Cable organisation

[stringz]

I've been meaning to post a question on this for a while, as it's always something that causes me low level anxiety on shoots, and which I think can be eliminated but I have yet to find a satisfactory solution.

I keep all my cables in a hard plastic flight case. No matter how carefully I wrap the cables and pack them away, i can guarantee that when I open the case again they will be in a huge jumble which I then have to grapple with (usually on my next shoot) in what I feel is a very amateur way.

So today i have decided to put each cable (mainly xlr and curly camera link cables) into their own separate polythene shopping bag. This will probably look a bit strange when I open the case on a shoot and I pull out 10 shopping bags but I feel that this approach may be a half workable solution and at least save time and anxiety in the future.

Do any of you folks have any better solutions?

[Alex H.]

I've been meaning to post a question on this for a while, as it's always something that causes me low level anxiety on shoots, and which I think can be eliminated but I have yet to find a satisfactory solution.

I keep all my cables in a hard plastic flight case. No matter how carefully I wrap the cables and pack them away, i can guarantee that when I open the case again they will be in a huge jumble which I then have to grapple with (usually on my next shoot) in what I feel is a very amateur way.

So today i have decided to put each cable (mainly xlr and curly camera link cables) into their own separate polythene shopping bag. This will probably look a bit strange when I open the case on a shoot and I pull out 10 shopping bags but I feel that this approach may be a half workable solution and at least save time and anxiety in the future.

Do any of you folks have any better solutions?

If cables are coiled correctly, and tied, this shouldn't be an issue.

I'm going to assume that you aren't using the forearm method of cable coiling, which leaves cables in a nasty figure-8 mess that will tangle easily. When you have each cable coiled, tie it off with trick line or with a velcro pigging tie. This is the biggest part of keeping them from jumbling in transit.

I keep all my cables - XLR and BNC - together in a Pelican case and never have tangle issues.

[dugstar]

canford audio cable ties

http://www.canford.co.uk/Browse/20570.aspx

[stringz]

If cables are coiled correctly, and tied, this shouldn't be an issue.

I'm going to assume that you aren't using the forearm method of cable coiling, which leaves cables in a nasty figure-8 mess that will tangle easily. When you have each cable coiled, tie it off with trick line or with a velcro pigging tie. This is the biggest part of keeping them from jumbling in transit.

I keep all my cables - XLR and BNC - together in a Pelican case and never have tangle issues.

No I definitely don't use that method. I think where I do perhaps fall down is the tying them off part. What is this this trick line of which you speak?

[SMuir]

Hi, Stringz.

You shouldn't have to pack your cables into individual bags just to keep them from tangling.

The key to keeping your cables tidy is to always coil them using the "over-under" method. Improper coiling will cause them to snag and tangle, and will eventually damage the cable itself. Here's a tutorial on this important technique: http://ieba.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/please-use-over-under-when-wrapping-cables/

If your cables are already kinked from tangled storage, you may have to hang them vertically in a tall stairwell to get the kinks to relax.

Once you have them nicely coiled, you need a method of keeping them that way while they're in the box. Never secure the coil by tying a knot in the free ends of the cable; I've seen a couple colleges teaching their happless students this disastrous habit. Instead, use a lenght of string or a cable tie (velcro or releasable plastic) to secure one side of the loop. Ideally, the loop should be such that the male and female cable ends are almost back-to-back on the top side of the loop. This is ideal since you can wrap the cable tie between the two ends, and the heavy XLR's won't be flopping around unwrapping your cable and tangling up with other coils.

Cable coiling takes a bit of practice, but you'll soon be able to pack a nice cable coil with your eyes closed.

[stringz]

Hi, Stringz.

You shouldn't have to pack your cables into individual bags just to keep them from tangling.

The key to keeping your cables tidy is to always coil them using the "over-under" method. Improper coiling will cause them to snag and tangle, and will eventually damage the cable itself. Here's a tutorial on this important technique: http://ieba.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/please-use-over-under-when-wrapping-cables/

If your cables are already kinked from tangled storage, you may have to hang them vertically in a tall stairwell to get the kinks to relax.

Once you have them nicely coiled, you need a method of keeping them that way while they're in the box. Never secure the coil by tying a knot in the free ends of the cable; I've seen a couple colleges teaching their happless students this disastrous habit. Instead, use a lenght of string or a cable tie (velcro or releasable plastic) to secure one side of the loop. Ideally, the loop should be such that the male and female cable ends are almost back-to-back on the top side of the loop. This is ideal since you can wrap the cable tie between the two ends, and the heavy XLR's won't be flopping around unwrapping your cable and tangling up with other coils.

Cable coiling takes a bit of practice, but you'll soon be able to pack a nice cable coil with your eyes closed.


Thanks for this, very useful indeed. I do infact practise the over under method so i think it's all in the tying off that my problem lies.

[Alex H.]

No I definitely don't use that method. I think where I do perhaps fall down is the tying them off part. What is this this trick line of which you speak?

http://www.filmtools.com/blactriclin4.html

[ptalsky]

As has been said, keeping your cables neat is all about coiling and tying. I have a sturdy canvas bag I use as a cable bag, and never have any problems pulling out a cable. Uncoiling is not a problem either, as long as my last boom op used the over/under method. Othewise it is tangle city when uncoiling. But, just for the single cable. I never get multi-cable tangles.

Phil

Phil

[AFJJ]

Hi,

If your hard plastic flight case is a pelican, get the divider set for it, then buy varies size bags from any store that carries it with a zip lock or such, this is the way you can separate audio, video, power, connectors and more small items, this method also helps keep your cables cleaner.

When you organize your case your goal should be for your assistant to be able to find the item with ease without having to explain where it is, also a p-touch label machine can come in handy to give a comment of what kind of cable it is example, "XLR F to XLR M 15'"...maybe even include your phone number if the cable runs away from home.

A color coding method could help you organize your cables even further but this may be hard to do since you already have quite a few cables I suppose?

Remember you can easily overload any case so it will be jammed pack, consider breaking up some of the accessories or cables into categories to avoid having to lift 100lbs+ cases

http://www.bongoties.com/ or similar products I find help secure cables to your video/audio cart so when you need a cable you can just grab it.

Hope this helps you.

[SMuir]

AFJJ brings up another handy technique: colour coding your cables.

Neutrik connectors, for example, can be easily colour-coded using small plastic tags that slide onto the barrel during assembly. Using a unique colour for each cable really helps when you're dealing with large numbers of wired mics or multi-channel recording since you can identify the corresponding male and female ends without tracing the entire cable. For even greater utility, I like to write the cable length on the tag using a sharpie.

[stringz]

For even greater utility, I like to write the cable length on the tag using a sharpie.[/QUOTE]

I like that alot. cheers.

[Alex H.]

AFJJ brings up another handy technique: colour coding your cables.

Neutrik connectors, for example, can be easily colour-coded using small plastic tags that slide onto the barrel during assembly. Using a unique colour for each cable really helps when you're dealing with large numbers of wired mics or multi-channel recording since you can identify the corresponding male and female ends without tracing the entire cable. For even greater utility, I like to write the cable length on the tag using a sharpie.

Another good way of marking cable lengths is color-coded bands. Back in my theatre days, we always had the 3-pin lighting cables marked by color per length. This can be done with electrical tape wrapped around the cable itself, so as not to interfere with colored barrel markers.

A white band means 5'.
A red band means 10'.
A blue band means 20'.

Other lengths are indicated by combinations of the above (one red and one white for 15'; one blue and one white for 25'; two blues and a red for 50').

Though a bit more time-consuming to apply, this can also be done with heat-shrink. Especially if you make your own cables.

[Alan H. Chang]

Background.
Back in 2005, I had this HUGE debate with one of my friends regarding proper cable coiling techniques. One reason that he gave me that the over-the-elbow technique is best because it's faster. If cables can't be coiled like this they shouldn't be cables anymore. Cables can take a beating and you can bend then any way you want. This friend of mine is studying computer engineer and networks, and he works with cables a lot. I told him that over-under method is the BEST method because of easy coil, less strain on outer PVC coating, and longer-lasting copper threads of the cable. Up until this day, he still goes with his over-the-elbow method. Not worth my energy and time to teach a dead horse.

Lesson learned.
No matter what your status is as a working/studying person, nor your highly-ranked or profile position, proper cable coiling is a MUST in ANY industry. Shows professionalism and good organization skills. Once you get good at it a 25' cable can be coiled in 5-10 seconds.

Cable Coding.
As most people already know that the color-coded Neutrik shells and the electrical/gaffer tape labeling are favors among our working professionals, another consideration would be to use color-coded zipties. Having experience recording out in the field and lots of live sound gigs the chances that a cable fails or breaks is high due to field use demand. Lead engineers are not happy with replacing several cables after each night of their concert. So quality and lifetime gaurantttee comes into play.

Why spend additional bucks on color neutrik shells when we can use less expensive zipties to mark our cables? Maybe a yellow ziptie on each end of the cable to mark it a 10-footer with an additional yellow ziptie for every 10 additional feet. Maybe red ziptie for 50'. I find zipties, however, have two distinct disadvantages. One, their affect on looks with the cable. It doesn't look nice when having several zipties on a cable. Second, zipties will sometimes hurt or cut your fingers when being handle rigorously. Otherwise, I love them for what they do plus more.

Over-under technique +1

[Guy_Cochran]

Here's a cool video (http://pixelcorps.cachefly.net/tggd/tggd_cables_003_540p_v02.mov) from Pixel Corps, "The Grip guide (http://www.pixelcorps.tv/the_grip_guide_03)" that shows some good information regarding proper coiling of cables in video/film production.

[MontrealAudio]

They sell velcro cable ties at the Dollerramma stores here in Canada. You can get about 8 of them for a dollar. I can never get enough!

[Jeff Anderson]

I use velcro brand cable ties that come in a little roll. They are pretty low tack but are perfect for cables. You get two rolls of 50 for about $5. I always have a roll or two in my bag of misc stuff.

[Steve House]

Another entry into the cable ties spectrum are Bongo Ties, a heavy duty rubber with a wooden toggle.