Want to cut and make my own patch cables

[megafiddle]

On the right angle connetor (your photo below), it looks like the shield conductor is broken clean through on the cable side of the strain relief. The way that the shield conductor was soldered right at the strain relief will leave the shield tinned with solder right at the point where the cable exits the plug shell. And that appears to be right where it broke. Tinned copper is very brittle and cannot stand much flexing.

Unfortunately, those connectors leave very little room to solder the shield on the inner side of the strain relief tabs, where the cable wouldn't be flexing. It can be done though; I use those same connectors.

Also, there appears to be a conductive layer around the center conductor insulator. That should be peeled or trimmed back away from the center conductor and insulator. Its the thin black plastic; you can see a small portion of it missing in the straight plug, where the white insulator is showing through.

View attachment 732250 Here's a pic of the cable that isn't working

 

[Rycebag]

On the right angle connetor (your photo below), it looks like the shield conductor is broken clean through on the cable side of the strain relief. The way that the shield conductor was soldered right at the strain relief will leave the shield tinned with solder right at the point where the cable exits the plug shell. And that appears to be right where it broke. Tinned copper is very brittle and cannot stand much flexing.

Unfortunately, those connectors leave very little room to solder the shield on the inner side of the strain relief tabs, where the cable wouldn't be flexing. It can be done though; I use those same connectors.

Also, there appears to be a conductive layer around the center conductor insulator. That should be peeled or trimmed back away from the center conductor and insulator. Its the thin black plastic; you can see a small portion of it missing in the straight plug, where the white insulator is showing through.

Yup! It kinda makes me want to redo the other cable he made for me too.

 

[Rycebag]

First connect

 

[Rycebag]

Can anybody tell me what the little black thing is on the right angle? Is that just something I can rest the conductor on? Also I've been slicing off the little thin layer of black shield around the clear conductor. I read somewhere that you are supposed to do that with the canare Gs-6

 

[megafiddle]

Can anybody tell me what the little black thing is on the right angle? Is that just something I can rest the conductor on? Also I've been slicing off the little thin layer of black shield around the clear conductor. I read somewhere that you are supposed to do that with the canare Gs-6

That's an insulator; it insulates the tip terminal from the shield and also supports it. No harm in contacting it with the conductor.

The thin black layer in the cable is a conductive anti-static layer. It prevents the rustling noise that you hear in cables without it when the cable is moved around.

You can usually just peel it off, sort of unwrapping it, after getting it started at the end. That avoids cutting into the center insulator.

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[Rycebag]

That's an insulator; it insulates the tip terminal from the shield and also supports it. No harm in contacting it with the conductor.

The thin black layer in the cable is a conductive anti-static layer. It prevents the rustling noise that you hear in cables without it when the cable is moved around.

You can usually just peel it off, sort of unwrapping it, after getting it started at the end. That avoids cutting into the center insulator.

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[Rycebag]

How do I test the cables to make sure they are working properly? I tried them and they work. No hissing or anything. I did a instrument cable last night and two patch cables. Do I need a multi meter?

 

[megafiddle]

Generally, trying them out, and a visual inspection is all you need.

If they are free from hum and the signal is strong with no unusual high frequency loss, you very likely have zero ohms (zero resistance) between one end and and other, and no shorts. A multimeter would likely not tell you anything new.

The visual inspection is important because you could have a conductor that was making the connection with just one little single strand of wire. The cable might sound just fine. A multimeter would also read this as good continuity (zero ohms), but the connection would be right on the verge of failing. A condition like that is much more likely with old worn cables, not so much with newly assembled ones.

A multimeter would be able see a high resistance between between signal and shield caused by burnt insulation or contact with the anti-static layer. But again, a visual inspection would also reveal either of those problems.

The solder connections should all be be silvery, not grainy or crystallized looking. The solder should also have completely "wetted" the surface of the terminals and conductors, flowing out smoothly over the connection. It should not "bead up" on the surfaces like water on a waxed finish.

The anti-static layer just needs to be peeled or trimmed back so it doesn't contact the center conductor or tip terminal. It already contacts the shield along the whole length of the cable, so there is nothing to worry about with it contacting the shield.

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[Testing123]

How do I test the cables to make sure they are working properly? I tried them and they work. No hissing or anything. I did a instrument cable last night and two patch cables. Do I need a multi meter?

Most electronics people would probably use a multimeter. That said, the Beringer CT100 cable tester seems to be popular and gets good ratings. One of the question/answers on Amazon gives 2 reasons for choosing the CT100 over a multimeter:

1. It's faster, because the cable plugs directly into the unit rather than trying to hold a couple of probes on certain parts of each end of a cable, especially at a gig.
2. Intermittent connections (which are indicated with a separate set of LEDs) can be found by wiggling the cables. It's not too hard to miss intermittent connections using a multimeter.

Multimeters are definitely cool though! Every so often you can pick up a Invalid Link Removedfor free with a coupon. I wouldn't use this unit to check high voltages or anything, but for checking audio cables it should be fine. For the gory details check out this YouTube video starting at 5:21:





Want one of the industry standards? Check out a Fluke 87-V (which I admit is certainly overkill just to check cables, but... very cool indeed).

Hope that helps...

 

[Rycebag]

Here's a pic of the last patch cable I did! You guys were all right! This is easy and I'll never buy another insanely priced instrument cable again. Im making every thing.

 

[Fallen Kell]

What exact connectors do you guys recommend (right angle and straight) for patch cables? I from time to time hear Switchcraft or Neutrik, but exactly which ones since we all know there are crappy ones and good ones to hit certain market segments (I think I have heard that some cable manufacturers will not even warranty a cable using Neutrik Silent connectors because they fail so often).

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Neutrik NP2X X-Series 1/4in Phone Plug Nickel Contacts & Nickel Shell

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I'm using these w/o any troubles.

I've seen the Amphenol design is nice, but I've never used one.

 

[fdeck]

Switchcraft 280's have served me for nearly 4 decades.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Thanks for the input guys. I bought a couple different ones just to check out the differences myself (I wanted to check out low profile ones a bit to see if there is a real difference between them and the more standard size, other than just better strain relief, since they are going to be going into a switch/looper and the space might make a difference, but not if sonically there is a difference).