[Trevor]

On 25/10/2015 10:36 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
In article , Trevor wrote:
Or just use electrical tape and a Sharpie. I use various colors for even
quicker ID. A 2 color combo per cable means I don't have to look at the
numbers. Especially if you follow the resistor color code. (for those
who know it by heart anyway) When I see other sound guys trying to find
which cable is which during a festival, I really wonder why they don't
get organised.

What is it with British crews and electrical tape? Nobody will touch that
stuff in the US because it leaves goo all over everything.

Not talking about tape instead of velcro, I use velcro ties myself.
Although I have seen guys use electrical tape as cable ties, and I'd
agree with you completely on that.
What I said is all cables have colored tape to permanently identify
the cable at a glance. Good quality tape does not ooze glue, and can be
covered with clear heatshrink if you really want to do the job properly.


I do know companies that mark cables with various codes, using nail polish
on the XLRs, though.

I find nail polish scratches off far too easily, and is difficult to get
in all colors. (50 shades of red/pink won't help me much :-)
IF I was going that route I'd just use paint instead.

Trevor.

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

On 25-10-2015 18:59, Les Cargill wrote:

Angus Kerr wrote:

On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 3:41:00 AM UTC+2, Les Cargill wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/BongoTies-Orig.../dp/B0030FI3W4

Les Cargill

I use these. Every cable has one permanently attached.

http://www.amazon.com/Attmu-Microfib...lcro+wire+ties

-Angus

Those things get grotty and they are invariably all at one end and
get in the way. I suppose you could use them like I use the bongo ties
- toss 'em in the container the cables came from.

Do not attach to mic cables, use them to attach cables to stand when in
use for a tidy look and a fast take down. The valid reason for attaching
to cables could be to remind helpers which end of the cable goes first.

Kind regards

Peter Larsen

[Angus Kerr]

On Monday, October 26, 2015 at 9:24:52 AM UTC+2, Peter Larsen wrote:
-snip-
Angus Kerr wrote:

-snip-

I use these (vecro ties). Every cable has one permanently attached.

Those things get grotty and they are invariably all at one end and
get in the way. I suppose you could use them like I use the bongo ties
- toss 'em in the container the cables came from.

Do not attach to mic cables, use them to attach cables to stand when in
use for a tidy look and a fast take down. The valid reason for attaching
to cables could be to remind helpers which end of the cable goes first.

Mine do double duty: 1. Keeps cable in a neat coil when not in use. 2. Keeps cable tidily attached to the mic stand when in use.

Best for it to live on the female end of the cable.

Kind regards

Peter Larsen

-Angus.

[Scott Dorsey]

Frank Stearns wrote:

The cable swap-around before I go out on location is fast and easy; just spin out
the lengths you need then rewind as needed. One thing about reels I failed to
mention is how few tangle issues one has.

I have them marked by lengths. I have a bag of 20-footers, a bag of 100
footers, and then I have longer ones on reels. For anything over 100 feet,
though, I'd most often use a 4 or 8 channel snake.

This is a must for the Gepco 1022. It's sonically good, reliable, sturdy -- but my
oh my is it ever a tangle-prone product.

That's surprising since it's a braided shield, which usually makes it easier
to deal with. How does it compare with the Canare or the (less flexible)
Belden Brilliance star-quad?

Actually, you can still do some sort of ID system, either like this or whatever
scheme you like. You can get various "add after the fact" numbering kits for wires
and cable. It is nice to have the clear shrink to protect the numbers, but with
better quality stick-ons you should be okay for a while, then re-label as needed.

I just write KLUDGE on them with sharpie. They get stolen anyway, mind you.
On the other hand, Total AV Services used to use red cables so they could
tell theirs from everyone else's, and I still have a few of their cables in
my collection anyway somehow.

Sipping morning tea while pondering the layout on paper ahead of time is
way better than running around the venue, unprepared, kicking yourself for
overlooking something, or using up all the 30' cables were 20's would have worked,
then being short of 30s when you need them! Things like that...

Of course, there are always the last-minute changes but the bulk of your work is
done, and you can (mostly) accommodate such things.

The problem is when you're having to work with PA people and conductors who
aren't doing proper planning, and who make your careful plans moot.

And the rental company that just throws everything in the truck at random
and dumps it out, regardless of what was actually ordered. "Well, we know
you asked for those Mackie subs, but we don't know how many of them actually
work so we brought these EAW ones too..."
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Frank Stearns]

(Scott Dorsey) writes:

Frank Stearns wrote:

The cable swap-around before I go out on location is fast and easy; just spin out
the lengths you need then rewind as needed. One thing about reels I failed to
mention is how few tangle issues one has.

I have them marked by lengths. I have a bag of 20-footers, a bag of 100
footers, and then I have longer ones on reels. For anything over 100 feet,
though, I'd most often use a 4 or 8 channel snake.

It's rare that I use single lines more than 60' long. The majority of what gets
deployed are 20s and 30s. I too will bring out 8 and 4 channel snakes. I try to
avoid going much longer than 100' with the snakes, though I am running AES-EBU
snake cable, or the Gepco Xband, which is pretty close.

I have from time to time been forced to use building wire or the PA company snake.
Yuck. I like the fidelity of my stuff!


This is a must for the Gepco 1022. It's sonically good, reliable, sturdy -- but my
oh my is it ever a tangle-prone product.

That's surprising since it's a braided shield, which usually makes it easier
to deal with. How does it compare with the Canare or the (less flexible)
Belden Brilliance star-quad?

Haven't used either, so I can't compare. If I had the money (some $3/foot at last
check), I'd use the Gotham stuff. Super supple, no tangles. You look at the 1022 the
wrong way and it's a damn mess. Reeling it saves the day.

Can't really figure why it's so tangle prone. I did complain to Gepco once and they
said: "you can have good sonics, rugged construction, super suppleness -- pick any
two..." Sigh.

After 15 years, the only failure I had with 1022 was when a large set piece with
flat-metal casters got rolled over one. And even then the damage was hard to spot,
and the cable kept working until flexed the wrong way.

The roll-over put so much force on the internal conductors that the conductor
insulation actually ruptured and split open for a few inches. The bare conductors
inside the braid were then exposed when flexed just right. Move it just so and they
shorted to each other or to shield. I was amazed, as the outer jacket and braid had
survived. You had to look with a magnifying glass on the jacket to get a hint as to
what happened. Once I sliced open that part of the cable, I saw immediatly what had
occurred.

snips

The problem is when you're having to work with PA people and conductors who
aren't doing proper planning, and who make your careful plans moot.

I can be a persistent but pleasant pest. And even then I'll still spend a good
chunk of time going over the program, trying to anticipate what they might do,
figuring they'll forget to tell me something. And yes, PA companies can be a pain.
Fortunately, a good chunk of what I do doesn't involve PA.

Occasionally it does, though. Up north, I'd gotten to know many of the prime
companies in town so it wasn't so bad. Down here, I'm also the occasional PA tech
for the main venue in town, and I have keys to the building, so I can pretty much
set up what I want. In the case of a recording coming up later this week that also
involves PA, I've already done the PA layout for the tech mixing the show.

And the rental company that just throws everything in the truck at random
and dumps it out, regardless of what was actually ordered. "Well, we know
you asked for those Mackie subs, but we don't know how many of them actually
work so we brought these EAW ones too..."

Did they include the bag of ear plugs too??

Frank
Mobile Audio

--

[Scott Dorsey]

Frank Stearns wrote:

It's rare that I use single lines more than 60' long. The majority of what gets
deployed are 20s and 30s. I too will bring out 8 and 4 channel snakes. I try to
avoid going much longer than 100' with the snakes, though I am running AES-EBU
snake cable, or the Gepco Xband, which is pretty close.

I have from time to time been forced to use building wire or the PA company snake.
Yuck. I like the fidelity of my stuff!

If you have to use the existing cabling, you may well find it's decent cable
with connectors that haven't been maintained very well. A squirt of Cramolin
or De-Oxit is always a good plan before using some random cable.

This is a must for the Gepco 1022. It's sonically good, reliable, sturdy -- but my
oh my is it ever a tangle-prone product.

That's surprising since it's a braided shield, which usually makes it easier
to deal with. How does it compare with the Canare or the (less flexible)
Belden Brilliance star-quad?

Haven't used either, so I can't compare. If I had the money (some $3/foot at last
check), I'd use the Gotham stuff. Super supple, no tangles. You look at the 1022 the
wrong way and it's a damn mess. Reeling it saves the day.

Ask Steve Lampen at Belden to send you a couple feet of the Brilliance star
quad. It rolls and unrolls very well. The Canare stuff is more flexible
and I think has slightly better noise rejection. I find the Canare
flexibility actually makes wrapping a little harder.

Are you going to be at the AES show? If so, several cable vendors should be
there.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Frank Stearns]

(Scott Dorsey) writes:

Frank Stearns wrote:
snips

I have from time to time been forced to use building wire or the PA company snake.
Yuck. I like the fidelity of my stuff!

If you have to use the existing cabling, you may well find it's decent cable
with connectors that haven't been maintained very well. A squirt of Cramolin
or De-Oxit is always a good plan before using some random cable.

Well, in one case, it was 200+ feet of super thin-gauge PA snake -- 36 pairs with a
cross-sectional diameter of roughly 5/8". The thing was at least 50 pf/foot, I'd
guess. In post I wound up shelving +6 from 14K on out to get at least some of the
sparkle back. It was fairly new, and the connectors looked good.

A few months back I used a 100 ft snake from the theater. Weird construction (again,
super small conductors). But this time the issue was inductance. I had to shelve in
a lot of LF. Later, same venue, my cabling, all is sweet.


Ask Steve Lampen at Belden to send you a couple feet of the Brilliance star
quad. It rolls and unrolls very well. The Canare stuff is more flexible
and I think has slightly better noise rejection. I find the Canare
flexibility actually makes wrapping a little harder.

Good idea, but I'm now well-stocked and am probably done building cables.

Are you going to be at the AES show? If so, several cable vendors should be
there.

No AES this year. I did that cable sampling thing at NAB a few years back. In spite
of its one wart with the tangle issue, the Gepco stuff is pretty good when all
aspects are considered (including cost). Their Xband snake product (4 and 8 channel)
are really nice to handle.

Frank
Mobile Audio

--