Greetings all!
I'm familiar with techflex and nylon sleeving and PET sleeve and all of those "plasticy" cable wraps.
What I'm looking for is that woven, rope-like cloth that comes on (for example) guitar cables and old synth patch cables and such. It typically has a very attractive pattern woven into it, with multiple colors.
Does anybody know what this stuff is? And where I can get it?
I'm at, it seems, the end of my rope.
I'm familiar with techflex and nylon sleeving and PET sleeve and all of those "plasticy" cable wraps.
What I'm looking for is that woven, rope-like cloth that comes on (for example) guitar cables and old synth patch cables and such. It typically has a very attractive pattern woven into it, with multiple colors.
Does anybody know what this stuff is? And where I can get it?
I'm at, it seems, the end of my rope.
I use white cotton shoelaces for my interconnects. I've not looked for anything else but you may be able to repurpose some of the more colourful examples.
dave
dave
Shoelaces
Hi Dave,
I've heard of some rather esoteric stuff in my life. How on earth do you get the shoelace to conduct, do you soak it in an electrolyte
Hi Dave,
I've heard of some rather esoteric stuff in my life. How on earth do you get the shoelace to conduct, do you soak it in an electrolyte
Re: Shoelaces
The shoelace is just the jacket over the wire (in my case structured 30 g wire wrap wire & teflon tube)
dave
exurbia said:Hi Dave,
I've heard of some rather esoteric stuff in my life. How on earth do you get the shoelace to conduct, do you soak it in an electrolyte
The shoelace is just the jacket over the wire (in my case structured 30 g wire wrap wire & teflon tube)
dave
Well,
I am not alone! This took me a long time to find via searching on the Internet (Google) in the US.
But, I hope this is what you are looking for: http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/M...Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAM&Category_Code=MISC
The last thing we need is another DIYer hanging himself around here because he couldn't find "Rope".... It's terrible for moral!
Good luck!
Regards//Keith
I am not alone! This took me a long time to find via searching on the Internet (Google) in the US.
But, I hope this is what you are looking for: http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/M...Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAM&Category_Code=MISC
The last thing we need is another DIYer hanging himself around here because he couldn't find "Rope".... It's terrible for moral!
Good luck!
Regards//Keith
Re: Shoelaces
Dip a shoelace in Gatorade, slap on a couple of switchcraft rca plugs... "Best... cable... ever."
exurbia said:Hi Dave,
I've heard of some rather esoteric stuff in my life. How on earth do you get the shoelace to conduct, do you soak it in an electrolyte
Dip a shoelace in Gatorade, slap on a couple of switchcraft rca plugs... "Best... cable... ever."
The colors?
We don't got no stinking colors!
In all of my searches of sites in and out of the US, I didn't see one with colored cotton wire insulation.
Now if you are looking for something to match what they did years ago, good luck! I think as far as opinions on DIY wire insulation, less is more (no dyes, other materials, etc.)
If you are restoring a vintage electric guitar or amp, I understand why you would NEED this.
If you have seen it in anything manufactured recently, call the manufacturer's technical support people for a source or to sell what you need. Gibson and Fender have 50s and 60s replica guitars that are identical (or as close as possible) as to ones from that era, right down to the pots, wiring and pickups. Maybe they can help!
Regards//Keith
We don't got no stinking colors!
In all of my searches of sites in and out of the US, I didn't see one with colored cotton wire insulation.
Now if you are looking for something to match what they did years ago, good luck! I think as far as opinions on DIY wire insulation, less is more (no dyes, other materials, etc.)
If you are restoring a vintage electric guitar or amp, I understand why you would NEED this.
If you have seen it in anything manufactured recently, call the manufacturer's technical support people for a source or to sell what you need. Gibson and Fender have 50s and 60s replica guitars that are identical (or as close as possible) as to ones from that era, right down to the pots, wiring and pickups. Maybe they can help!
Regards//Keith
I've used hockey skate laces as the outer sleeve on my cables. Apologies for the bad picture, all I had back then was a scanner.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
aerius said:
That looks sharp. I wonder if the diameter is large enough to fit around my ICs? Any approx. diameter for your IC, so I can compare.
I'll hit the hockey shops tomorrow and check those things out.
Cotton shoelaces. The sizes and lengths are right for jumpers and interconnects. Go to the kid's section of a big shoe store. You should see cotton laces in all patterns and colors.
Laces usually come stuffed and you have to pull it out. Its OK to just turn the shoelace inside out. Secure the end threads by stitching around with a needle and thread. After that, dunk the laces in hot water and hang them up....that shrinks and packs the cotton cloth giving a tighter pattern, more heft. Then iron them smooth. Plan on that by buying twice as wide as you'll need. Kid laces can be fat.
To give them a tiny bit of extra durability and a smoother feel, spray them down good with teflon from a can...the kind you put on your snow shovel and blower blades. Silicone spray might work, never tried it.
If you can live with jackets of woven thermoplastic or woven fiberglass, surplus military cables are good sources; I have a stash of these that are all beautifully made and in many colors and stripe patterns. Also, woven jackets are found in scap power supply gear from industry....mostly woven thermoplastic and teflon-loaded fiberglass. Generally you have to bid on a skid of that, not too expensive really if you can pick it up yourself. In a really good lot, and if copper is in there and you are willing to to bid over the scrappers and hams, you can get a nice selection of other things like filter chokes and caps, teflon wire, huge heat sinks, good power resistors, ceramic insulators....along with the copper to recycle to largely pay for the purchase! Also industry scrap lots are a good source of large contacts, and of circular connectors for cutting out usable gold and silver pins, sockets.
Laces usually come stuffed and you have to pull it out. Its OK to just turn the shoelace inside out. Secure the end threads by stitching around with a needle and thread. After that, dunk the laces in hot water and hang them up....that shrinks and packs the cotton cloth giving a tighter pattern, more heft. Then iron them smooth. Plan on that by buying twice as wide as you'll need. Kid laces can be fat.
To give them a tiny bit of extra durability and a smoother feel, spray them down good with teflon from a can...the kind you put on your snow shovel and blower blades. Silicone spray might work, never tried it.
If you can live with jackets of woven thermoplastic or woven fiberglass, surplus military cables are good sources; I have a stash of these that are all beautifully made and in many colors and stripe patterns. Also, woven jackets are found in scap power supply gear from industry....mostly woven thermoplastic and teflon-loaded fiberglass. Generally you have to bid on a skid of that, not too expensive really if you can pick it up yourself. In a really good lot, and if copper is in there and you are willing to to bid over the scrappers and hams, you can get a nice selection of other things like filter chokes and caps, teflon wire, huge heat sinks, good power resistors, ceramic insulators....along with the copper to recycle to largely pay for the purchase! Also industry scrap lots are a good source of large contacts, and of circular connectors for cutting out usable gold and silver pins, sockets.
re: patch
Very insightful post! I'd tried some conventional "boot laces" but they were much too small. I'll try as per your instructions and hopefully reap success.
Teflon is a great idea! Would it adhere to techflex? The last pair of ICs I made had techflex sleeve, and it could go for a bit if "slip" to it.
Very insightful post! I'd tried some conventional "boot laces" but they were much too small. I'll try as per your instructions and hopefully reap success.
Teflon is a great idea! Would it adhere to techflex? The last pair of ICs I made had techflex sleeve, and it could go for a bit if "slip" to it.
The teflon spray could do something positive on tech-flex....although because that particular type is rough I'm not sure the spray would do much to smooth the surface. A teflon spray coating is really thin, but it can't hurt to try.
Synthetic fibre braid can be found with huge variety on Kern-Mantle rope for abseiling and clumbing. just pull the kerns out with pliers. Comes in some pretty big sizes, 11 and 13mm is common. It would make a seriously chunky looking cable that would be strong enough to tow a truck.
Also Prussick (spelling?) cord. It is about 1/4 inch and very brightly coloured. Used for various purposes for climbing. Rated for about 250kg.
Here are some examples:
http://www.westechrigging.com/ropeandcordage.html
If you insist on cotton I think you could find cotton and silk kern mantle rope from certain <Ahem> mail order websites for <Ahem> adventurous variations on certain bedroom activities.
Best to clarify what it's for to your spouse BEFORE it gets delivered.
For obvious reasons I'm not posting a link for the cotton and silk.
Also Prussick (spelling?) cord. It is about 1/4 inch and very brightly coloured. Used for various purposes for climbing. Rated for about 250kg.
Here are some examples:
http://www.westechrigging.com/ropeandcordage.html
If you insist on cotton I think you could find cotton and silk kern mantle rope from certain <Ahem> mail order websites for <Ahem> adventurous variations on certain bedroom activities.
Best to clarify what it's for to your spouse BEFORE it gets delivered.
For obvious reasons I'm not posting a link for the cotton and silk.
jjimison said:
Thanks! My IC is around 6-7mm in diameter, or a bit over 1/4". Skate laces come in various widths, I bought the widest one they had at the store and it worked out fine.
Ozmikeh... lucky for me I'm single, and wouldn't have to worry about a significant other making inquiries into suspicious packages of skin-safe rope. And hey, what I don't use for cables, I could repurpose for... ahhhh wait... uhhh...
Steve Eddy: Essentially yes.
Steve Eddy: Essentially yes.
KP11520 said:
http://tubedepot.com/cw-20-sld.html
http://store.triodestore.com/wire.html (though they only seem to have brown left in stock)
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