Front panel audio header cable adapter/extender?

frau kaleun · 11-27-09, 03:54 PM

Hey all - hope someone here can help me out with this. I want to run my front panel audio cable (9 pin) to the FP header on my sound card so I can use the FP headphone jack. The connector for this splits off from the one that goes to the motherboard and unfortunately there's only about 1 1/2" of cable to work with for this auxiliary connector, which is way short of what I need to reach the sound card. And I can't move the sound card because it's in the only slot I can put it in.

Is there some kind of extender cable or adapter I can get to make this work? I've found places where I can buy a 9 pin FP audio header cable, but they're all female/female. I need something that's all boy on one end, and all girl on the other, or else an adapter that will do a quick sex change on end end of a female/female cable.

I keep typing in what I think are the appropriate search terms everywhere I can think of to look, but the results are getting me nowhere. I can live without the front panel audio if I have to, but it's there and I'd like to make it work if it's at all possible.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

Reece · 11-27-09, 08:33 PM

It would be helpful if you could show a picture of the connector, is it a standard header with 1mm spacing, I assume the header is 2 rows of 5 with one blanked.

frau kaleun · 11-27-09, 08:53 PM

That sounds right, standard HD and/or AC'97 I guess. The one marked HD connects the front panel audio jacks to a motherboard pinout like the one here

and there's an identical connector that's split off to go to the same type of pinout on an audio card, but the cable on it isn't long enough to get there.

Arclight · 11-28-09, 03:43 AM

You could try contacting your case's manufacturer and see if you can arrange for a longer FP audio cable. Alternatively, you can modify a "USB 10-pin internal header extension cable", though it might be a bit finicky.

Reece · 11-28-09, 04:54 AM

The best way out would be to unsolder the wiring at the front panel sockets & extend them using heat shrink over the soldered wire joints, but I assume you don't have the soldering gear or the equipment and parts.

frau kaleun · 11-30-09, 01:22 PM

Just lengthening the cable from the front panel out won't help - the two connectors are placed less than two inches apart at the other end of it, so unless the sound card pinout is that close to the motherboard pinout I can only connect one of them at a time. My sound card is PCIe and the only PCIe slot on the motherboard is, you guessed it, as far away from the board's FP audio pinout as it possibly could be.

And you're right, I don't have the soldering gear anyway, lol. And I was really hoping to solve the issue by just extending the cable at the loose end since that would be the simplest and quickest solution *if* an extension option exists. I was setting up a brand new system (yay!) and I needed to get it up and running over the holiday weekend while I had the time to do the job and put back all the stuff I had to temporarily move/disconnect/etc. just to get the old machine out and the new one in. I really don't want to have to pull the new machine out and crack it open again and start pulling stuff out if I don't have to, especially for something that's not vital. It just bugs me to have a feature that *could* work but doesn't because of something as minor as a cable being a couple inches too short.

Now if I could move the first connector farther back on the cable, and lengthen the distance between it and the other one, it would help. There might be enough slack in the cable to do that and then see if it's something I can manage.

Is there a link on-line that someone can point me to about modifying the 10-pin USB cable? I'm not leery of trying it out as long as I have enough instructions to know what I'm doing.

I'll check out the manufacturer's site too and see if I can find any info there.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

11-27-09, 03:54 PM	#1
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Front panel audio header cable adapter/extender? Hey all - hope someone here can help me out with this. I want to run my front panel audio cable (9 pin) to the FP header on my sound card so I can use the FP headphone jack. The connector for this splits off from the one that goes to the motherboard and unfortunately there's only about 1 1/2" of cable to work with for this auxiliary connector, which is way short of what I need to reach the sound card. And I can't move the sound card because it's in the only slot I can put it in. Is there some kind of extender cable or adapter I can get to make this work? I've found places where I can buy a 9 pin FP audio header cable, but they're all female/female. I need something that's all boy on one end, and all girl on the other, or else an adapter that will do a quick sex change on end end of a female/female cable. I keep typing in what I think are the appropriate search terms everywhere I can think of to look, but the results are getting me nowhere. I can live without the front panel audio if I have to, but it's there and I'd like to make it work if it's at all possible. Thanks for any help or suggestions!

11-27-09, 08:33 PM	#2
Reece CINC Pacific Fleet Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Down Under Posts: 32,800 Downloads: 171 Uploads: 0	It would be helpful if you could show a picture of the connector, is it a standard header with 1mm spacing, I assume the header is 2 rows of 5 with one blanked. __________________ *Sub captains go down with their ship!*

11-28-09, 03:43 AM	#4
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	You could try contacting your case's manufacturer and see if you can arrange for a longer FP audio cable. Alternatively, you can modify a "USB 10-pin internal header extension cable", though it might be a bit finicky. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

11-28-09, 04:54 AM	#5
Reece CINC Pacific Fleet Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Down Under Posts: 32,800 Downloads: 171 Uploads: 0	The best way out would be to unsolder the wiring at the front panel sockets & extend them using heat shrink over the soldered wire joints, but I assume you don't have the soldering gear or the equipment and parts. __________________ *Sub captains go down with their ship!*

11-27-09, 08:53 PM	#3
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	That sounds right, standard HD and/or AC'97 I guess. The one marked HD connects the front panel audio jacks to a motherboard pinout like the one here and there's an identical connector that's split off to go to the same type of pinout on an audio card, but the cable on it isn't long enough to get there.

11-30-09, 01:22 PM	#6
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Just lengthening the cable from the front panel out won't help - the two connectors are placed less than two inches apart at the other end of it, so unless the sound card pinout is that close to the motherboard pinout I can only connect one of them at a time. My sound card is PCIe and the only PCIe slot on the motherboard is, you guessed it, as far away from the board's FP audio pinout as it possibly could be. And you're right, I don't have the soldering gear anyway, lol. And I was really hoping to solve the issue by just extending the cable at the loose end since that would be the simplest and quickest solution if an extension option exists. I was setting up a brand new system (yay!) and I needed to get it up and running over the holiday weekend while I had the time to do the job and put back all the stuff I had to temporarily move/disconnect/etc. just to get the old machine out and the new one in. I really don't want to have to pull the new machine out and crack it open again and start pulling stuff out if I don't have to, especially for something that's not vital. It just bugs me to have a feature that could work but doesn't because of something as minor as a cable being a couple inches too short. Now if I could move the first connector farther back on the cable, and lengthen the distance between it and the other one, it would help. There might be enough slack in the cable to do that and then see if it's something I can manage. Is there a link on-line that someone can point me to about modifying the 10-pin USB cable? I'm not leery of trying it out as long as I have enough instructions to know what I'm doing. I'll check out the manufacturer's site too and see if I can find any info there. Thanks for all the suggestions!