Using your Mobile Headset on a PC
Conference tools like Skype are a great thing to stay in touch with your loved ones or to uhm… do conference calls . Most laptops even equip a webcam nowadays. But to have a decent conversation a headset is more than recommended.
However carrying a bulky headset when you travel isn't ideal, especially when you already have one with you: the one that came with your mobile phone. Wouldn't it be nice if you could use your shiny iPhone headset on your laptop as well? That's what I thought.
But computers use two TRS connectors to connect speakers and a microphone, mobile phone headsets on the other hand use a single 4-conductor TRRS connector. So we need an adapter. I found one called Headset Buddy on Amazon US but couldn't find a retailer in Germany.
So I decided to build it myself. Here's the parts list:
Count | Part | Reichelt PartNo. | Price |
---|---|---|---|
1 | TRRS Jack | EB K4-35 | 1.25€ |
2 | TRS Plugs | KSS35 | 0.22€ |
some | wire | still had some | |
some | shrink wrap | still had some |
Soldering it all together isn't that complicated, just make sure you use the correct pins following the schematic below.
Note: Ground (2) and Microphone (1) are switched on Apple headsets (and some other smartphones like HTC). If you are building this for headsets by other manufacturers you might need to switch the connections to pins 1 and 2 at the TRRS jack!