Cable labelling

[throughthefire]

What's the best method for labelling cables and equipment for you kit/band?

We often play churches where the normal P&W team leave their equipment out, but we bring the full monty - PA, mics, stands, etc; when tearing down, we need some method of quickly seeing which cables belong to us and which don't.

At the moment we use some very strong luminous green tape (like gaffa tape but only 1inch wide) to label everything, but after a few months (especially on cables) it shifts slightly and leaves a sticky residue where it's been.

Don't want to use luminous zip ties, as they have sharp edges, and are too small to mark.

What does everyone else use?

Pete.

 

[fuzzythecat]

i've used painters tape

 

[MNAirHead]

I set up the entire system.

Then color code the instrument and microhone cables.

On the end of every one of my cables is a polyster sticker with my name and the cable number... this is on both ends.. corresponds to the snake/mixer.

you can find old eltron printers for cheap..

 

[Jerry Ziarko]

I do a wrap around the connector, and label it with a fine Sharpie. (low residue, white is easy to mark)
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I use the 1 inch wide

 

[walker rosewood]

I work for an Audio company that does hundreds if not thousands of gigs a year all over the place. We label all our cables with a color coding system using colored electrical tape. We also use envelope labels with the company name, address, and phone number on it, fastened directly to each cable. The tape and the label are covered in clear heat shrink tubing (using a heat gun). Done this way the labels remain clean, legible, and last longer then the cables do. And there's absolutely zero mistaking whose cable it is.

 

[GeneralElectric]

Electrical tape. I generally do a two color system since I own my own PA system and host small shows every now and then. Plus when my band plays, its usually everyone using our gear as a backline.

For example, all our microphone cables have a red electrical tape strip on each end. Then there is one that has a blue one above that, another one with a white one, another one with a green one, and so on and so forth. That way we can also tell easily which cable is plugged into which channel in the PA system.

 

[UncleFluffy]

1/2" band of coloured heatshrink around the plug works for me.

 

[throughthefire]

Thanks all. Colored or transparent heatshrink sounds good - but doesn't that mean I have to remove a cable end to get it on? I don't think I've seen any heatshrink that can get over a quarter-inch plug (never mind XLR) and then shrink to a tight fit.

Might be a nice new-years project....

 

[Never_grew_up]

2:1 Shrink in up to 4":
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Heavier duty if you prefer:
http://cableorganizer.com/heat-shrink/heat-shrink2.htm

If you really want to get fancy you can get it custom printed:
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[addylewis]

Heatshrink, hmm...good idea.

I just use insulating tape on my leads - a little band of it near the plug...I paint the ring around the XLR on my mics though...

 

[JimmyM]

i don't label my cables because i now work around honest people who aren't interested in stealing one of my 2 for $25 cables. but nobody else uses my stuff. if they did, i'd probably just wrap tape around it and initial the tape. i like to do it in inconspicuous spots, though. i hate seeing mics and connectors with big globs of tape on them.

 

[walker rosewood]

yeah... I forgot to mention that our cables are custom made and whirlwind puts the un-shrunk heatshrink on each cable for us before attaching the connectors. But it looks like Never_grew_up posted some good links there.


Also, its not always that people are trying to steal your cables. Sometimes (and I believe in the case of the OP) they just get accidentally mixed up, or tossed in the wrong pile, etc

 

[JustDavid]

I'll put blue paint in the grooves of the connector shells & I use dark blue 'springy' polypropelyne cord to tie up the coiled cable.

A thief will steal something even if it's marked. This just speeds up the cable sorting, and the ties helps keep them from becoming a rat's nest.

 

[throughthefire]

i don't label my cables because i now work around honest people who aren't interested in stealing one of my 2 for $25 cables.

I've never had a cable stolen (microphones, yes..), but it's more for sorting out different bands cables. We play in different configurations with different bands (son plays in two bands, daughter solo and with a P&W group, all of us together), so different combinations of cables go out at different times. Good labelling means that we can get them all back.

The only accident recently has been a mic stand which was labelled underneath, and got missed on tear down. We got it back, and labelled it correctly.

Much thanks to everyone who's chimed in. Transparent heatshrink over a label is looking good at the moment.

Regards,

Pete.

 

[Swampman Cory]

electrical tape is a solid choice.

 

[smoov]

buy colored cables or heatshrink with the church name on it.. 1/2" will fit over 14" plugs. XLRs and speakons will have to have a connector removed to install the shrink.

 

[UncleFluffy]

buy colored cables or heatshrink with the church name on it.. 1/2" will fit over 14" plugs. XLRs and speakons will have to have a connector removed to install the shrink.

... or just shrink onto the connector instead of the cable

 

[uhdinator]

wal mart colored elect tape. 2 color bands on each end. That way when trouble shooting I instantly know what cable end to look for instead of chasing a cable.

 

[Munjibunga]

Get some ¾-inch diameter shrink tubing of different colors, cut it in half-inch lengths and shrink it over the joint where the retainer connects to the barrel of the XLR plug (this is for Neutrik plugs, which are the only type worth using). I use different colors for different lengths of cable: 30-footers get a red band, 15-footers are blue, and 10-footers and 50-footers get yellow. That way I can pick out the right length of cable quickly. No one else around here labels them that way, and mine are easy to pick out at the end of the night. Tape comes off and leaves gum on your plugs.

 

[steveksux]

Label all your cables with "666". That should keep the church guys from grabbing yours by mistake.

But seriously, I used to use colored electrical tape on the ends, had same issue as you with sticky residue after a while. Tape would wear out before the cords would. I like the shrink tubing idea. If there's a lot of cables and that would be expensive, just get some small rubber bands and put one at each end. Cheap and easy. Don't have to worry about damaging the cords if you get carried away with the heat.

Randy