DIY Cables

[LavaMan]

For all those out there who want to "roll their own" here's some recommendations:

1. Use two vices - one to hold cable, one to hold plug

2. Use a good soldering iron - Weller is preferred - 50 watt minimum

3. Use 4% silver solder - WBT is a good brand - when soldering you want to still see wire and with Neutriks you should fill cup at least 1/2 to 3/4 full with solder to insure a good mechanical joint

4. Tin stripped leads before soldering to include braid

5. Make sure you strip inner conductive PVC jacket back to it does not come in contact with tip of plug - should see a little white/clear on the dialetic

6. Use a pair of cheap PTP yellow strippers for coax, you will also need a little tool to peel the braid back - a mini phillips screwdriver works real well (I use about 5 different strippers, to include a thermal one) Just need to find what works and does not knick the condcutor, or cut numerous strands of the braid as you want to keep that intact too

8. Clean soldered connection with a de-fluxer - I use Tech Spray G3

9. Use some heatshrink to seal the connection

10. Several different cables out there for DIY'rs the one I would recommend is Canare GS-6 because it is cheap and and easy to work with - I find it easier to assemble than the Mogami 2524 for example

11. Plugs: Neutrik for Straight and G&H for right angle is what I recommend

12. Prior to soldering your second plug inspect the first one make sure solder has shiney appearance and that you do not have cold solder joint and that you have not knicked or melted anything that could cause the cable to short

Hope this is useful.

[danger_boy_13]

50 watt minimum? I had alway heard that over 40 is overkill, and 25 will do just fine. Maybe I am wrong, but I don't want to buy the wrong equipment when I go to get my first set :)

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by danger_boy_13
50 watt minimum? I had alway heard that over 40 is overkill, and 25 will do just fine. Maybe I am wrong, but I don't want to buy the wrong equipment when I go to get my first set :)

25-50 watt will work. It's a matter of how long you want to keep the iron on the plug - for instance because I make a lot of cables, I have an 85 watt - you have to be careful at that heat though, as you can burn through insulation etc...but, for me it's necessary for speed of assembly.

When you have a lot watt iron, you tend to leave the iron on the plug or whatever you are soldering longer, and this can be as problematic as having an iron that's too hot if you are not careful. This is why a 50 watt iron is good, especially for cables.

[Ray18]

I use a soldering gun to do the ground...because you usually want a decent little pool of solder..and a little 20watt iron for the hot


I don't buy into the silver solder..sn63 is great for what I need it for, plus there's very little chance of a fractured joint with that stuff, well at least mine, just on the accuracy of the mix. IT used to cost like 400bux a roll back in the day I hear, but now it's like 20bucks a roll

[scottosan]

a cheap source of materials

www.redco.com

[DarkIntension]

Pics LavaMan?:(

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by DarkIntension
Pics LavaMan?:(

Have not taken any - need to get some AA's for digital camera...

[danger_boy_13]

Well, I went out and bought my first iron, a Weller 40w. I need to get some ends and some cable and make some to try my hand at it now :)

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by danger_boy_13
Well, I went out and bought my first iron, a Weller 40w. I need to get some ends and some cable and make some to try my hand at it now :)

Have you made one before?

[Filch]

Any pics of the process yet?? :)

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by Filch
Any pics of the process yet?? :)

I have one as part of the picture of my shop I took, but it not detailed enough to be useful.

Some more tips: (reinforcement)

1. Fill the cup with solder on the connetor
2. Solder should be shiney in appearance when done (already mentioned)
3. Make sure conductive material immediately around white dieletric - this sourround conductor is srtipped back - should see sheild, black, white, then conductor.
4. should have at least 1/16" space between dielectric and solder cup on connector

here's an old pic:

http://www.lavacable.com/0002.jpg

[NITEFLY182]

I love your cables

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by NITEFLY182
I love your cables

Thanks Man...I couldn't hear you so I turned you up....:D

[NITEFLY182]

Originally posted by LavaMan


Thanks Man...I couldn't hear you so I turned you up....:D

nice. Hopefully I should see my 5-pack of canares this week, no?

[Filch]

Forgive my ignorance or newbyness in this matter. I have done plenty of soldering.... ie. on Xbox and PS games systems mod chips, repaired Convergence chip solder points on my Mitsubishi RPTV, and assembled the crossovers and interconnects of a set of GR Research HT speakers....


I want to build some custom length cables for my new studio setup. My old setup required long cable runs, now I have a much more compact setting.

I'm confident in my soldering ability.... what I am not confident about is how to properly assemble a balanced instrument cable. I've read your process several times, but I'm somehow unable to picture the step-by-step build in my brain. I understand if you feel you've explained all you could in the best way possible. But if you or anyone has an illustrated step-by-step, I'd be greatly appreciative.

Your cables appear to be unbalanced cables. Is the process much different for balanced cables?

I'm also confused about which Canare model# I should use for balanced cable wiring. GS6 is for unbalanced, correct?

[dot-dot-dot]

Originally posted by LavaMan
1. Use two vices - one to hold cable, one to hold plug


Good call. I like to use a vice to hold the plug, and one of those "helping hands" things to hold the cable. I bent the "teeth" of the croc clip on the helping hand outwards though so it doesn't nick the sheath.

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by Filch
Forgive my ignorance or newbyness in this matter. I have done plenty of soldering.... ie. on Xbox and PS games systems mod chips, repaired Convergence chip solder points on my Mitsubishi RPTV, and assembled the crossovers and interconnects of a set of GR Research HT speakers....


I want to build some custom length cables for my new studio setup. My old setup required long cable runs, now I have a much more compact setting.

I'm confident in my soldering ability.... what I am not confident about is how to properly assemble a balanced instrument cable. I've read your process several times, but I'm somehow unable to picture the step-by-step build in my brain. I understand if you feel you've explained all you could in the best way possible. But if you or anyone has an illustrated step-by-step, I'd be greatly appreciative.

Your cables appear to be unbalanced cables. Is the process much different for balanced cables?

I'm also confused about which Canare model# I should use for balanced cable wiring. GS6 is for unbalanced, correct?

Use Canare L-4E6S for balanced wiring. Instructions:

1. Strip about 1" to 1.25" of the outer PVC back exposing the braid.

2. Peel the braid back with a small jewlers size phillips screwdriver and twist tightly as it will solder to pin 1

3. Peel back string and paper filler and cut so they are out of the way.

4. Break out and strip all 4 leads back about .25" or less. White(s) whould be to the opposite side of the braid.

a. For TRS 1/4 plug, strip white(s) back farther than blue(s) but about .15" or so

5. Twist blues together. Twist whites together

6. Tin all leads to inlclude braid

a. for TRS snip white right where it meets edge of blue insulation and bend up and snip braid a hair befor the end of the white insulation.

7. Put either TRS, XLR M or XLR F into vice.

8. Put all three leads in at once:

TRS:

Blue to Ring
White to Tip
Braid to Sleeve

XLR:

Blue to Pin 3
White to Pin 2
Braid to Pin 1

Note: Colors are irrelevent in one sense - just along as the match on both sides. Good rule to follow is white always goes to pin 2, so the other lead sometimes red, in the case of Canare L-4E6s is blue, goes to pin 3 and ground or braid always goes to pin 1.

10. Solder

11. Clean

12. Assemble plug

Hope this helps.

Oh BTW - Canare L-4E6S is very common cable and my prices are the best anywhere on this brand, so by doing the DIY thing you will only save maybe $4-5 dollars per cable, as you willl probably pay anywhere from $.70-.85 per foot for this cable.

[thenakedarab]

Hola all. :wave:

I've decided to make assembling some guitar cables my first guitar related DIY project, and I just wanted to check and see if I need anything else. Also, any advice on how to properly attach a cable to a Neutrik ts connector would be appreciated. :thu:

I've got 10 Neutrik np2rcs ts plugs, 5 Neutrik np2c-b, and a Switchcraft 182 silent plug for the guitar connection.

50 ft of Bill Lawrence low capacitance cable. 1 x 12' for guitar>first pedal, 1 x 15' for last pedal>amp, 3 x 6" patch cables, and 2 x 3' for fx loop

63/37 Solder from the shack. Should I take this back and get the lead free 4% silver, or go somewhere else and get better quality solder? I was worried about the ease of use and thought that 63/37 would be the easiest for a beginer to work with based on what I read in the soldering thread.

A 20/40 Watt switchable iron and stand from the shack. Would anyone advise taking this back and getting a better iron. Also, do I really need more wattage, or a better iron? OR neither, the radio shack $23 iron is fine

Radio Shack Tip Tinner and Cleaner. Do I do this instead of tinning the leads, or in addition to.

Also, in another thread one person had mentioned not needing any shrink wrap, or plastic tubing when hooking up the Neutriks. Should I still use shrink wrap to reinforce the connection?

Should I pretty much just follow the directions in the initial post and addendums when doing the hookups?

Finally, when I was at the shack I picked up some 12 gauge hookup wire to rewire my speaker cab with after this is done. This ought to serve alot better than the angel hair thin crap in there now shouldn't it? Or should I take it back, save a few bucks and pick up some canare 4s8?

Thanks for your time.

[dot-dot-dot]

Originally posted by thenakedarab
63/37 Solder from the shack. Should I take this back and get the lead free 4% silver, or go somewhere else and get better quality solder? I was worried about the ease of use and thought that 63/37 would be the easiest for a beginer to work with based on what I read in the soldering thread.

That'll be far easier to work with than a high silver content solder, and absolutely fine for making cables.

A 20/40 Watt switchable iron and stand from the shack. Would anyone advise taking this back and getting a better iron.

That'll be fine.

Radio Shack Tip Tinner and Cleaner. Do I do this instead of tinning the leads, or in addition to.

That's for the iron tip, so use it in addition.

Also, in another thread one person had mentioned not needing any shrink wrap, or plastic tubing when hooking up the Neutriks. Should I still use shrink wrap to reinforce the connection?

No - you don't need to add shrinkwrap with the Neutriks. Their strain relief is excellent, and a bit of shrinkwrap wouldn't increase the strength of a solder joint at all anyway.

Everything you have is suitable for the job - get on with making those cables! ;)

[thenakedarab]

Originally posted by dot-dot-dot Everything you have is suitable for the job - get on with making those cables! ;)

Thanks for all your help in this thread and the other man. I'm gonna get to work on them Thurs. hopefully (my other day off).

[powerplayj]

Thanks for the tutorial my fellow Fayetteville native/resident (I hail from Eastover!).

I've built many pedals but nothing has kicked my ass more than putting together some right-angle Neutriks and Mogami / Canare cable. The first go-round I got about 50% of the cables working and finally realized that I was heating the cable braid too long and melting the insulator.

I still have a few cables that work but just sound a bit dull compared to the others. Is this symptom common to one type of error in my work or could it be one of many things? Since the capacitance is so low, is there an easier way to measure which cables are ideal and which ones need to be reconnected or will I just have to trust my ears?

Last. Why do you prefer the G&H right-angles? After using the Neutriks I will say that if not anything else, size is an issue.

To all the readers, Neutrik has a few diagrams on their sight that might work well in conjunction with the tutorial above.

Thanks,

Jason

[powerplayj]

One more ?

When you peel back the braid, do you keep it flat or roll it up a bit?

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by powerplayj
Thanks for the tutorial my fellow Fayetteville native/resident (I hail from Eastover!).

I've built many pedals but nothing has kicked my ass more than putting together some right-angle Neutriks and Mogami / Canare cable. The first go-round I got about 50% of the cables working and finally realized that I was heating the cable braid too long and melting the insulator.

I still have a few cables that work but just sound a bit dull compared to the others. Is this symptom common to one type of error in my work or could it be one of many things? Since the capacitance is so low, is there an easier way to measure which cables are ideal and which ones need to be reconnected or will I just have to trust my ears?

Last. Why do you prefer the G&H right-angles? After using the Neutriks I will say that if not anything else, size is an issue.

To all the readers, Neutrik has a few diagrams on their sight that might work well in conjunction with the tutorial above.

Thanks,

Jason

Heting the braid too long while tinning or soldering to the sleeve will cause a short everytime.

G&H plugs are built better, and easier to assmeble than Neutrik.

[Filch]

After soldering a cable, can I test for a short using a multimeter?

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by Filch
After soldering a cable, can I test for a short using a multimeter?

Yes.

[dot-dot-dot]

Originally posted by LavaMan
G&H plugs are built better, and easier to assmeble than Neutrik.

What sort of strain relief do they have?

I should really get hold of a few to try out - the construction does look interesting.

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by dot-dot-dot


What sort of strain relief do they have?

I should really get hold of a few to try out - the construction does look interesting.

Metal ears that fold over onto the cable....

[Filch]

I've done a few cables now, about 5 or 6, and it took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I'm finding the 4% silver solder a bit difficult to work with, it doesn't melt very quickly. I'm using a 40 Watt iron.

Plus I'm not getting the solder cup filled too much. I dunno if it's a case of my solder tip being too big, but I'm finding it a bit hard to get the iron against the conductor and the cup well enough, and get solder into the cup. Especially so with the 4% silver. The handful I've done have mostly been a descent amount of solder to keep the conductor connected, but the cup is definately not filled.

I'm also finding it a tight fit when trying to solder the ground. My work is far from "clean" looking. I've tested each cable with a multimeter and so far, no duds.

Perhaps some close ups of a good soldering job would help me get a better idea of how it should look?

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by Filch
I've done a few cables now, about 5 or 6, and it took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I'm finding the 4% silver solder a bit difficult to work with, it doesn't melt very quickly. I'm using a 40 Watt iron.

Plus I'm not getting the solder cup filled too much. I dunno if it's a case of my solder tip being too big, but I'm finding it a bit hard to get the iron against the conductor and the cup well enough, and get solder into the cup. Especially so with the 4% silver. The handful I've done have mostly been a descent amount of solder to keep the conductor connected, but the cup is definately not filled.

I'm also finding it a tight fit when trying to solder the ground. My work is far from "clean" looking. I've tested each cable with a multimeter and so far, no duds.

Perhaps some close ups of a good soldering job would help me get a better idea of how it should look?

Cup should be at least 1/2 to 3/4 filled. Hold your iron steady on one side until you have enough in there - should be shiney in appearance when you are done. You need to be using two vices - one to hold cable, one to hold connector...

[ericbr78]

I've been making cables for a bit now, and found that practicing on a broken cable was really helpful.

I got the Canare and Redco plugs and they work and sound great. Redco sells the Canare GS-6 for $0.54 a foot. Plus they were really quick and professional.

[ericbr78]

Originally posted by Filch
I've done a few cables now, about 5 or 6, and it took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I'm finding the 4% silver solder a bit difficult to work with, it doesn't melt very quickly. I'm using a 40 Watt iron.

Plus I'm not getting the solder cup filled too much. I dunno if it's a case of my solder tip being too big, but I'm finding it a bit hard to get the iron against the conductor and the cup well enough, and get solder into the cup. Especially so with the 4% silver. The handful I've done have mostly been a descent amount of solder to keep the conductor connected, but the cup is definately not filled.

I'm also finding it a tight fit when trying to solder the ground. My work is far from "clean" looking. I've tested each cable with a multimeter and so far, no duds.

Perhaps some close ups of a good soldering job would help me get a better idea of how it should look?
you also should tin the plugs, line cable and shielding as well. I found that if you tin (add a little dab of solder to the parts before you connect) the plugs they accept the cable better. Makes things cleaner.

[tomm2873]

Originally posted by LavaMan
For all those out there who want to "roll their own" here's some recommendations:

1. Use two vices - one to hold cable, one to hold plug

2. Use a good soldering iron - Weller is preferred - 50 watt minimum

3. Use 4% silver solder - WBT is a good brand - when soldering you want to still see wire and with Neutriks you should fill cup at least 1/2 to 3/4 full with solder to insure a good mechanical joint

4. Tin stripped leads before soldering to include braid

5. Make sure you strip inner conductive PVC jacket back to it does not come in contact with tip of plug - should see a little white/clear on the dialetic

6. Use a pair of cheap PTP yellow strippers for coax, you will also need a little tool to peel the braid back - a mini phillips screwdriver works real well (I use about 5 different strippers, to include a thermal one) Just need to find what works and does not knick the condcutor, or cut numerous strands of the braid as you want to keep that intact too

8. Clean soldered connection with a de-fluxer - I use Tech Spray G3

9. Use some heatshrink to seal the connection

10. Several different cables out there for DIY'rs the one I would recommend is Canare GS-6 because it is cheap and and easy to work with - I find it easier to assemble than the Mogami 2524 for example

11. Plugs: Neutrik for Straight and G&H for right angle is what I recommend

12. Prior to soldering your second plug inspect the first one make sure solder has shiney appearance and that you do not have cold solder joint and that you have not knicked or melted anything that could cause the cable to short

Hope this is useful.



You forgot the most important step:

make sure that you slide the sleeve and any heat shrink and or strain relief over the cable before soldering the connections. :D

I've forgotten this important step more times than I care to mention;)

[LavaMan]

Originally posted by tomm2873




You forgot the most important step:

make sure that you slide the sleeve and any heat shrink and or strain relief over the cable before soldering the connections. :D

I've forgotten this important step more times than I care to mention;)

That is step #9 - heat shrink is only needed around the termation itself, Neutrick comes with a plastic chuck for strain relief and G&H plugs have metal ears that fold over on the cable...

[Filch]

What diameter heat-shrink is proper for these Neutriks ?