USB cord alternatives? (Yeti Problems)

[shinami]

I had a big panic attack with my Yeti today - I hadn't used it in a bit (it worked before on my iMac, it had worked just fine…) - so I plug it in and choose it in Audacity, but it won't let me edit the recording volume. Odd, I think, and I unplug it and plug it in again. Only this time the light doesn't light up. Trying lots of unplugging and blowing eventually gets it to light up, but now the system likes to pretend it doesn't exist. Aaaand we're back to no light.

Plugging it in on a PC (no Audacity to test it with) made no light and didn't show up in the system.

I Google'd around, and while some people have Mac problems with Yeti's, the PC issue also leads me to believe that after 3 years of use I've worn down the USB perhaps? Maybe I've damaged the tiny little recieving port on the bottom? It doesn't look perfectly aligned with the plastic case. ahhhh so worried.

I'm no hardware expert by any means, so does anyone know how I'd go about getting a replacement USB? I looked around but it seems that everyone assumes if you have a Yeti you know this stuff. I don't.

(If anyone has ever had a similar problem with the Yeti - not the Snowball, Snowball has it's own funny problems - please speak up on what you did.)

Any replies at all would be super helpful.

 

[na4a4a]

I know this is a bit old-

why not just replace the mini-usb cable?

just make sure it isn't longer than ~6ft as the internal resistance of the wire may cause the mic to not work.

Mini-usb is prone to breaking overtime so unplugging as little as possible is best to keep it from breaking...but then the weight would eventually stress damage it.
Unfortunately, you can't win with them, mini-usb is notorious for it.

I personally like to replace mic cables every year or so and/or test the noise/interference levels to determine if it is time to replace.

note: if you are not going to unplug it for a long time, get a gold coated cable, these cables are designed to resist corrosion over time, this isn't an issue with standard cables as plugging and unplugging scrapes off the corrosion/oxidation anyways.

 

[shinami]

Yeah, that's the conclusion I've come to (and if it isn't correct I'll throw a fit), I just haven't gotten to replacing it yet as my IT brother says he can get me a replacement for free (though it takes him forever to get me parts ugh).

I didn't unplug it too often, mostly on accident as the other side is really tiny (micro USB you said it's called?).

I'm really getting tired of waiting on my brother to get me the cord, do you know if there is loads of specifications I need to know about these cords or could I just go into a shop like Target/Walmart/Best Buy and find a decent micro-USB cord? And you also seem knowledgable, any guesstimations on how much these run?