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For any of you who may be interested.
I just succeded in wiring my semi-professional headset (phones and mic) to my M3100. It works a treat. However, the only place in the world where I could find a plug that fitted the Mini-USB socket was on the phones that came with M3100, I had to take a pair of wirecutters to them (the mic was DOA anyway, so no loss there).
Here is, breifly, how I did it. If anyone wants more detailed instructions, just shout and I'll see if I can help. I took some photos as I was doing it, but they aren't very enlightening (macro mode on the M3100 is OK-ish, but the contrast between the black wires and their shadows leaves something to be desired)
1. I bought two 3.5mm stereo jack line sockets from Maplin (product number RK31F, 85 pence each).
2. I snipped the headphones off the headset that came with the 3100, about an inch and a half after the point where the two wires split apart
3. I stripped the plastic off the last 0.5" of each wire (now sans-headphone) with a razor blade and used a lighter to burn off the coloured laquer and nylon filler
4. I twisted togeher the two non-laquered (screen) wires and soldered them to the casing of one of the jack sockets, remembering to thread the wires through the sleeve beforehand
5. I soldered the red laquer to the rounded tag on the plug
6. I soldered the green wire to the squared-off tag on the plug
7. I screwed the sleeve onto the plug
If you are using a different socket, you want to end up with the red wire connected to the ring connector on the socket and the green wire to the tip.
So far so good for the headphones. Now for a decent mic.
1. Using a small screwdriver, I prised apart the black box containing the microphone and volume slider (this is easiest if you start at the end hole the headphone wires come out of
2. The microphone is held in place by two leads, which in turn are soldered into the circuit board and do double-duty as the elecrical connections. With a combination of a screwdriver, a solder sucker, a pair of pliers and some brute force, I prised the microphone off the circuit board. It broke in the process. No loss.
3. I wanted to poke wires through the mic holes on the circuit board, so I had to enlarge them very slightly using a round needle file (working from the side the Mic was mounted on, so as not to damage the solder pads more than necessary)
4. I recycled a 4" bit of wire from one of the old headphones, stripping 0.5" off each end and flaming with a lighter as above. I pushed the pair of bare wires at one end through the holes that previously held the microphone and soldered them in place from the other side. It doesn't matter which wire goes through which hole
5. I tied a knot in the wire for strain relief and reassembled the plastic housing (a bit of a tight squeeze, but do-able), making sure that the volume slider engaged with the variable resistor on the PCB
6. I threaded the sleve of the other jack socket onto the wire (Full disclosure: actually, I forgot this the first time. Such is life)
7. I soldered the screen of the wire to the casing of the jack socket, and the coloured wire to one of the tags (doesn't matter which)
That's it. Works fine. I can wandering around the office using Voip over WiFi with a proper, wired headset.
Admittedly, this is a bit of a hack and you end up with a headphone lead that is double the normal length, but it will do the job until I find a pair of bluetooth phones I'm happy with.
Allan
I just succeded in wiring my semi-professional headset (phones and mic) to my M3100. It works a treat. However, the only place in the world where I could find a plug that fitted the Mini-USB socket was on the phones that came with M3100, I had to take a pair of wirecutters to them (the mic was DOA anyway, so no loss there).
Here is, breifly, how I did it. If anyone wants more detailed instructions, just shout and I'll see if I can help. I took some photos as I was doing it, but they aren't very enlightening (macro mode on the M3100 is OK-ish, but the contrast between the black wires and their shadows leaves something to be desired)
1. I bought two 3.5mm stereo jack line sockets from Maplin (product number RK31F, 85 pence each).
2. I snipped the headphones off the headset that came with the 3100, about an inch and a half after the point where the two wires split apart
3. I stripped the plastic off the last 0.5" of each wire (now sans-headphone) with a razor blade and used a lighter to burn off the coloured laquer and nylon filler
4. I twisted togeher the two non-laquered (screen) wires and soldered them to the casing of one of the jack sockets, remembering to thread the wires through the sleeve beforehand
5. I soldered the red laquer to the rounded tag on the plug
6. I soldered the green wire to the squared-off tag on the plug
7. I screwed the sleeve onto the plug
If you are using a different socket, you want to end up with the red wire connected to the ring connector on the socket and the green wire to the tip.
So far so good for the headphones. Now for a decent mic.
1. Using a small screwdriver, I prised apart the black box containing the microphone and volume slider (this is easiest if you start at the end hole the headphone wires come out of
2. The microphone is held in place by two leads, which in turn are soldered into the circuit board and do double-duty as the elecrical connections. With a combination of a screwdriver, a solder sucker, a pair of pliers and some brute force, I prised the microphone off the circuit board. It broke in the process. No loss.
3. I wanted to poke wires through the mic holes on the circuit board, so I had to enlarge them very slightly using a round needle file (working from the side the Mic was mounted on, so as not to damage the solder pads more than necessary)
4. I recycled a 4" bit of wire from one of the old headphones, stripping 0.5" off each end and flaming with a lighter as above. I pushed the pair of bare wires at one end through the holes that previously held the microphone and soldered them in place from the other side. It doesn't matter which wire goes through which hole
5. I tied a knot in the wire for strain relief and reassembled the plastic housing (a bit of a tight squeeze, but do-able), making sure that the volume slider engaged with the variable resistor on the PCB
6. I threaded the sleve of the other jack socket onto the wire (Full disclosure: actually, I forgot this the first time. Such is life)
7. I soldered the screen of the wire to the casing of the jack socket, and the coloured wire to one of the tags (doesn't matter which)
That's it. Works fine. I can wandering around the office using Voip over WiFi with a proper, wired headset.
Admittedly, this is a bit of a hack and you end up with a headphone lead that is double the normal length, but it will do the job until I find a pair of bluetooth phones I'm happy with.
Allan
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