What's the best way to coil audio (not power) cables.
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Follow the natural curve of the cable, so it makes a smooth circ
Follow the natural curve of the cable, so it makes a smooth circle. Don't wind it so tight that it renders a permanent bend in the cable. Thinner cable can be wound more tightly than thicker cable, use your better judgement.
For standard mic cables, I'd say generally around 12" diameter, and not less than 8".
Winding too large a circle will leave too much slack, and the risk of creating spaghetti-like tangled mass negates the work you put into neatly winding and organizing in the first place.
Those rip-velcro thingies are great for keeping the cable nice and tight without much fuss. But if you're on a tight budget, plastic trash twist-ties work just fine too.
I also recommend peg-board and hooks from the hardware store, the kind people use to hang hammers and stuff from in their garage. Cables are our tools after all, right?
Hope that helps. Cheers! :)
p.s. DOH! You just beat my post by 1 minute Opus! hehe
The most common mistake is looping the cable around your palm an
The most common mistake is looping the cable around your palm and elbow. This introduces a twisting stress on the internal wire. You can see the result, as it will resemble a mobius strip rather than a flat coil. Make your loops in the air with one hand while supporting the wire with one open palm. Each loop should lie naturally flat against the previous loop. Often the best way to achieve this is by giving the cable about a 180 degree reverse twist with the coiling hand as you are creating each loop. If done right, your resulting coil should look as flat and as neat as the day you got it from the store. This can actually work as a therapeutic procedure on typically twisted and abused cable that may have been previously exposed to the elbow "technique". And definitely use velcro or other cable ties rather using the end of the cable to tie a knot around the coil!
Circular patterns...just like you would when you wrap them up...
Circular patterns...just like you would when you wrap them up...just dont wrap them like you wrap a rope..you dont want to stress the cable in any way..keep it loose so it's not taught..you dont want to disrupt the shielding wrap inside the cable.
Opus