Replacing internal cable on Boom Pole?

F

fajonze

Member
Long time vistor, first time posting.

I've got a bit of a problem, I was wondering if any of you knew
how to replace the internal cable in a boom pole. Unfortunately due
to a shoot and unexpected rain my cable now gives a hum.

Looked into repairs from Coffey Sound here in LA but its about $125+
and I feel its a bit much, wondering if I can just do it myself. I know it
takes a "coiled" cable but thats pretty much it. Any feedback would be
great. thanks guys.
 
Considering that a raw coiled cable to extend just 7 feet will set you back close to $50 on it's own, the $125 doesnt seem that unreasonable for them to supply the cable and solder everything up for your typical 12-16foot pole. A quick check of the usual suspects doesn't even give me a source for longer coiled cables.
 
You may be able to solve the problem simply by re-soldering all 6 contacts (3 on each connector), or at least taking a look inside to see if you notice any obvious fraying/splitting. 10 minutes of soldering in your living room is a lot cheaper than replacing the entire cable.
 
I personally don't know why a cable would be giving a "hum" because it got wet in the past.

Ive used my main vdb countless times in the rain. I never had a problem in years until a few months ago
I did a job all day in the rain and the pole went dead. At first I thought it was the mic but ended up being the internal cable.

Took out the cable for the rest of the day and just wrapped an xlr around the pole
and once the internal cable dried out its worked perfectly ever since. (I think water ended up resting on the bottom of the pole contacts shorting it out).

There are no active components in a boom pole to get fried. It's wire. I could see a drop of water shorting the cable out while wet but
after it dries out I don't understand see why it would continue.

Only thing I could think would be somehow the contact points rusted out but I would think that would take quite a bit of time, but if somehow
that's the case do what C2v said. Snip a half inch off of each end and put new connections on it.
 
I was taking a look at my male connector on the bottom of my pole and yeah its rusted. I couldnt
help but notice the size is different from your regular xlr. How would I order this specific to my
k-tek boom pole?
 
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