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Gear / Technical Help => Cables => Topic started by: ttrego2003 on November 21, 2010, 10:15:04 AM
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Was wondering what size techflex to buy ,if I was thinking of wrapping two pair of Belden 18 AWG wire in one jacket?
Todd
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1/4, you could get it in 1/8 but would be pretty stiff
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thanks for the info.
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So what is the best way to pull cables through techflex straight and not getting them kinked up?
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no real trick except tape the 2 ends together that you are pulling through and just keep working it through straight
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thanks
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I want to bundle together three pair (total 6 cables) together for a short microphone snake.
The cable is a little smaller in OD than Belden 1804a. All bundled together, the cables are approx .300" in diameter.
What size TechFlex would work best?
For future reference, do I want to buy TechFlex that's nominal size is closest to the diameter of the wires they it will hold? Which also is a bit of a problem, since my diameter is .300". So, 1/4" .25" is too small and 3/8" 3.75" is too large...
Thanks in advance for the help.
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The tech flex I've used is like those Chinese finger traps. if you pull the ends away from each other it gets tighter. Conversely if you push the ends towards each other it opens up. DEPENDING ON THE LENGTH....you could probably use the smaller diameter BUT once in place it is stiffer and once you;ve wrapped it there can be a sort of memory to the wraps. Of course if your cable run is long then trying to squeeze it into the smaller diameter can really suck. The larger will allow easy wrapping and will not have any tendency to maintain a "memory" . If it was me I'd use the larger and just go with it, rather than trying to get it to a "perfect" fit.
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I'm making a 17' long bundled mic snake to go from my DR-680 to three pairs of microphones on a stand. I only need about 15' of TechFlex, since I want the ends to not be bundled for plugging into the recorder and the microphones.
From what I'm reading about it, it sounds like PET2-C-BK (1/8" to 7/16") is what I need. Does that look right?
$18.30 for 100' at MarkerTek. I could sell the rest in the YS...
I've bought TechFlex in the past, but it was long enough ago that I don't remember if it's better to get it a bit over sized or undersized.
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I'm making a 17' long bundled mic snake to go from my DR-680 to three pairs of microphones on a stand. I only need about 15' of TechFlex, since I want the ends to not be bundled for plugging into the recorder and the microphones.
From what I'm reading about it, it sounds like PET2-C-BK (1/8" to 7/16") is what I need. Does that look right?
$18.30 for 100' at MarkerTek. I could sell the rest in the YS...
I've bought TechFlex in the past, but it was long enough ago that I don't remember if it's better to get it a bit over sized or undersized.
Chuck,
I have about 70 feet of 1/2" Clean Cut in black left over from making a three channel snake for a taper. You're more than welcome to 20 feet of it. PM me your address and I'll send it out. It may be a little baggy for your intended use (three lengths of milspec 22awg fit with lots of room to spare) but as kirk mentioned the more slack you have the more flexibility the finished assembly will have....and it's free so you can't really go wrong ;D
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PM sent
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What cable stock are you using Chuck? I haven't seen too much smaller than the 1804b.
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It's something I found on a 1000' reel at a local electronics surplus warehouse. It's only slightly smaller in diameter than 1804a. There was no information on the reel that I pulled it from on the manufacturer or item number. The two conductor wires have a thick Teflon coating. Not Teflon wrapped, like the mil spec silver. And the shielding is braided and heavy. I'm hoping that it works well for mic cable.
Edit to add photo of the wire.
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So I think the insulator on the internal wires is pvc. Teflon is a super flexible and kind soft like silicon feel IIRC. The fact that the two leads in the jacket are not twisted (are they?) means less RFI rejection. Read that as a bigger chance of cell phone noise among other things. The twist helps with RFI rejection. Especially if you are in situations with lighting that is run on dimmers too, like on a stage.
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So I think the insulator on the internal wires is pvc. Teflon is a super flexible and kind soft like silicon feel IIRC. The fact that the two leads in the jacket are not twisted (are they?) means less RFI rejection. Read that as a bigger chance of cell phone noise among other things. The twist helps with RFI rejection. Especially if you are in situations with lighting that is run on dimmers too, like on a stage.
The wires are a twisted pair and have a Teflon jacket, not PVC. The outer jack may be PVC. It's much more slippery than Belden 1804a jacket. The cable is very flexible. Even with 6 of the wires bundled together it is very flexible. I was able to make about a 7" diameter coil with little effort when I tested it for bundling.
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So I think the insulator on the internal wires is pvc. Teflon is a super flexible and kind soft like silicon feel IIRC. The fact that the two leads in the jacket are not twisted (are they?) means less RFI rejection. Read that as a bigger chance of cell phone noise among other things. The twist helps with RFI rejection. Especially if you are in situations with lighting that is run on dimmers too, like on a stage.
The wires are a twisted pair and have a Teflon jacket, not PVC. The outer jack may be PVC. It's much more slippery than Belden 1804a jacket. The cable is very flexible. Even with 6 of the wires bundled together it is very flexible. I was able to make about a 7" diameter coil with little effort when I tested it for bundling.
do the lead jackets "melt" when heat is applied or near?
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I haven't soldered any connectors to it yet. I hope to get started this weekend. I assume you consider heat the test of whether it's PVC or Teflon jacketed?
I've worked with Teflon jacketed wire and find it very nice to work with. It doesn't melt like PVC jacketed wire. The reason I think it's Teflon, is that I can not dig into it with my fingernails to strip it, like I can do with most cheap wire... and it is very slippery. Also, the engineer/owner at the place I bought it said the conductor jackets were Teflon. I've been going to his place for 25+ years and tend to believe what he says. To me it's not a huge issue, even if it's not Teflon. I paid peanuts for 110' of it to mess around with.
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I haven't soldered any connectors to it yet. I hope to get started this weekend. I assume you consider heat the test of whether it's PVC or Teflon jacketed?
I've worked with Teflon jacketed wire and find it very nice to work with. It doesn't melt like PVC jacketed wire. The reason I think it's Teflon, is that I can not dig into it with my fingernails to strip it, like I can do with most cheap wire... and it is very slippery. Also, the engineer/owner at the place I bought it said the conductor jackets were Teflon. I've been going to his place for 25+ years and tend to believe what he says. To me it's not a huge issue, even if it's not Teflon. I paid peanuts for 110' of it to mess around with.
Thats cool, if its teflon then it is great to work with, being it won't melt, looks nice wouldn't mind having a little just in case the need comes around
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Darktrain, I can send you some. I'm going to have some left over. If I or you end up liking it, I can get about 700' more. It looks like about a quarter of the reel has been pulled so far.
PM me your address.
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I would be interested in about 100' if this becomes a group buy.
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Sure, I'll tell you what I told Darktrain in PM's.
It cost me $.20/foot. I should get a better price if I buy the rest of the spool.
After this weekend, I'll know better if the wire is any good or not, after I make a test cable.
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The outer jacket might be tefzel rather than teflon. The teflon jackets are generally teflon wrapped, like the milspec silverclad copper. Tefzel is a whole extruded jacket like pvc. It's also what was used on the AudioMagic Hyperconductor cables, which I used to have and which predated my Segue cables and the Bumblebee cables.
I got some milspec stock of tefzel jacketed cable with internal teflon insulators on the wires inside. Way nicer to make cables with!! Way easier than the teflon tape to remove and make the cables.
Anyway, tefzel is very much like teflon (ETFE vs PTFE) and has many of the same properties -- slipperiness, meltpoint, etc. If the outer jacket is very slippery and difficult to melt, it probably is tefzel.
I might want to split some of this cable with you if you're game Chuck. From the pic, it might well be the milspec silverclad copper cable with internal teflon on the wires and tefzel on the jacket. Nice cable, and a very nice profile.
How stiff is it btw? More like the typical milspec silver teflon cable, or more like the Belden 1804b?
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How stiff is it btw? More like the typical milspec silver teflon cable, or more like the Belden 1804b?
It's slightly more flexible than 1804a... and way more flexible than the mil-spec silver. When I first saw it and pulled a little off of the reel, it reminded me of thick cooked spaghetti the way that it handled. That's how soft and flexible it felt to me. There is virtually no memory in the way it coils.The softness and flexibility is what attracted me to in the first place for my short snake project. I'll have more information after I start soldering connectors to it this weekend.
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One more picture of the shield on the cable.
I just took a lighter to the conductor jacket on one of the wires and it didn't melt. So, it's not PVC. It might be the stuff Todd referred to earlier.
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Well, I soldered some connectors to this cable over the weekend. The conductor wires are very thin. Just guessing, but I'd say 28 - 32 gauge? Also, the jacket on those conductor wires doesn't melt easily which is nice.
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Does anyone have any experience with Nylon Multifilament techflex (http://www.techflex.com/prod_NMN.asp)? I'm going to make some RA stubbies for a dr-680 with some extra cable I have and the suppleness of the NM techflex has piqued my interest in using it.