Stupid Cords!!!

[TechDirector]

For any techie that is in charge of wrapping cords (mic chords, av cords, light cords ect.), and hate when you put them away and the next day, they are just a big mess that you have to untangle AGAIN, then I have a great solution for you. I was walking through Walgreens when I found these little velcro straps. I got 5 for about 2 bucks. And so far, it has saved me nearly hours of un-tangling!!! All you do is wrap the cord up, and put one aound the loose ends and wah-lah! Those cords will never tangle with each other as long as dinosaus have been dead!!! IT'S REALLY WORTH EVERY LAST PENNY!!!

[tm1000]

Originally Posted by TechDirector

For any techie that is in charge of wrapping cords (mic chords, av cords, light cords ect.), and hate when you put them away and the next day, they are just a big mess that you have to untangle AGAIN, then I have a great solution for you. I was walking through Walgreens when I found these little velcro straps. I got 5 for about 2 bucks. And so far, it has saved me nearly hours of un-tangling!!! All you do is wrap the cord up, and put one aound the loose ends and wah-lah! Those cords will never tangle with each other as long as dinosaus have been dead!!! IT'S REALLY WORTH EVERY LAST PENNY!!!

The true question is: How do you wrap your cords? By making loops (twisting method) or by wrapping them around your arm.

[delnor]

I would suggest never ever wraping any cable around your arm, I would even go so far as to say you should not wrap rope around your arm. It causes alot of stress on the cable and forces it to bed in a greater angle then it is intended. You will find that your cables will last alot longer if you coil them neatly by making loops and twisting them slightly. If you have a cable that is coiled up and not all of it hangs down nicley, DO IT AGAIN! I would suggest laying it out strait and coiling it so that the free end can twist as you pull it tword you. This will keep stress on the cable to a minimum and make your coils nicer.

[TechDirector]

You know what I never thought of that delnor. I bet that would really screw up my cords really quick. Thanks for the idea!!!

[tm1000]

Originally Posted by TechDirector

You know what I never thought of that delnor. I bet that would really screw up my cords really quick. Thanks for the idea!!!

Why do you think I said something :wink:

We have always wrapped cords the way delnor says too.

when you coil your cords hold the uncoilded in beteween your thumb and pointer finger then twist to get kinks out to make it nice and neat

[Fraser]

There is a great online tutorial on this, takes a bit to load but I would recommend checking it out. http://stagecraft.theprices.net/gallery/cablewrap/

[BryanRagon]

I wasn't able to view the videos on the site you listed, it timed out on the videos themselves. However this is probably the wrap I learned to use for microphone cable. Very hard to describe in text how to do is. Basically involves changing the direction of your twist and coil after each single loop. by doing this you don't put any "net" twist on the cable. If you just loop the same direction for the entire length of the cable, and then to unroll someone just pulls it out straight, your cable has dozens of "revolutions" in it (if you were to hang the cable by one end from say your grid you would see the free end spin around until all the twists are gone). This is both hard on the cable, and it makes it more difficult to coil the next time.

This is especially useful on fragile cabling such as microphone (XLR/two conductor shielded) cable. I don't use this wrap on lighting cable though, I usually just use the standard loop technique. The heavie gauge of lighting cable makes over/under more difficult and it can stand up to a little more abuse than microphone cable.

Bryan

[TechDirector]

I clicked the link and the guy really knows what he's doing. He shows two different techniques and the one you mentioned was one. But I couldn't figure out the second one which involved turning it twice or something. If you can't access the video, pick the smallest video so it will go faster. It does take about 15 minutes or so to load. I didn't know there was such a fine art to cable wrapping. lol.

[Fraser]

I wrap all my cables over under. My audio snake (which is a heavy gauge), my XLR, my lighting cable, and my extention cords in the shop. It is a skill that just takes some practice. Try it while your watching TV, or need a break from doing your homework or something. Please do learn how; it could mean the difference between geting a job and losing it.