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Author Topic: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?  (Read 17032 times)

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Offline Walstib62

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #30 on: December 27, 2018, 10:30:23 AM »
My Tascam decks have combo jacks, so it is no problem with phantom power. My reasoning with the TRS jacks is that they can rotate within the jack they are plugged into, so you con position them in any direction desired.

https://www.redco.com/Amphenol-ACPS-RB-AU.html

This is just one example of a cable mount plug. There are other options as well.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 10:35:20 AM by Walstib62 »

Offline Ronmac

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #31 on: December 27, 2018, 11:54:23 AM »
I have never (thankfully) seen a preamp that supplies phantom via trs

Offline kuba e

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #32 on: December 27, 2018, 03:28:07 PM »
Most preamps/recorders have combined XLR/TRS inputs with phantom power. You can choose XLR or TRS connection. E.g.: my Tascam dr680 has 6 inputs with phantom power. Inputs 1-4 are XLR/TRS and inputs 5-6 are only TRS. I think 5-6 are only TRS because of saving space.

Does phantom power via TRS cause troubles? I used this connection couple times on dr680 and everything was fine.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 03:31:31 PM by kuba e »

Offline Ronmac

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #33 on: December 27, 2018, 03:32:31 PM »
Combo jacks are two separate connector sets in the same package, routed differently. There should be no phantom voltage on the TRS connectors, in fact, I have never seen a case where they do.

Offline kuba e

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #34 on: December 27, 2018, 03:47:20 PM »
Maybe the Tascam dr680 is an exception. It really provides a phantom via TRS on all six inputs. I've measured it right now. And in the past, I used it when I needed a phantom power on all 6 channels of dr680.
That's why I thought it is possible with all recorders. What is the reason for phantom limitation on TRS, because safety reasons?

Edit: It occurred to me that no phantom on TRS is good for safety. Unbalanced equipment is usually on TS or TRS and phantom power can destroy this equipment. It is such a fuse. I have to be more attentive with dr680 when I take unbalanced feed from sbd.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 05:39:18 PM by kuba e »

Offline goodcooker

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #35 on: December 27, 2018, 05:02:06 PM »
Combo jacks are two separate connector sets in the same package, routed differently. There should be no phantom voltage on the TRS connectors, in fact, I have never seen a case where they do.

Lots of decks put out P48 on the TRS part of the combo connector. My Marantz PMD706 delivers phantom on the TRS only inputs 5-6 - they even included a TRS > XLR cable in the factory package. The Tascam DR680 does it. I'm sure there are others.
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Offline Perry

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #36 on: January 10, 2019, 05:53:04 PM »
How is the feel of that cable?  Consistent with what you were aiming for?

Yes, I'm very happy with how it came out.  It is EXTREMELY flexible, even the main run covered by the outer jacket.  I've never encountered a cable assembly of any type that is anywhere near this flexible.  Covering the fanouts with techflex was an absolute must, as they are really thin.

The fact that the inner jackets have channel numbers printed on them and the individual conductors have color-coded hot wires made it easy to keep track of what was what.

I have 30ft of this stuff left, and will definitely be making more in the future.

2 sets of cables just went up in the YS, BTW.


I'm currently building a snake with Mogami 2931 (the 4-channel version of 2930). Mogami owes a lot of its flexibility to the loose-fitting outer sheath. It allows the 4 inner cables to slide around freely when coiling, preventing kinks and twists. I was concerned about the durability of those 4 little cables at the ends of the snake (the fan-out). But each cable has a twist of cotton strings inside to add tensile strength, along with a steel ground wire (in addition to the copper shield). I think they're pretty tough little cables, if the fan-out survives for a year I'll consider it a success.
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Offline voltronic

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #37 on: January 11, 2019, 06:35:28 AM »
How is the feel of that cable?  Consistent with what you were aiming for?

Yes, I'm very happy with how it came out.  It is EXTREMELY flexible, even the main run covered by the outer jacket.  I've never encountered a cable assembly of any type that is anywhere near this flexible.  Covering the fanouts with techflex was an absolute must, as they are really thin.

The fact that the inner jackets have channel numbers printed on them and the individual conductors have color-coded hot wires made it easy to keep track of what was what.

I have 30ft of this stuff left, and will definitely be making more in the future.

2 sets of cables just went up in the YS, BTW.


I'm currently building a snake with Mogami 2931 (the 4-channel version of 2930). Mogami owes a lot of its flexibility to the loose-fitting outer sheath. It allows the 4 inner cables to slide around freely when coiling, preventing kinks and twists. I was concerned about the durability of those 4 little cables at the ends of the snake (the fan-out). But each cable has a twist of cotton strings inside to add tensile strength, along with a steel ground wire (in addition to the copper shield). I think they're pretty tough little cables, if the fan-out survives for a year I'll consider it a success.

That wire you are referring to is definitely not steel.  It's the drain wire, which contacts the inside of the braided copper shield.  It is just a copper wire that has been tinned.  Steel would be pretty lousy from a conductivity standpoint.  You might be thinking of wires used by DPA and Schoeps which have a thread of Kevlar running through to add tensile strength.  Nothing like that in the Mogami snake cable, but those cotton threads seem to do a nice job while keeping things flexible, as you point out.

When you make your connections, that drain wire is what you solder to Pin 1; not the shield itself, which you trim back all the way.  This is so much easier than having to unbraid, twist, tin, and solder the actual shield to pin 1 as you would need to do if there was no drain wire.

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Offline Perry

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #38 on: January 14, 2019, 03:16:59 PM »

I'm currently building a snake with Mogami 2931 (the 4-channel version of 2930). Mogami owes a lot of its flexibility to the loose-fitting outer sheath. It allows the 4 inner cables to slide around freely when coiling, preventing kinks and twists. I was concerned about the durability of those 4 little cables at the ends of the snake (the fan-out). But each cable has a twist of cotton strings inside to add tensile strength, along with a steel ground wire (in addition to the copper shield). I think they're pretty tough little cables, if the fan-out survives for a year I'll consider it a success.

That wire you are referring to is definitely not steel.  It's the drain wire, which contacts the inside of the braided copper shield.  It is just a copper wire that has been tinned.  Steel would be pretty lousy from a conductivity standpoint.  You might be thinking of wires used by DPA and Schoeps which have a thread of Kevlar running through to add tensile strength.  Nothing like that in the Mogami snake cable, but those cotton threads seem to do a nice job while keeping things flexible, as you point out.

When you make your connections, that drain wire is what you solder to Pin 1; not the shield itself, which you trim back all the way.  This is so much easier than having to unbraid, twist, tin, and solder the actual shield to pin 1 as you would need to do if there was no drain wire.

http://www.mogamicable.com/category/bulk/snake/
You're right of course, it's not steel, I should have said it was silver colored. I was a bit confused by it when I first stripped it but I'm doing what you suggested- trim the shield and solder the silver drain wire. They're electrically the same. This is helpful because I'm building a 4.7K mod into one pair and that drain wire helps me fit everything into a 3.5mm TRS plug a little easier.
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Offline ScoobieKW

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #39 on: January 14, 2019, 07:34:10 PM »
Joining late, but here's my two cents worth.

Mogami, Canare, Belden all make great cables. So what else differentiates them?
Price, size, and handling. Is the cable stiff or flexible, does it coil nicely or is it a pain? Is the smaller diameter flexible not as durable?

I'd order a few feet of each, then pick based on physical characteristics.
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Offline voltronic

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #40 on: January 16, 2019, 06:29:26 AM »
Joining late, but here's my two cents worth.

Mogami, Canare, Belden all make great cables. So what else differentiates them?
Price, size, and handling. Is the cable stiff or flexible, does it coil nicely or is it a pain? Is the smaller diameter flexible not as durable?

I'd order a few feet of each, then pick based on physical characteristics.

These brands also supply information on all of the electrical characteristics of their cables, so you can see how they actually perform, unlike mystery audiophile snake-oil companies.

Your advice on ordering a few feet of each is good, though.  I went with the Mogami W2930 due to a combination of construction / handling characteristics and the low capactiance.
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mfrench

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #41 on: January 20, 2019, 09:40:56 PM »
Fwiw, I have a couple of DIY adaptors that I use to turn a single standard mono Canare L4E6S XLR cable into a single xlr cable that carries unbalanced stereo signal. It comes in pretty handy.

Offline Nick's Picks

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #42 on: January 22, 2019, 08:36:10 AM »
the issue with your plan (from my own attempts)...will be the splitting of the cable for the two channels.    So you'll have 4 lead wires for your signal...plus the shield which you'll use as ground.
so....the process will remove the rubber jacket...which is all of your protection from wear and tear...and then will have you likely soldering onto the shield to run a separate wire as ground (dont use the shield itself...that gets difficult to maintain and you'll bust that solder spot when you least want it).

So now you have just 3 wires...no shielding at all.    You'll have to make the lead Y split with some girth so that the strain relief of the cable has something to grab on to.  OR....if you are cutting your XLR's, you might be able to get away the thin leads.

I tried this several times.....the cable failed eventually.   I gave  it up.   Better to make a 5 pin cable and just split the ends with XLRs.   Much more robust.

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #43 on: January 22, 2019, 07:04:27 PM »
Nick,
If that is towards my suggestion,... I've been running that rig, in that config. or, close apprx., for over 10 years without any failure. I have the terminations in two ways, as 1/8" stereo, or, as split RCA, split at an XLR connectors joint.

Offline Nick's Picks

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Re: DIY stereo snake mic cables - good option?
« Reply #44 on: January 23, 2019, 08:42:16 AM »
it wasn't....
just sharing my experience

 

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