DIY Cable Questions and Comments Thread

[Armaegis]

A little (or big) table vice works well. Sometimes if I'm braiding a long cable I'll clamp down the one end and thread the rest through the railings of a staircase. That gives me plenty of room to hang the cables down and gravity helps keep everything in check.

 

[liquidzoo]

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I use a mini vise...
 

That wire looks familiar... 

 

[siles1991]

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Helping hands are for more than just soldering

my helping hands are really light...

 

[PXSS]

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Helping hands are for more than just soldering

my helping hands are really light...

Yeah, a pair of helping hands is essential when dealing with this kind of work.
and at 6 bucks and free shipping on ebay, there's really no reason why anyone shouldn't have some

 

[TrollDragon]

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That wire looks familiar... 

That is indeed very fine liquidzoo wire, I finally got around to stripping it and checking out the flexibility of the two. I like the Mogami a lot more than the Canare. The jacket on the wires of the 2534 is quite soft and flexible.
 
Thanks again liquidzoo, I just braided them up and threw a few ends on to see what the wire was like, I could use both in a build very easily for sure.
 
So what do Y'all do with the shield after you strip it? I can see a big ball of it gaining weight very quickly, do you sell it for scrap when you have a bunch or just reuse it in other projects?

 

[daflippymaster]

Would you guys advise against soldering the wires to the connector and then braiding? 
Generally, i'll put some heatshrink around the tip of the connector and stick it in a vice-grip and then tie that to something to help keep constant tension, seeing as I don't have a dedicated vice.

 

[liquidzoo]

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That is indeed very fine liquidzoo wire, I finally got around to stripping it and checking out the flexibility of the two. I like the Mogami a lot more than the Canare. The jacket on the wires of the 2534 is quite soft and flexible.
 
Thanks again liquidzoo, I just braided them up and threw a few ends on to see what the wire was like, I could use both in a build very easily for sure.
 
So what do Y'all do with the shield after you strip it? I can see a big ball of it gaining weight very quickly, do you sell it for scrap when you have a bunch or just reuse it in other projects?

 
I've just thrown it away in the past... Hadn't thought about selling it for the Copper...
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Would you guys advise against soldering the wires to the connector and then braiding? 
Generally, i'll put some heatshrink around the tip of the connector and stick it in a vice-grip and then tie that to something to help keep constant tension, seeing as I don't have a dedicated vice.

 
I do that.  Solder one side, then braid, then solder the other side.

 

[killerfrenzi]

I'm thinking about making a 5' cable for my hd650s. my list to get is 
 
24' of 28awg UP-OCC from here http://www.plussoundaudio.com/diy/wires.html (I need 4 wires worth right?)
cheap connects http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pair-Headphone-headset-DIY-Upgraded-adapter-for-Sennheiser-HD580-HD600-HD650-/321152113003?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac628596b
Whatever terminal (probably Neutrik)
1/4 and 1/8 techflex for sleeving the 4 wires and 2 wire splits
some shrink wrap from amazon
 
not sure if I'm missing any supplies. I know I need some rosin too, should I get 60/40 or some sort of 60/38/2
 
am I missing anything?

 

[FrozenPanda]

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I'm thinking about making a 5' cable for my hd650s. my list to get is 
 
24' of 28awg UP-OCC from here http://www.plussoundaudio.com/diy/wires.html (I need 4 wires worth right?)
cheap connects http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pair-Headphone-headset-DIY-Upgraded-adapter-for-Sennheiser-HD580-HD600-HD650-/321152113003?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac628596b
Whatever terminal (probably Neutrik)
1/4 and 1/8 techflex for sleeving the 4 wires and 2 wire splits
some shrink wrap from amazon
 
not sure if I'm missing any supplies. I know I need some rosin too, should I get 60/40 or some sort of 60/38/2
 
am I missing anything?

Possibly heatshrink? Not sure if that's what you mean by shrink wrap.
 
Also, techflex is notoriously microphonic (you'll hear lots of noise when the cable rubs against itself or something else). If your cable is 5 ft. I'd imagine it would be taught and thus if you were to move your head, the cable would move. I would recommend paracord or just leaving it bare but at the same time there's nothing from stopping you from using techflex.. realizing you don't like it and just taking it off and replacing it with paracord later. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on the cable.
 
On a sidenote: Jumping straight to UP-OCC wires is pretty gutsy. I started with Canare and Mogami Quad Cables because they were cheap and I didn't have to braid. I should get around to trying UP-OCC wires soon.

 

[killerfrenzi]

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Possibly heatshrink? Not sure if that's what you mean by shrink wrap.
 
Also, techflex is notoriously microphonic (you'll hear lots of noise when the cable rubs against itself or something else). If your cable is 5 ft. I'd imagine it would be taught and thus if you were to move your head, the cable would move. I would recommend paracord or just leaving it bare but at the same time there's nothing from stopping you from using techflex.. realizing you don't like it and just taking it off and replacing it with paracord later. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on the cable.
 
On a sidenote: Jumping straight to UP-OCC wires is pretty gutsy. I started with Canare and Mogami Quad Cables because they were cheap and I didn't have to braid. I should get around to trying UP-OCC wires soon.

 
Oh, I didn't know techflex has bad microphonic, in that case I'd probably order paracord instead.

 

[Zashoomin]

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I'm thinking about making a 5' cable for my hd650s. my list to get is 
 
24' of 28awg UP-OCC from here http://www.plussoundaudio.com/diy/wires.html (I need 4 wires worth right?)
cheap connects http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pair-Headphone-headset-DIY-Upgraded-adapter-for-Sennheiser-HD580-HD600-HD650-/321152113003?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac628596b
Whatever terminal (probably Neutrik)
1/4 and 1/8 techflex for sleeving the 4 wires and 2 wire splits
some shrink wrap from amazon
 
not sure if I'm missing any supplies. I know I need some rosin too, should I get 60/40 or some sort of 60/38/2
 
am I missing anything?

I would stick with 26awg or 24awg.  28 is so very thin.  Also if you want good solder I recommend cardas stuff its a combination of copper, tin, lead, and silver.  Also shink wrap is cheaper on ebay.  Check out the seller flexrllc.  

 

[killerfrenzi]

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I would stick with 26awg or 24awg.  28 is so very thin.  Also if you want good solder I recommend cardas stuff its a combination of copper, tin, lead, and silver.  Also shink wrap is cheaper on ebay.  Check out the seller flexrllc.  

what size am I looking, 1/2"?

 

[glunteer]

For mogami w2893 the paracord type III is good ?

 

[wolfetan44]

I don't get it.. My techflex isn't microphoic at all.

 

[Zashoomin]

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I don't get it.. My techflex isn't microphoic at all.

Um I don't see how techflex would be...I mean mine isn't either.  
 
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what size am I looking, 1/2"?

I would get 3:1 1/4" or 3/8" , 1/2" is huge. I personally got 1/4" and it is perfect for most applications.  It won't fit over a lot of connectors though so if you want that go with 3/8".  But with 3/8" it might not shrink completely over the cables especially if they are 26awg instead of 24.  So up to you.