Muddle over left/right channel of TRS plug

Nope. Tip is left. It has been for 50 years.

Does it matter? If it's backwards then just reverse the RCA's?

Just remember: "Ring Right"

Isaac

The tip is normally left - as left is conventionally follows mono as regards wiring convention.

As to colours, in the UK some pro stuff uses red and green as per the naval convention - ie red (port) left, green (starboard) right. Whereas in domestic stuff red is usually right. Just to add to the confusion.

As far as the RCA plugs are concerned, the Red plug has long been Right.

I happen to like my tips on the right.

Why do I feel I'm sitting under the caterpillar's mushroom?

Pro gear doesn't use RCA plugs. But can use TRS.

On 9/25/2009 4:46 AM William Sommerwerck spake thus:

As a mnemonic, I think of it as a political thing (right=red, left=blue [i.e., not-red]).

Does it matter? Can you tell "right" from "left" by ear? Lessee, strings on the left, brass on the right, percussion in back...

Of course if it's wrong, just fire up the ol' soldering iron, and swap them. Takes about four minutes.

Cheers! Rich

That's a recent innovation that came with Bush II. Historically, the "Reds" have been the commies. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

Is "TRS" a mnemonic for something? All I can think of when I see it is the Radio Shack/Tandy TRS-80, pronounced "Trash 80". ;-)

Thanks, Rich

Good drugs? %-}

Cheers! Rich

tip / ring / sleeve

Tip ring sleeve. Unbalanced stereo or balanced mono. Or sometimes a mono in and out on a mixer.

I'd guess originally designed for telephone exchanges. In the UK, the telephone one is known as a type 316 and has a smaller tip than stereo jack plugs. And is still in use - must have been designed over 100 years ago. Dunno if the US one is the same.

Oh, yes - the US has been using "Tip & Ring" for about as long as there have been telephone exchanges. (a hundred years?) :-)

My cousin Owen inherited Uncle Dick's farm - they still have a wall-mounted crank-style phone with the separate earpiece similar to this:

If you're curious, it's Lake Crystal, MN.

Cheers! Rich

But, I think, more commomly known as a "Jack plug". Usually available in

In telephone usage, the 1/4" variety can frequently be found with more contacts in the form of additional rings when used, for example, with a headset.

"jack plug" seems to be a British usage - elsewhere it is an oxymoron

- a plug is inserted into a jack, so you can't have a "jack plug". In the US and Canada, the connectors are more commonly known as "phone plug" (male) and "phone jack" (female).

I recall seeing a version slightly smaller than 1/4" (0.216?) somewhere.

The telco versions have a different tip shape than the commercial versions.

Seems strange to me as 'Jack' is a common name denoting male. Jack rabbit, jack tar, etc. Wonder what the root is in this case? But would they *really* talk about a 'phone plug' in a telephone exchange? You don't in a sound studio where such things are used in a patch bay - known as a jackfield. The leads with a plug on both ends are known as patch cords or double enders. But of course jargon varies even in the same country - never mine different ones.

If it's the telecom or pro version, called bantam.

One thing to note is if you insert a 1/4 stereo to a jack socket designed for a telco type it can short things out - it pushes the tip contact onto the frame.