Coiling Cables Video

[Stumbo]

Here's a decent video of how to coil cables.
http://www.tothestage.com/MediaDetai...=3&MediaId=673

[Alaska Bass]

It's good to see a consumer cable maker finally teaching some of the basics of cable care.

The reason this style of cabling is important is to eliminate the flexing and unflexing of the braided shielding wrap of the cable which leads to a lower life expectancy for the cable.

P.S. Throwing the cable across the stage is not a good way to protect the cable ends from damage.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

I have tied mine with the " free noose" method for about 20 years now and while the method shown in the video is probably the best way, tying, storing, re-installing ... over and over again 100 cables a day that way is just a disaster in waiting. And a good way of getting fired too .

When You store hundred cables in a same box, I've found that the "noose" method works best and as long as the cables last 10 years, I'm not changin my ways.

Regards
Sam

[Alaska Bass]

The commonly used "noose" method you refer to causes the shielding to twist inside the cable as you add a twist in the cable as it is coiled. This will break down the shielding of the cable and make it much more likely to become microphonic, and less able to properly shunt EMI and RFI interference.

The over-under method described in the video is what most sound companies use in professional sound. It imparts a slight twist on the first half, but then removes the twist on the second half of the process. The only thing better for the life of the cable is a spool style cable rack which imposes no twist whatsoever to the cable.

As for staying employed, coil it however your boss says, but maybe learn the other method and at the right time, show him/her the difference. Properly coiled, the cable will not be any more likely to get tangled, nor will it take any longer to coil.

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by Alaska Bass

Properly coiled, the cable will not be any more likely to get tangled, nor will it take any longer to coil.

Yeah, the only hazard with the over/under method is that your jacks, while the cable is being stored or moved, can jump between a couple of windings and try to tie a knot when you unwind. Keeping the ends of the cable away from the loops will prevent it though.

[Stumbo]

I was at a friends gig not too long ago and did sound for them. They had Velcro fasteners at one end that made coiling the cables at the end of the gig very easy because you didn't have to worry about the cable ends flailing about.

It was also easy to keep each cable separate in the cable box for the next gig. You didn't have to spend any time the next day redoing the cable coils.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Hi.

I have tied mine with the " free noose" method for about 20 years now and while the method shown in the video is probably the best way, tying, storing, re-installing ... over and over again 100 cables a day that way is just a disaster in waiting. And a good way of getting fired too .

When You store hundred cables in a same box, I've found that the "noose" method works best and as long as the cables last 10 years, I'm not changin my ways.

Regards
Sam

Even if it doesn't break them, cables coiled by the noose method never lay flat, and I hate cables that don't lay flat. Cables with kinks from being noosed also hang from mic stands more awkwardly than properly coiled cables and look less than professional to me and most musicians I know. When velcro ties are readily available and even sold with some cables, I see no reason for noosing. Get bigger boxes if you need more cable storage.

[Jefenator]

Ooh... that BG music got me all hot and bothered.

My cables: over/under as depicted above. While cords drop like flies all around me, I haven't seen one of my own go bad in a very long time. It does take slightly longer IME and once a month, usually when there's people watching, I'll uncoil one the wrong way and get those 10 evenly-spaced knots. (Which the video fails to warn about or show you how to avoid.)

A lot of people I work with don't use this method, so I always ask when I'm helping tear down their stuff.

If they don't have a preference, if there are no velcro ties and half the cords are cheap so the plugs are going to crap out soon anyways... then screw it - big knot it is. Anything is better than the rat's nest!

[bassman1185]

I work at an A/V company, and we coil our cables the way it shows in the video. Once you get the hang of it, you can coil them just as fast or faster than any other method. I can neatly coil a 100' XLR in well under a minute as long as it's layed out straight.

It's also a life saver to be able to just pick up one end of the cable and run it, without having to unwind the twists and tangles as you go. I figure that even if it takes a little longer to tear down, it will save you at least twice the time when you're setting up.

[JackANSI]

This is one of the biggest 'tells' if someone has been gigging for awhile.

[F-Clef-Jef]

When I was 16, our "sound tech's" dad brought our entire band (we were all high-schoolers) down into his basement and put the band through "P. A. Camp". A wise old engineer, and hard-core audio enthusiast, he showed us bunch of kids the in's-and-out's of proper cable care, how to properly run cables, even what order to turn the P.A. equipment on and off. I kept that knowledge with me for nearly thirty years, and have even put my own 13 year old through the same training. Probably saved a fortune in cables and blown speakers over the last 30 years. Thank you Mr Kramer!

One difference to the over under method shown in the video is that I clip the male and female ends together to keep any debris out of the ends.

[JackANSI]

Originally Posted by F-Clef-Jef

One difference to the over under method shown in the video is that I clip the male and female ends together to keep any debris out of the ends.

Neat idea for XLR's..

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by JackANSI

This is one of the biggest 'tells' if someone has been gigging for awhile.

Absolutely.

The over-under method is great for coiling cables tangle-free; it keeps them from kinking and twisting. The only down side is that you have to keep track of which end you started coiling with. If you straighten out the cable in the right direction, it lays out flat, but if you pull the cable straight the opposite way, it'll lay out in a series of overhand knots.

Most of my cables have a tie at one end, and that's the end I put in my left hand when I coil them. When I uncoil the cable I hold the same end in my left hand, with the cable end of the connector pointing away from me. That keeps the cable from knotting.

Once in a while I forget to pay attention and end up with knots. That's incentive for me to pay attention next time.

[D.A.R.K.]

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Hi.

I have tied mine with the " free noose" method for about 20 years now and while the method shown in the video is probably the best way, tying, storing, re-installing ... over and over again 100 cables a day that way is just a disaster in waiting. And a good way of getting fired too .

When You store hundred cables in a same box, I've found that the "noose" method works best and as long as the cables last 10 years, I'm not changin my ways.

Regards
Sam

i'm with sam, and i've never seen one cable die from noose coiling or overhand only.
i've been touring professionally for 20 years now.
all the techs on the road which i've been out with (8th day, clair, showco, rat, etc.) pretty much laugh at the over under method.
it's nice when you have time, but when you have to throw down 15 cables in 2 minutes you can't afford to throw the wrong end and end up with knots. you can easily coil/uncoil overhand only method to lie flat, i'm a neat freak about cabling and have had no issues.
i suppose that video is great for a full sail class, though.

[Woodell]

My dad taught me the over/under method many years ago when dealing with ropes and long power cables. I use it for my garden hose too.

I showed this method to a guy once after I helped him untangle and untwist his 50 foot cable. He thought it was the neatest thing.

[MrBEAR]

Back in my early twenties I did a summer as a cord rat for ABC Sports.
Over under all the way or you were history.
All cable ties were at the male xlr end so they never inadvertantly showed up on camera and we were told to unwrap from the female xlr end so any excess coils were out of view as well. Keeps me from forgetting which end to start with after a long time of wrapping the over under way.

Cheers,

Mr. BEAR

[Jefenator]

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

Once in a while I forget to pay attention and end up with knots. That's incentive for me to pay attention next time.

Time to start a club?

[bassman1185]

I've got a one-up on the knot thing...

A few months ago, my company was hired to do the video production for a farm implement company's 60th aniversery. This involved hanging some screens and projectors from the ceiling of the company's huge showroom. To get them up and down, we chained a pulley to the ceiling gridwork, tied one end of some heavy climbing rope to the screen frame, and had a guy on the ground hold the rope and slowly lower the screen.

Like I said, we're all in the habit of over-under coiling, so that's how we did the rope, too. It worked fine for a while, but one of the other guys grabbed the rope from the wrong end and tossed it from waaayyy up in the air on a skyjack.

We had a 150' rope with knots every two feet.

[Jeff Martinez]

I've been doing over/under since I was shown that by a roadie for the Voodoo Glow Skulls in 1993. It's become such a habit that I coil everything that way, even my vacuum cleaner cord.

[JackANSI]

Originally Posted by Jeff Martinez

.... It's become such a habit that I coil everything that way, even my vacuum cleaner cord.

I even do it on short USB cables, then I'm annoyed when I only have a 2 or 3 coils. I was just getting in a rhythm...