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Raspberry Pi 4 casing is not available here. So I have to plug in and plug out my earphone very carefully. Today I made a cord. One end of the cord is always in the Pi and other end is for using the 3.5mm jack / socket. I did this so that I don't have to touch the board anymore.

Is it safe? Is there any possibilities that this is going to loose the port forever? May I leave it there?

Sohan Arafat
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1 Answers1

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If you made sure that all connections of the cables both at the plug you stick into the Pi's jack and at the socket / jack at the other end of the cable (where the earphone is plugged in) are properly isolated, there should be no issues in leaving the cable in place all the time.

Note that the sleeve of the jack is connected to the video signal (see here). If the cable allows the jack to move around, its metal might short circuit to other parts of the Pi, i.e. the GPIO header or other connectors. Make sure to avoid that.

Mechanically I would not expect any wear and tear due to a plug being permanently plugged into the Pi's A/V jack. If anything connectors are worn down by mating cycles, i.e. the plug being repeatedly plugged to and unplugged from the receptacle. Expect the number of mating cycles to be in the range of a few thousands though (for a jack of reasonable quality).

Ghanima
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  • So you are saying it is okay to keep the jack plugged in? And nothing will happen? – Sohan Arafat Sep 29 '19 at 21:48
  • If I understand your wiring correctly (just a cable with a plug on one end - plugged into the Pi - and a jack at the other end) there is nothing that would happen if it just sits there all day. It's just a passive component. Or to try to turn the question around, what do you expect to happen? – Ghanima Sep 29 '19 at 21:50
  • I am afraid that the the inside of the AV port will get loose and it won't work well later. – Sohan Arafat Sep 29 '19 at 22:00
  • @SohanArafat, I see. I would not expect such a thing to happen. If anything connectors are worn down by mating cycles, i.e. being plugged and unplugged. – Ghanima Sep 29 '19 at 22:10
  • nice choices of words. But i like it. :-) – Sohan Arafat Sep 29 '19 at 22:17
  • @SohanArafat I did not makes those up ;-) That's actually what electrical engineers call it... – Ghanima Sep 29 '19 at 22:18