Amazing $1.50 DIY interconnects! - Page 3

Sarchi · 25th April 2006, 05:05 AM

I have some of the nice vintage Western Electric hookup wire that's covered in silk cloth. I've used it for speaker wire in short lengths, next I'll try making an interconnect with it. Maybe the BL-1 could work as speaker cable....

Keep an open mind.

jleaman · 25th April 2006, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by arnoldc

Did you read the instructions on the packaging that tells you to heat them first before you use them? I have mine for over a year now swapping with 3 different amps, preamps, and still works like new.

the main point of me not using them is because they wear out to many time and they start a flat spot after 4 time of being used. I have used some soldered to them really well. Never had a problem soldering to them..

arnoldc · 25th April 2006, 07:12 AM

I am so sorry, I wasn't very clear. To avoid/minimize flat spotting you should heat the collar with a hair dryer prior to initial insertion to large sockets.

blumenco · 25th April 2006, 04:00 PM

I try to simply hard solder any connection I can get away with. in my stuff this usually leads to connectors only being present on the back of the amp. speaker cables are soldered to the speaker driver tabs, rcas are soldered to the back of the source, or onto the circuit board.

there is huge improvement here. I have kinda quit fussing so much with wire since I started winding my own stuff. and yeah, length really matters for me since I use semi resistive magnet wire.

cat5e though is a good compromise for alot of traits. it is also cheap annd easy.

Clark

KT · 1st May 2006, 01:57 AM

In case anyone's interested in experimenting with these DIY interconnects, here are a few resources to get you started. These instructions are very similar to those in the Listener article.

http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize021998.htm

http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize111998.htm

http://www.venhaus1.com/diysilverinterconnects.html

These can be very inexpensive and are worth trying out if you're curious as to how they sound.

Best,
KT

KBK · 6th July 2006, 04:30 AM

I took apart a bunch of old VAX computer mainframe 'joiner' cables, each had 25 RG-62U mini-coax in them. I had a car axle breaking car load of them. Over 650lbs of mainframe cable. IBM's best. Made in the USA, at over $33 a foot, at 50k foot minimum purchase levels. Universities have money, I guess. Great place to get free stuff. Oh yeah, bus loads of vitamin Q's in those old HP medical gear off-casts.

I then removed the outer sheath, and the shielding. About 1000 feet or more of silver coated braid. With a silver coated drain wire in there too.

I foolishly threw out a garbage bag full of it.

OVER, 1000 feet, in fact.

Multiple garbage bags full in fact. I made many cables.

Anyway, back to the good part. The inner core, which is what I was after, had a gooish 'damping' to it,and has about a 26-28 ga. wire that is suspended in air, by a teflon strip, that is wound around it, in the center of the inner core! WOW! I says. So I wind 4 sets of four braids per speaker neg and pos. And I then added some copper 18 as a bass conductor.

One of the best, cleanest cables..I've heard, to this day. Good ole air dielectric. can't beat it.

Ah well, it's retired now, as I have to use 'available' cables to do work with.

jleaman · 6th July 2006, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KBK
I took apart a bunch of old VAX computer mainframe 'joiner' cables, each had 25 RG-62U mini-coax in them. I had a car axle breaking car load of them. Over 650lbs of mainfraime cable.

I then removed the outer sheath, and the shielding. About 1000 feet or more of silver coated braid. With a silver coated drain wire in there too.

I foolishly threw out a garbage bag full of it. OVER, 1000 feet, in fact. Multiple garbage bags full in fact. I made many cables.

Anyway, back to the good part. The inner core, which is what I was after, had a gooish 'damping' to it,and has about a 26-28 ga. wire that is suspended in air, by a teflon strip, that is wound around it, in the center of the inner core! WOW! I says. So I wind 4 sets of four braids per speaker neg and pos. And I then added some copper 18 as a bass conductor.

One of the best, cleanest cables..I've heard, to this day. Good ole air dielectric. can't beat it.

Ah well, it's retired now, as I have to use 'available' cables to do work with.

Pic's of the cable ?

KBK · 6th July 2006, 04:46 AM

I went and found the cables, they are beside me, but my camera is at work. I can take pictures with my cell phone (the Motorola razor) but my cable to download is at work..with the camera. Tomorrow.

I think I'll hook em up again. Haven't used them in nearly 8 years.

It's all I have left of that incredible stash, I shared it with everyone.

To replicate, you'd need, for a set of 15 footers,..uh.. well 15ft x 4 x 4 x 4. whatever that comes out to, in silver coated 26ga teflon rg-62U. (960ft) 1000 ft roll.

This single set of 15 foot speaker cables represents about one 20th of the cables i got for free. Some were 100 footers. at $33 a foot, US. ug. Imagine what IBM charged The local university, if the 50k minimum was $33 per! (remember, that's 24-25 coax per foot, as a bundle)

Ouch.

EDIT: Whoops! I just looked again. I used (6x) 4-wire braids, -not (4x), per neg and pos leg. So add 25%. That's 1250 feet of Silver coated 26ga Teflon RG-62U. Ug.

jleaman · 6th July 2006, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KBK
I went and found the cables, they are beside me, but my camera is at work. I can take pictures with my cell phone (the Motorola razor) but my cable to download is at work..with the camera. Tomorrow.

I think I'll hook em up again. Haven't used them in nearly 8 years.

It's all I have left of that incredible stash, I shared it with everyone.

To replicate, you'd need, for a set of 15 footers,..uh.. well 15ft x 4 x 4 x 4. whatever that comes out to, in silver coated 26ga teflon rg-62U. (960ft) 1000 ft roll.

This single set of 15 foot speaker cables represents about one 20th of the cables i got for free. Some were 100 footers. at $33 a foot, US. ug. Imagine what IBM charged The local university, if the 50k minimum was $33 per! (remember, that's 24-25 coax per foot,as a bundle)

Ouch.

I have the same phone But i'm switching to a Palm Treo

i txt to much and its cheaper to txt than call on the tele

I made a nice set of cables last month and still breaking them in.. so far they are my fav ones

KBK · 10th July 2006, 05:07 AM

I recalculated after I found them,as it seems it's about 16.5 feet per coax core, as they are 16 feet, woven and terminated. That's 1600 ft of teflon air dielectric mini RG-62/U coax.......for one 16 foot stereo pair of cables. Plus the high current conductors, which are woven into the mess, but separate from this weave.

Good thing I found the cable, I need it right now! fancy that.

Here's the 'HF' conductor group. Tough to get the camera to focus on them. That's the best out of 5-6 shots.

25th April 2006, 04:00 PM	#24
blumenco diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Seattle	connectors... I try to simply hard solder any connection I can get away with. in my stuff this usually leads to connectors only being present on the back of the amp. speaker cables are soldered to the speaker driver tabs, rcas are soldered to the back of the source, or onto the circuit board. there is huge improvement here. I have kinda quit fussing so much with wire since I started winding my own stuff. and yeah, length really matters for me since I use semi resistive magnet wire. cat5e though is a good compromise for alot of traits. it is also cheap annd easy. Clark

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25th April 2006, 05:05 AM	#21
Sarchi diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: the North Country	I have some of the nice vintage Western Electric hookup wire that's covered in silk cloth. I've used it for speaker wire in short lengths, next I'll try making an interconnect with it. Maybe the BL-1 could work as speaker cable.... Keep an open mind.

25th April 2006, 07:12 AM	#23
arnoldc diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Makati	I am so sorry, I wasn't very clear. To avoid/minimize flat spotting you should heat the collar with a hair dryer prior to initial insertion to large sockets.

1st May 2006, 01:57 AM	#25
KT diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: USA	In case anyone's interested in experimenting with these DIY interconnects, here are a few resources to get you started. These instructions are very similar to those in the Listener article. http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize021998.htm http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize111998.htm http://www.venhaus1.com/diysilverinterconnects.html These can be very inexpensive and are worth trying out if you're curious as to how they sound. Best, KT

6th July 2006, 04:30 AM	#26
KBK diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Wilds Of Canada	I took apart a bunch of old VAX computer mainframe 'joiner' cables, each had 25 RG-62U mini-coax in them. I had a car axle breaking car load of them. Over 650lbs of mainframe cable. IBM's best. Made in the USA, at over $33 a foot, at 50k foot minimum purchase levels. Universities have money, I guess. Great place to get free stuff. Oh yeah, bus loads of vitamin Q's in those old HP medical gear off-casts. I then removed the outer sheath, and the shielding. About 1000 feet or more of silver coated braid. With a silver coated drain wire in there too. I foolishly threw out a garbage bag full of it. OVER, 1000 feet, in fact. Multiple garbage bags full in fact. I made many cables. Anyway, back to the good part. The inner core, which is what I was after, had a gooish 'damping' to it,and has about a 26-28 ga. wire that is suspended in air, by a teflon strip, that is wound around it, in the center of the inner core! WOW! I says. So I wind 4 sets of four braids per speaker neg and pos. And I then added some copper 18 as a bass conductor. One of the best, cleanest cables..I've heard, to this day. Good ole air dielectric. can't beat it. Ah well, it's retired now, as I have to use 'available' cables to do work with.

6th July 2006, 04:46 AM	#28
KBK diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Wilds Of Canada	I went and found the cables, they are beside me, but my camera is at work. I can take pictures with my cell phone (the Motorola razor) but my cable to download is at work..with the camera. Tomorrow. I think I'll hook em up again. Haven't used them in nearly 8 years. It's all I have left of that incredible stash, I shared it with everyone. To replicate, you'd need, for a set of 15 footers,..uh.. well 15ft x 4 x 4 x 4. whatever that comes out to, in silver coated 26ga teflon rg-62U. (960ft) 1000 ft roll. This single set of 15 foot speaker cables represents about one 20th of the cables i got for free. Some were 100 footers. at $33 a foot, US. ug. Imagine what IBM charged The local university, if the 50k minimum was $33 per! (remember, that's 24-25 coax per foot, as a bundle) Ouch. EDIT: Whoops! I just looked again. I used (6x) 4-wire braids, -not (4x), per neg and pos leg. So add 25%. That's 1250 feet of Silver coated 26ga Teflon RG-62U. Ug.

10th July 2006, 05:07 AM	#30
KBK diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Wilds Of Canada	I recalculated after I found them,as it seems it's about 16.5 feet per coax core, as they are 16 feet, woven and terminated. That's 1600 ft of teflon air dielectric mini RG-62/U coax.......for one 16 foot stereo pair of cables. Plus the high current conductors, which are woven into the mess, but separate from this weave. Good thing I found the cable, I need it right now! fancy that. Here's the 'HF' conductor group. Tough to get the camera to focus on them. That's the best out of 5-6 shots.