Cable storage - Ties
in [Live Sound]
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From: Richard Webb on 1 Jun 2010 14:02 George Gleason writes: > yes denny likesthings his way, and in the end he is the guy I > hire and he gets to have things the way he wants them, myself, I > perfer velco wraps I do that, or some tie line or light rope. I get pretty braindead after a gig, and one thing I find is that folks are inconsistent about the way they wrap and stow cables. A bit of tie line, light rope or the velcro at one end that stays with the cable helps folks to secure them properly before they're stowed. Since I"m as guilty as others when it comes to sloppiness during pack out the hassle created is minor compared to what it would be like at the next setup without them. NOw, were I able to hire a guy like Denny consistently whose responsibility and reliability is quite high then I"d probably make him the boss dog when it comes to cable stowage at pack out, and then I'd do it his way <g>. My biggest gripe is the snake and power feed cables. Every now and then I sure get to thinking about how cool it would be to go digital from the head end of the snake back to the truck but then I get to thinking about what would happen to that cat5 cable running across a parking lot, and that still wouldn't eliminate the bulky power feed cabling. <oh well> Regards, Richard .... Remote audio in the southland: See www.gatasound.com -- | Remove .my.foot for email | via Waldo's Place USA Fidonet<->Internet Gateway Site | Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
From: Audio1 on 1 Jun 2010 18:18 DanielleOM wrote: > > > I was wondering what systems people here use to store cables so that > they do not get tangled. I am thinking microphone cables and instrument > cable approximately 25' long. A couple of posters have mentioned reels. The big company I worked for most often had Hannay reels built into trays with casters and pull-over lids. The lids made a great place on which to put the stage box/splitter, brought it up about two feet so you didn't have to bend over as far or squat 30 times a gig. We usually ran out 30-40 25' mic cables on stage, a few more for patching, etc. Unless you're looking at carrying 60-80 or more 25' cables a reel isn't worth the effort. Another company I worked with had a drawer in a work box and cables just got coiled and tossed in. Spaghetti. I finally got them to plug the cables end to end (so what you end up with is one long mic cable) and loosely coil/toss the cable into the drawer. Wonderful. You grab the loose end, pull until you get to a connector and you rarely get a tangle that won't easily shake out. I've since adapted this idea to Rubbermaid tubs or little Anvil-style trunks for smaller rigs. As long as cables get plugged end to end it rarely tangles. You don't really need to make a neat coil when putting them away, in fact it takes more time to make a neat coil and not let the cable fall into the 'donut hole.' If you've ever had a climbing/rescue rope kept in a bag you'll get the idea. The bottom of the tub makes a great place for small XLR adapters, a DI or two and even a cable tester. With reels and tubs/boxes/drawers at load out you can plug all the mic cables ends to end on the deck, then roll 'em up or feed 'em into the box while holding a moist rag in one hand and clean the stage dirt off the cables while you watch for damage and have clean cables ready to go at the next gig. Another advantage of end to end is you can connect the whole lot to the cable tester and know if you need to look for a bad cable. > A friend of mine always leaves a piece of rope tied around one end of > the cable. Ties take time, look messy, get lost, stolen, cause tangles... I use them on fan-fan, fan-box, etc. snakes that I keep in a drawer ands only use a few per gig but once you start using 20-30 mic cables they become a real pain. I use black, cotton rope I dye myself. The Velcro ties pick up stuff like hair, grass, sweater fuzz, etc. For 1/4-1/4 cables I use a compartment in a drawer. I coil the cable, no ties or knots, and just lay it in the drawer. Sometimes you get more than one when you grab but I don't use nearly as many 1/4-1/4 as I do mic cables and it's not an energy/time suck. Knots or wrapping the end of a cable around the coil tends to cause the end of the cable to curl and probably violates the minimum radius spec. I've never found it worth the time to do it and later un-do it. > I was putting each cable in a plastic bag. Worked well until I started > using more cables. Takes time to open the bags and get the cable in there. > > I am thinking of using velcro ties that can be left on the cable. > > > Thanks > > Danielle Whatever you do best wishes and good luck!
From: Sean Conolly on 1 Jun 2010 19:58 "Denny Strauser" <dsdennysound(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:hu2729$ngp$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > DanielleOM wrote: >> Denny Strauser wrote: >>> DanielleOM wrote: >>>> I was wondering what systems people here use to store cables so that >>>> they do not get tangled. I am thinking microphone cables and >>>> instrument cable approximately 25' long. >>>> A friend of mine always leaves a piece of rope tied around one end of >>>> the cable. >>>> I was putting each cable in a plastic bag. Worked well until I >>>> started using more cables. Takes time to open the bags and get the >>>> cable in there. I am thinking of using velcro ties that can be left >>>> on the cable. >>> >>> I prefer just tying a knot in the cable. I can tie a knot in the cable >>> much faster than using tie line or Velcro, and when unwrapped it is >>> neater. I can unwrap the cable faster with just a simple knot. And, >>> Velcro makes it hard to pull a cable through a bunch of cables run on >>> stage. >>> - Denny >> >> How do tie a knot in the cable and keep within manufacturer's guidelines >> for minimum radius? Was this a tongue in cheek suggestion? > > This was a serious reply. I have no idea what you mean by mfg guidelines > of minimum radius. I just know that in 30 years as a sound engineer, I > HATE tie-line & Velcro. If I work with a sound company that insists on > this time-consuming way of tying cables, I might conform, if I have the > time, but my preferred way is to tie a simple knot in the cable itself, > with very short ends. I am extremely anal about wrapping cables. I've had > dozens of interns & assistants, & I almost NEVER let anyone help wrap > cables. When I do, it takes me double the time to wire the stage for the > next show. +1! I'm also anal about the cable wrap - and always wrap my own. I always plug the ends together to cut down on junk getting into the connectors, and then I wrap them the same way I wrapped lines on my sailboat. I can dump 'em out of box, throw 'em around, whatever they will not get tangled. I wrap them so that the connectors are in the middle of the wrap for better protection when they get dumped onto hard floors, and so there's no stress at the connectors. Most people think that wrapping like this would quickly kill a cable, but I have quite a few that are over ten years old and in use every week. Of course dirt-cheap cables will break pretty quickly no matter how you wrap them. Sean
From: JWald on 1 Jun 2010 20:52 ---- "Sean Conolly" <sjconolly_98(a)yaaho.com> wrote in message news:hu46qq$9ep$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > "Denny Strauser" <dsdennysound(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > news:hu2729$ngp$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >> DanielleOM wrote: >>> Denny Strauser wrote: >>>> DanielleOM wrote: >>>>> I was wondering what systems people here use to store cables so that >>>>> they do not get tangled. I am thinking microphone cables and >>>>> instrument cable approximately 25' long. >>>>> A friend of mine always leaves a piece of rope tied around one end of >>>>> the cable. >>>>> I was putting each cable in a plastic bag. Worked well until I >>>>> started using more cables. Takes time to open the bags and get the >>>>> cable in there. I am thinking of using velcro ties that can be left >>>>> on the cable. >>>> >>>> I prefer just tying a knot in the cable. I can tie a knot in the cable >>>> much faster than using tie line or Velcro, and when unwrapped it is >>>> neater. I can unwrap the cable faster with just a simple knot. And, >>>> Velcro makes it hard to pull a cable through a bunch of cables run on >>>> stage. >>>> - Denny >>> >>> How do tie a knot in the cable and keep within manufacturer's guidelines >>> for minimum radius? Was this a tongue in cheek suggestion? >> >> This was a serious reply. I have no idea what you mean by mfg guidelines >> of minimum radius. I just know that in 30 years as a sound engineer, I >> HATE tie-line & Velcro. If I work with a sound company that insists on >> this time-consuming way of tying cables, I might conform, if I have the >> time, but my preferred way is to tie a simple knot in the cable itself, >> with very short ends. I am extremely anal about wrapping cables. I've had >> dozens of interns & assistants, & I almost NEVER let anyone help wrap >> cables. When I do, it takes me double the time to wire the stage for the >> next show. > > +1! > > I'm also anal about the cable wrap - and always wrap my own. I always plug > the ends together to cut down on junk getting into the connectors, and > then I wrap them the same way I wrapped lines on my sailboat. I can dump > 'em out of box, throw 'em around, whatever they will not get tangled. I > wrap them so that the connectors are in the middle of the wrap for better > protection when they get dumped onto hard floors, and so there's no stress > at the connectors. > > Most people think that wrapping like this would quickly kill a cable, but > I have quite a few that are over ten years old and in use every week. Of > course dirt-cheap cables will break pretty quickly no matter how you wrap > them. > > Sean > > My name is Jeff, and I'm anal about cables too. I've stagehanded for about 12 yrs., and cable wrapping was about the first thing I learned. I also have to wrap all the cables and cords for my band gigs too. No one can seem to figure it out. The problem is that I have to set the PA and lights, run the cables, and set up my drum kit. The lazy bastards I play with are about to get an eye opener. -- J Wald -- "Can't do it Sally" Tom Hagen Godfather I
From: Denny Strauser on 1 Jun 2010 22:31
JWald wrote: > ---- > "Sean Conolly" <sjconolly_98(a)yaaho.com> wrote in message > news:hu46qq$9ep$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >> "Denny Strauser" <dsdennysound(a)gmail.com> wrote in message >>>> I am extremely anal about wrapping cables. I've had >>> dozens of interns & assistants, & I almost NEVER let anyone help wrap >>> cables. When I do, it takes me double the time to wire the stage for the >>> next show. >> I'm also anal about the cable wrap - and always wrap my own. > My name is Jeff, and I'm anal about cables too. I've stagehanded for about > 12 yrs., and cable wrapping was about the first thing I learned. I also have > to wrap all the cables and cords for my band gigs too. No one can seem to > figure it out. The problem is that I have to set the PA and lights, run the > cables, and set up my drum kit. The lazy bastards I play with are about to > get an eye opener. I did an amphitheater festival about 10 years ago for a sound company in Pittsburgh. As I was packing up FOH, a union crew packed all the mic cables into our 2ft x 2ft x 3ft cable case. That case was stacked wheels up on another case in the truck. When I arrived at my next show, I found that none of the cables were tied at all. It took TWO HOURS to untangle the spaghetti. A DAMN UNION CREW! They should know better! TWO FREAKIN HOURS! I was pissed .... - Denny |