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Re: cable question

Subject: Re: cable question
From: "Greg Simmons" simmosonics
Date: Sun Oct 12, 2008 8:34 pm ((PDT))
--- In  "David Kuhn" <> wro=
te:
>
> Gregg's photo-- http://tinyurl.com/697jny  --shows a Y break-out that
> looks like what Walt speaks of.

Yes, it is a 5-pin to 2 x 3-pin break-out, just as Walt spoke of.


> Is the larger cable leading into the
> 5-pin XLR joined to the smaller cables midway by soldering?

No, there are no solder joints midway; they're not necessary. The outer ins=
ulation of the
cable was simply cut away to release the inner cables. The two leads coming=
 out are the
inner cables with heatshrink to protect them (their outer insulation is qui=
te soft, thin and
weak, not really intended for external use). This heatshrink runs all the w=
ay back to the
outer insulation, where I have tried to make the fit as flush as possible (=
in fact, I slip a few
mm of it under the outer insulation to make sure the coverage is extensive)=
. Then I put a
larger piece of heatshrink over the junction to reinforce that point.

That particular breakout cable is part of my 5-pin system, similar to that =
Walt describes.
You can read about it by going into the archives and searching on '5-pin st=
ereo cable'.

The difference between what I've shown and what you're proposing is that I'=
m using a two
channel multicore cable from Mogami (#2930), rather than star quad, so ther=
e are already
two pairs of inner conductors, each individually shielded and insulated - m=
akes life easier,
and the Mogami is incredibly pliant and has poor memory so it stays where I=
 lay it and
does not form loops to trip over when stumbling about in the undergrowth! H=
owever, at
7kg/100m it's almost twice as heavy as the L-4E5C at 4kg/100m. It all adds =
up...

If I understand correctly, you're proposing to divide the four inner conduc=
tors of a star
quad cable into two pairs for stereo. So you would strip back the outer ins=
ulation as far
back as you needed, revealing the four inner conductors. Then you would div=
ide them into
two pairs and slip a bit of heatshrink tubing over each one to keep them to=
gether. Add an
additional length of heatshrink over the point where the outer insulation e=
nds and you're
done.

Also, make sure the heatshrink extends to inside the XLR, so that the reten=
tion clamp has
something to grip. You might have to add another layer of heatshrink or sim=
ilar here if
necessary...


> I'm now leaning toward terminating the long cable with 5-pin and
> building Y break-outs--seems stronger, and I'm sure suffering through
> the added soldering will build character. (my first XLR cable pair
> took 4 (four) hours!).

If you do the breakout correctly, it will be just as strong whether you do =
it as a separate
cable (like that shown in my pic) or directly on the end of your cables. An=
d there's no
benefit in using the 5-pin system for a single length of cable if you alway=
s need to use the
breakout - that just adds cost, complexity and weight (two more XLR cables =
than
necessary at each end).

- Greg (with one 'g' at the end!) Simmons




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