[sharktopus]

Finally finished my first DIY cable.  I got bored while I was trying to figure out how to fix the issues that were cropping up with my headphone cable, so I made some speaker cables instead.
 
They are 40' long each and made from Canare's 13AWG speaker star quad.  One side on each is terminated with gold-plated spade plugs, while the other ends have expanding banana plugs.  I also learned the fantasticness that is heat-shrink, which I suspect is magic.
 

 

 

 

 

 

[sharktopus]

 
https://mrspeakers.com/product-category/3-accessories/cables/
 
they sell the jack for $5.99 and the plugs for $6.99
 
i used them for the open alphas, they work great, nice locking mechanism
 

Those DIY alphas are my next project, as I just got access to my hackerspace's two 3D printers.

 

[Paladin79]

We need to get something clear here. Beer is magic, heat shrink tubing is barely science fiction but cool nonetheless.
It is particularly useful when you have to attach two cables together so you can pull a new one through a wall.

 

[john777]

We need to get something clear here. Beer is magic, heat shrink tubing is barely science fiction but cool nonetheless.
It is particularly useful when you have to attach two cables together so you can pull a new one through a wall.

I saw your suggestion too late to help me route some coaxial aerial cable through a thick brick exterior wall with an air-space... Will remember this for next time!

 

[Paladin79]

I saw your suggestion too late to help me route some coaxial aerial cable through a thick brick exterior wall with an air-space... Will remember this for next time!

Adhesive lined heat shrink tubing works best, if replacing one coaxial cable with another you can even solder the center conductors together as well as the braid, then use the heat shrink tubing.
 
Here is something that might help those of you trying to feed wire through paracord, I have experimented with darning needles, with trying to glue the wire to the nylon string leaving the tube, but finally came up with this method:
 
Strip back the jacket about 1.5 inches revealing the copper stranded wire.

Now double the wire over itself,
 

finally solder the wire forming a built in needle

The beauty of this method is you now have a rounded shape that would easily pass through the paracord. If you merely solder the wire you will end up with a sharp point that can snag the nylon. 
Final step is to use a hammer or heavy object to help flatten the solder and wire. This will remove any rough portions that might be sticking up. I use a concrete floor since I have no vise or anvil suitable and that works fine. You only have to tap it lightly to shape it, solder is quite malleable. Once the wire is through the paracord, simply cut the solder needle off and you are in business.
 
Tom

 

[Letmebefrank]

Adhesive lined heat shrink tubing works best, if replacing one coaxial cable with another you can even solder the center conductors together as well as the braid, then use the heat shrink tubing.

Here is something that might help those of you trying to feed wire through paracord, I have experimented with darning needles, with trying to glue the wire to the nylon string leaving the tube, but finally came up with this method:

Strip back the jacket about 1.5 inches revealing the copper stranded wire.


Now double the wire over itself,



finally solder the wire forming a built in needle


The beauty of this method is you now have a rounded shape that would easily pass through the paracord. If you merely solder the wire you will end up with a sharp point that can snag the nylon. 
Final step is to use a hammer or heavy object to help flatten the solder and wire. This will remove any rough portions that might be sticking up. I use a concrete floor since I have no vise or anvil suitable and that works fine. You only have to tap it lightly to shape it, solder is quite malleable. Once the wire is through the paracord, simply cut the solder needle off and you are in business.

Tom

Awesome suggestion Tom. I was having a lot of trouble with that last week but this should make it much easier.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Last night I finished braiding the 16 strand cable! Only one, very minor "dropped stitch" in one of the thinner wires. Overall, it came out great! I still need to decide on the "Y" (naked, Viablue, Bead, something else) and solder the connectors. One question I had when I started this was about flexibility. Now that it's done, I feel it's plenty flexible for daily use. I am a little worried the insulation will dry out a little, get stiffer, and crack, but only time will tell.
 
The full story is on my web page.
 

 

 

 

 
Here it is with a bead I happen to have:

 
Yet another bead option

 

[Paladin79]

Awesome suggestion Tom. I was having a lot of trouble with that last week but this should make it much easier.

You are most welcome Frank. This is some 24 awg ofc and 150 paracord is pretty tight but this is the best method I have come up with so far. One of my employees was soldering a form of needle to the wires, that was reusable but got snagged a lot, the rounded end really helps.

 

[Renka]

Funny thing... those plastic splitters like the Viablue one are more expensive per splitter than buying 4 feet of adhesive-lined heatshrink for 15 USD. They are much bulkier too.

The idea came from cyberspyder on this forum. You can achieve this Y shape by using pliers while heating the tubing. The heat shrink tubing I used was a little too large for this. I needed this size for something else.

 

[Paladin79]

Funny thing... those plastic splitters like the Viablue one are more expensive per splitter than buying 4 feet of adhesive-lined heatshrink for 15 USD. They are much bulkier too.


The idea came from ccklone on this forum. You can achieve this Y shape by using pliers while heating the tubing. The heat shrink tubing I used was a little too large for this. I needed this size for something else.

I have mentioned the y split with pliers or hemostats but I may not have been the only one. I have tried some of the beads but found them bulky as well so I rarely use them now. It is not so much a cost factor for me. It took me a long time to find it but often I will use 3-1 shrink ratio for that junction that is adhesive. It took a while to find it in the diameters I prefer.

 

[SVTong]

Hi all,
 
I've made a pair DIY custom IEMs, but the wires are becoming problematic.  I used 24ga teflon coated SPC from china, but the stuff is really stiff and VERY microphonic.  I like the way the clear teflon looks on the silver and on copper, so I'd rather not use a stripped star quad because they tend to use solid coloured conductors.  Does anyone have any suggestions for high strand count wire that won't break the bank?  @Paladin79 , I think you mentioned before that you might have a source lined up for some good OFC wire - any progress on that front?

 

[Allanmarcus]

  Hi all,
 
I've made a pair DIY custom IEMs, but the wires are becoming problematic.  I used 24ga teflon coated SPC from china, but the stuff is really stiff and VERY microphonic.  I like the way the clear teflon looks on the silver and on copper, so I'd rather not use a stripped star quad because they tend to use solid coloured conductors.  Does anyone have any suggestions for high strand count wire that won't break the bank?  @Paladin79 , I think you mentioned before that you might have a source lined up for some good OFC wire - any progress on that front?

I've learned a lot about wire, and I've posted it here:
 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pXSXIVBJXhb5fqysBTHQ5q3SHQ3d8B6kAHv8yQIWSTY/edit#gid=0
 
Let me know if you cannot get into that.
 
Luna shops sells some silver or copper wire, as does BTG Audio.
 
If you are willing to go into over $2/foot, there are others (I will add them soon)
 
What's your price range?

 

[SVTong]

 
What's your price range?

 
As cheap as possible, lol!

Ideally, I'd like to be under $0.50, but I know that's asking for a lot in that price range.  The other issue I have is that shipping form China to Canada is brutal.  The SPC that I have now took 10 weeks to arrive here.  Not ideal.
 
Edit: just looked at your file - there is 24ga wire with 105 strands?!?  That would seem to be the obvious choice on paper

 

[Allanmarcus]

 

 
What's your price range?

 
As cheap as possible, lol!

Ideally, I'd like to be under $0.50, but I know that's asking for a lot in that price range.  The other issue I have is that shipping form China to Canada is brutal.  The SPC that I have now took 10 weeks to arrive here.  Not ideal.
 
Edit: just looked at your file - there is 24ga wire with 105 strands?!?  That would seem to be the obvious choice on paper

I have some samples of that coming. It's not clear, though. He's talking about the Daburn 2671. Min 100' (I just added that to the sheet. Sorry)

 

[SVTong]

 
I have some samples of that coming. It's not clear, though. He's talking about the Daburn 2671. Min 100' (I just added that to the sheet. Sorry)

I would definitely be interested in what you think of it.  I might be convinced to ditch the clear if the flexibility is really good.