Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

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mmason75123
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu 6 Sep 2018 18:52

Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by mmason75123 »

Given that we are saving him time and money by fixing the incorrectly manufactured units ourselves, I would expect the warranty to still be valid, especially as this is undertaken on his recommendation.

With this said, if you're concerned about messing up your unit, please do us all a favour and DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS. See previous horror stories in this thread - only attempt this fix if you have a steady hand and soldering experience.

With this said, I've just performed this procedure successfully and can confirm it has the intended effect.
dr_bunsen
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed 15 Aug 2018 16:49

Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by dr_bunsen »

So I made the headphone jack mod successfully, although I did it slightly differently to Pierre. The resistors were easy enough to knock out of place with the tip of the soldering iron, but I couldn't get the solder to bridge the gap like Pierre did, it just wouldn't stick and I was worried about burning the board as happened to someone here. So I tinned a piece of fine wire (removed from an old IDE hard drive cable actually) with some solder, cut it to about the same length as the original resistor and maneuvered it into the right place with a 1.4mm flat tip jewelers screwdriver, stablizing it in position with the screwdriver whilst applying the soldering iron tip. Then it just required a very quick touch of the soldering iron to fix the tiny wire to bridge the gap. I the did the same with the other gap. You need a proper point on the soldering iron to do this, like in Pierre's video, I had a chisel tip on mine so I ground it to a point with an angle grinder. You'll also need a jewelers loupe or magnifying glass on a stand too, with good lighting. The resistors are smaller than a grain of rice!

The first pair of ear buds I tried didn't work and I was a bit worried that I'd done something wrong, however they were the kind with a microphone on and three contacts on the plug. I switched for a simple pair of earbuds with no mic and no in line volume controls and they worked great! Plenty loud enough!
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Admin
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Joined: Sat 10 Dec 2016 13:12

Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by Admin »

Yes your warranty is extended if you damage your RetroStone doing this fix.
Bart0
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2018 22:47

Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by Bart0 »

Hi,

I read this topic and tried to make that adjustment with soldering. And yes it worked! Sound on headphones is now loud and clear. I just carefully put a drop on each resistor not bothering to remove them - just to join the existing solder. I hope it'll hold :)
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Admin
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Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by Admin »

Yes that was a good idea just to top the resistors with solder, it's even easier this way! And it should hold.
naughtron
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri 31 Aug 2018 17:49

Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by naughtron »

Admin wrote: Wed 12 Sep 2018 10:36 Yes that was a good idea just to top the resistors with solder, it's even easier this way! And it should hold.
I attempted to fix this myself today using the suggestions listed in this thread. I now have 0 audio coming out of the Retrostone both speaker and headphone out.

What is the process for returning my Retrostone for repair? If repair is not an option I would still like to know where to send it so it can be disposed of properly.

To say that I am unhappy with this purchase is an understatement.
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Admin
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Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by Admin »

Please give me your order/backer number and i'll contact you by email.
naughtron
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri 31 Aug 2018 17:49

Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by naughtron »

Admin wrote: Mon 8 Oct 2018 09:58 Please give me your order/backer number and i'll contact you by email.
backer number was 1082. I do not have an email showing my order number, but I can give you the tracking number when it shipped via ChinaEpost.
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Admin
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Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by Admin »

naughtron wrote: Thu 11 Oct 2018 02:18
Admin wrote: Mon 8 Oct 2018 09:58 Please give me your order/backer number and i'll contact you by email.
backer number was 1082. I do not have an email showing my order number, but I can give you the tracking number when it shipped via ChinaEpost.
I contacted you at your gmail address that I had from kickstarter
HaKuNa
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri 17 Aug 2018 16:12

Re: Sound from headphone jack extremely quiet

Post by HaKuNa »

Hi
I bricked the sound today while trying to fix the low sound issue. Is there anyone in Switzerland (near Winterthur) who can help me fixing this? or can I return the console to fix it?
regards
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