This debate is probably also why especially on data snakes,
hoist and
Soco cable I have to replace them as much as I do. Don't want the local opinion, it's my cable and I'm the one that has to spend thousands per year in replacing it when it pigtails. Ask the people responsible for the gear and do it how they want.
Even painted green a entirely pigtailed 75' length of 8-pair data
snake, painted the plugs red an left it coiled as found. Decorated it with X-Mass lights and it's my department's holoday wreath brought out every year. Probably the most expensive wreath ever made. Left the serial numbers on it, and it still works - so if someone really really needs one (especially if the Shop Manager wants one)... it's green but still in the active inventory. Took great care so as to preserve it's lable and barcode.
(Private joke on the Shop Manager in not wanting anything in his
system even slightly so... "Thanks, and I'll just have to explain to the owners and General Manager... why for the rehearsal rig it's as it is." Tour left for Europe with good cable, rehearsal left on time and had to have a not all that badly twisted cable that worked for its last show.. Sorry but it did function and was not that badly twisted - marginal and got it out the door in my judgement. Ah' the good things about Not My Boss - yell at me all you want.)
P.S. I'm not that smug so as to screw a show or even rehearsal. There was no time to make a new cable for the rehearsal, I did make new ones for the production. Situation of cable itself currently in use pigtailing faster than the old stuff is being addressed in a long term testing or going back to before stuff. New cable doesn't break as easily but pigtails. Older cable cuts and breaks in
conductor more readily thus reason for trying something new. Went back to the older cable that doesn't
pigtail as easily but that probably won't other than cosmetically solve poduction needs. Would you rather a cosmetic pigtailed cable that works or one that doesn't cosmetically
pigtail but more easily breaks or cuts thus doesn't work on some channels?
Above kind of joke in sending the Shop Manager a cable I knew he would not like, but on the other
hand responsibility on my part in solving reliability and quality problems overall. Working on a few options and looking into others. Thousands of dollars in
play in solving these problems. Mostly about audio
snake cable - even if digital grade the only
snake cable available for multi-channel
DMX.
I can pay to make my own cable and almost ready to do so. A lot of the problem is how after use, this cable is coiled and how nice it plays with other cables it is loomed with.
For me, imagine a jacketed 1/16"
wire rope core with at least eight circuits of
DMX of like 18 or 20ga. and heavy
jacket about them. Yea, about to go to that in custom building it. Cost effective theory in it not wearing out. Imagine
snake cable with a rubberized
jacket instead of something thermoplastic. 120
ohm etc. as a designed cable.
Only thing standing between me and ording up such a thing is that I would need to buy say 10,000 feet which I could do, but also that
ethernet and fiber optic are more and more making such copper standards in running data obsolete.
Still though imagine a 18 or 20ga 120
ohm data
snake with heavy rubber
jacket and with
wire rope core. Still depend on people coiling it correctly but after that, wouldn't fail.
People coiling the cable cause of the problem that costs thousands of dollars per year in replacing it. Dogmatic over under or over over... Listen to the cable or stretch it out already please. Problem isn't with the cable, problem is with those coiling it in causing the problem I am working on idito proofing. And idiot proofing is the key word here.