Earphones.
 

I have bought a pair of in ear phones to use from my pc, the sound is great, but the volume controls don't work when they are plugged in to my pc, if I plug them in to my Samsung Tab, the volume controls work fine. Is this normal?. Thanks, John.

Yes, perfectly normal.

You'll find that the 3.5mm plug on your headphones is divided up into 3 sections, which are isolated from each other. Those correspond to left, right and volume control.

Standard 3.5mm plugs just have 2 sections for left and right audio, and the socket on your PC only has 2 contacts to match the "normal" 2 sections - i.e. it's missing the extra volume control contact, so it won't work.

The Samsung Tab, which is of course designed to be used with volume controlling headphones, has the extra contacts within the socket.

EDIT: If you want more detail, the Wikipedia article is very good. Reading it I realise I got my numbers mixed up - it's 3 contacts (Tip, Ring, Sleeve) on a normal 3.5mm jack (for left, right audio and polarising voltage) and 4 on a volume control jack (Tip, Ring 1, Ring 2, Sleeve - for the previous 3 plus control).

Thanks very much for that info, I didn't even know there was a difference, is there an adaptor I can buy as I can't find any of the phones I want on e.bay?. Thanks, John.

You may be able to find a USB -> 3.5mm adapter, but personally I've never seen one.

It's a bit of a pain really - as the shortcoming is with the socket on the PC rather than the headphones, it's a lot harder to get around.

Thanks, We are going to Florida on Tuesday, I will check in Dixons duty free or failing that I will try Walmarts over there. I will post any results. Once again, thanks for the info. John.

I tried to get a set of earphones with three segments on the 3.5 jack without luck. I have a pair which have lasted for years but there is a loose wire in them, I have taped the wires up to stop them moving. I can't remember where I bought them, does anyone know where I can get a set with three segments?. I have a pair of Bluetooth phones, can I make these work with my p.c.?. Thanks, John.

Have you thought about a set of USB headphones? of course the plug will be for PC and not your tablet, you will have control of volume though.
Ken.

Thanks for the tip, I will go on e.bay now. John.

If you wanted Bluetooth and your PC doesn't have it built in, you can buy USB Bluetooth transmitters that will allow you to connect Bluetooth headphones to your computer :}

Or you could indeed use a USB headset as previously mentioned:}

Hi.
Just to make this clearer.
3.5mm jack plugs conform to the following specs. mono plug, tip is signal and body signal ground.
Stereo plug. Tip, left audio. First ring, right audio. Sleeve (furthest from tip) Ground.

The 4 section 3.5mm Jack plugs are 2mm longer than the above types, they are not universal in specifications as they can be used for microphone input or even composite video.
On a sound card you need to use the standard 3.5mm stereo plug, the longer ones with four connections can damage the socket. Normally there is a way of adjusting the audio level on a PC via the sound card volume control.