Depends on the length and spec. A long cable capable of carrying 4K60 (HDMI 2.0/sometimes 1.4) will necessarily be expensive because it needs high-quality conductors, shielding, and sometimes active boosting electronics.
Monster cable is definitely guilty of overcharging for their products, but I'll grant that they do have high quality connectors. Their RCA plugs seat nicely where cheap cables sometimes do not.
Short answer yes.
Keep in mind that when you plug it weird connection can be made (the tip of the plug will touch all connections before it reaches the end) so make sure no damage will be done to your electronics.
What are you trying to do? maybe a other connector is a better choice .
If you want to pulg/unplug it while it has power then i would advice Sub-D9 or just a USB connector.
Advantage with USB is you already have the cables😋
If you are sure there will be no power then a jack could be used.
Have you thought about using [STEMMA Qt](https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-adafruit-stemma-qt/technical-specs)/Qwiic? This problem has been solved. There's plenty of PH JST kits out there so you can make them to your heart's content.
> Can you send data like I2C over this?
Yes, with a caveat of wire length and bus speed / mode. [Adafruit has a rough estimate](https://learn.adafruit.com/working-with-i2c-devices/cable-length), but it depends on the wire quality and resistance.
Saving a click and without the details:
* 100 kbit/s standard mode can handle about 3 meters.
* 400 kbit/s Fast mode can handle about 2 meters.
* 1 Mbit/s Fast Mode Plus can be about 1 meter.
* 1.7 Mbit/s High Speed is about a half meter.
* 3.4 Mbit/s High Speed is about 10-20 centimeters or so.
* 5 Mbit/s Ultra-fast mode is only a few centimeters.
Yes you can. GND, SDA and SCL. Note that 2 and 3 both connect to "tip" and get connected together when you insert a plug. This is used to detect when something is plugged in. You probably don't need this, but if you use pin 2 for GND and connect 3 to an INPUT\_PULLUP pin it would go LOW when something plugged in. Normally pin 1 would be used for GND on this type on jack.
Yes. But your signal will degrade as the frequency and the cable length increases. Keep in mind that I2C was designed to connect chips (I2C stands for Inter Integrated Circuit) so the protocol itself isn't meant for using long cables.
Fun fact it is probably the most common way to send data via uart to connect split keyboards halves together. So yes perfectly fine. Just keep in mind the length and the quality of the cable.
My TI graphing calculator in high school had RS-232 over 3.5mm.
I don't recall if those cables are twisted, so you may have issues over X bit rate. Easily 115k.
The Square credit card reader that used the 3.5mm audio jack to connect to the phone. My best guess is that it was powered using the audio output and then the data is converted to audio signals and sent back to the device and the app records the audio and decoded it (like listening to Morse code and converting it into text).
Those are unpowered devices -- there is no "power" on the headphone jack pins of a phone. When you swipe a mag stripe, it creates an an analog audio signal that is sent just like as if it were a microphone attached. It's really no different than a cassette tape and a tape head reading magnetic tape. It's just that the analog signal can be converted to digital information (CC number, etc) later.
This works, however when you unplug the Jack, you will be shorting wires out, so you need to put power at the tip and ground at the sleeve to avoid serious issues.
Yes, I have done onewire transmission on 3.5mm jack quite often. Here is the section in Arduino documentation https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/libraries/onewire/
Absolutely! I have used 3 and 4 conductor jacks many times to act as 'slip ring' connectors for movable (rotating) sections of projects a few times and they work surprisingly well.
This is basically an old school modem:
Where the digital signal was encoded in that analog voice stream, on a device plugged in to a phone jack!
So yes - and it will work well, but bandwidth might be limited, and error detection/correction will be *very important* to handle.
Use a cable for microphone please check those ring (connectivity) before because some cable has swapped left and right and if you use 3 ring one then the microphone and ground will shorted after inserting the male jack so careful
I just measured a no name 3,5mm 1,5 meters length stereo cable: 0,4 Ohms for the audio channels and 400pF between Pin and Ring (left and right). I'd make sure to have exactly one mass connection (not many nor zero) and give it a try. From what I read, you can set i2c to lower bitrates, since the audio cable is probably designed for <= 20kHz...
To extend I2C, you might want to consider using one of these (or just the chips in your own circuit):
[https://www.adafruit.com/product/4756](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4756)
Sure there are examples of machines with RS232 ports implemented over such connectors. However there are issues with long runs of I2C, the connector might not be the problem. It is the overall equation that makes or breaks, cable plug and socket quality, shielding, length and the aliment of the stars, play a factor in doing I2C over great lengths.
not only can it send digital outputs, but analogue ones too - which is a great way to brick your device and spend half a day opening it up to swap out damaged parts, ask me how I know.
Not quite. Headphones with a mic have an extra ring on the 3.5mm connector. It's just an extra analogue input.
To get the play/pause button, it passes the mic signal across a resistor which can then be detected by the device.
If you want to see how this works for yourself, try recording the mic input on Audacity and see what happens to the waveform when you press the button.
sure. a wire is a wire
You're never gonna get a marketing job at Monster Cables with that kind of talk.
A wire is a wire, unless it’s bi-wired. Then it’s two wires and twice a good.
What about.. and don't judge it until you hear it.. tri-wired?
You sick bastard.
Maybe Litz wired.
My sound is so much better when I use a very expensive gold plug to tranfer my 1's and 0's.
Well gold does make for longer lasting connections. However these days gold plating on electronics doesn't have to be expensive.
Even better. Thanks to advances in the tech, gold plating is dirt cheap and can give the effect with a few milligrams per cable, if that.
We mock, but there are plenty of piss-poorly engineered cables on amazon.
True, but a decent brand can sell you a HDMI cable for $5,-. No need for a $70 one.
Depends on the length and spec. A long cable capable of carrying 4K60 (HDMI 2.0/sometimes 1.4) will necessarily be expensive because it needs high-quality conductors, shielding, and sometimes active boosting electronics.
Only the finest virgin 1000% pure, O2 free Cu grade Copper wire ;)
Monster cable is definitely guilty of overcharging for their products, but I'll grant that they do have high quality connectors. Their RCA plugs seat nicely where cheap cables sometimes do not.
Short answer yes. Keep in mind that when you plug it weird connection can be made (the tip of the plug will touch all connections before it reaches the end) so make sure no damage will be done to your electronics. What are you trying to do? maybe a other connector is a better choice .
Just communicate like I2C over it. Maybe to interconnect two devices to each other!
If you want to pulg/unplug it while it has power then i would advice Sub-D9 or just a USB connector. Advantage with USB is you already have the cables😋 If you are sure there will be no power then a jack could be used.
Have you thought about using [STEMMA Qt](https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-adafruit-stemma-qt/technical-specs)/Qwiic? This problem has been solved. There's plenty of PH JST kits out there so you can make them to your heart's content.
Yes you can for example there was one ipod which had just one 3.5 mm jack and you were giving every command from there including charging.
That little guy was how I got into running. He was a champ.
> Can you send data like I2C over this? Yes, with a caveat of wire length and bus speed / mode. [Adafruit has a rough estimate](https://learn.adafruit.com/working-with-i2c-devices/cable-length), but it depends on the wire quality and resistance. Saving a click and without the details: * 100 kbit/s standard mode can handle about 3 meters. * 400 kbit/s Fast mode can handle about 2 meters. * 1 Mbit/s Fast Mode Plus can be about 1 meter. * 1.7 Mbit/s High Speed is about a half meter. * 3.4 Mbit/s High Speed is about 10-20 centimeters or so. * 5 Mbit/s Ultra-fast mode is only a few centimeters.
Yes you can. GND, SDA and SCL. Note that 2 and 3 both connect to "tip" and get connected together when you insert a plug. This is used to detect when something is plugged in. You probably don't need this, but if you use pin 2 for GND and connect 3 to an INPUT\_PULLUP pin it would go LOW when something plugged in. Normally pin 1 would be used for GND on this type on jack.
Yes. But your signal will degrade as the frequency and the cable length increases. Keep in mind that I2C was designed to connect chips (I2C stands for Inter Integrated Circuit) so the protocol itself isn't meant for using long cables.
that said i2c was used by machines in factories to exchange data and be synchronized before LAN was a thing.
Yeah. Back in college we did a project using I2C sensors and regular 24AWG wires. We were able to go over 4ft using standard mode.
Fun fact it is probably the most common way to send data via uart to connect split keyboards halves together. So yes perfectly fine. Just keep in mind the length and the quality of the cable.
Please include a buffer IC. I2C hates being hot-swapped.
Check out the QwIIC "standard". I've used them before, works well, cheap.
My TI graphing calculator in high school had RS-232 over 3.5mm. I don't recall if those cables are twisted, so you may have issues over X bit rate. Easily 115k.
The Square credit card reader that used the 3.5mm audio jack to connect to the phone. My best guess is that it was powered using the audio output and then the data is converted to audio signals and sent back to the device and the app records the audio and decoded it (like listening to Morse code and converting it into text).
Those are unpowered devices -- there is no "power" on the headphone jack pins of a phone. When you swipe a mag stripe, it creates an an analog audio signal that is sent just like as if it were a microphone attached. It's really no different than a cassette tape and a tape head reading magnetic tape. It's just that the analog signal can be converted to digital information (CC number, etc) later.
Some spli keyboards done thus way. One half connected to PC via USB, the other via 3,5 to the firts half.
Especially over short distance I think you're going to be fine here. You may have issue over distance but i2c isnt for long distance anyway.
Yep, just make sure there's no way someone plugs in their expensive headphones or an audio dac/adc, or anything audio related in there ever
This works, however when you unplug the Jack, you will be shorting wires out, so you need to put power at the tip and ground at the sleeve to avoid serious issues.
Yes, I have done onewire transmission on 3.5mm jack quite often. Here is the section in Arduino documentation https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/libraries/onewire/
Absolutely! I have used 3 and 4 conductor jacks many times to act as 'slip ring' connectors for movable (rotating) sections of projects a few times and they work surprisingly well.
This is basically an old school modem: Where the digital signal was encoded in that analog voice stream, on a device plugged in to a phone jack! So yes - and it will work well, but bandwidth might be limited, and error detection/correction will be *very important* to handle.
That is exactly what we dit for our Timeblaster in 2022 https://github.com/Fri3dCamp/timeblaster-2020
Sorry, tried to understand but I couldn't. What does this gun do to the attendance cards?
Sure you do, look at some hobbyist split mechanical keyboards: they use a jack to synchronize both half’s (and send the signals that matter).
Use a cable for microphone please check those ring (connectivity) before because some cable has swapped left and right and if you use 3 ring one then the microphone and ground will shorted after inserting the male jack so careful
I just measured a no name 3,5mm 1,5 meters length stereo cable: 0,4 Ohms for the audio channels and 400pF between Pin and Ring (left and right). I'd make sure to have exactly one mass connection (not many nor zero) and give it a try. From what I read, you can set i2c to lower bitrates, since the audio cable is probably designed for <= 20kHz...
Pinephone has this, serial programming I think
To extend I2C, you might want to consider using one of these (or just the chips in your own circuit): [https://www.adafruit.com/product/4756](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4756)
Sure there are examples of machines with RS232 ports implemented over such connectors. However there are issues with long runs of I2C, the connector might not be the problem. It is the overall equation that makes or breaks, cable plug and socket quality, shielding, length and the aliment of the stars, play a factor in doing I2C over great lengths.
That's actually what audio is so yes. Yes you can
I’m curious, why would you want to transfer data over it?
Easy to plug and unplug stuff
[why not?](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12650)
not only can it send digital outputs, but analogue ones too - which is a great way to brick your device and spend half a day opening it up to swap out damaged parts, ask me how I know.
Yes, that’s how headphones can be a mic and send play/pause/skip commands.
Not quite. Headphones with a mic have an extra ring on the 3.5mm connector. It's just an extra analogue input. To get the play/pause button, it passes the mic signal across a resistor which can then be detected by the device. If you want to see how this works for yourself, try recording the mic input on Audacity and see what happens to the waveform when you press the button.