewing pleasure, the mystery is solved:

SDA SRS 1.2 Schematic


SDA SRS 1.2TL Schematic

These documents are in PDF format.:cool:

dsaunder

Thank you, Har and Raife!

Har, you were extremely considerate to scan and send "how-to" instructions for fabricating my own interconnect cable!

Raife, I really appreciate your attaching SRS 1.2 schematics!

We can see, now, that both connectors are used. The blade carries speaker ground (-) for both speakers and the pin carries the opposite speaker's (+) signal, out-of-phase.

As I do have one connector, intact, I'm still holding out hope of acquiring someone's discarded interconnect cable before I fabricate my own new connector (using Har's excellent example). Anyone with an interconnect cable to sell: name your price!

har_navalta

har_navalta

My interconnect cable for my SDA SRS 1.2TL's

Anybody want to fabricate your own interconnect... this is what it looks like, it works excellent and it fits perfectly, you can use either gold plated tip or just standard.

It works for me...:)