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Thread: Shortening USB, 5V and audio cables

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    Default Shortening USB, 5V and audio cables

    What problems will I be getting myself into if I try to shorten these cables.

    The reason for the question is that I have been looking at a stereo cable that has been in the junk box for some time. I found that each "lead" consists of about 7 strands of enamel(?) coated wire that is just so fine that one wonders how it could have been produced.

    Trying to scrape off the enamel is not easy - the wire strands break. Is the "enamel" solder through? What is the best method?

    Any member had success shortening USB and 5V cables?

    Tips/tricks gratefully received.
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    Any reason why you can't just roll up/conceal the excess length?

    That coated wire is extremely difficult to strip and solder and it becomes very brittle if you do manage it.

    Then you have the problem of trying to insulate the joins.

    I'd expect you'll just end up destroying an otherwise good, working cable.

    Much easier (and reliable) to just buy shorter cables if you can't use the longer ones as they are.

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    I just buy shorter cables or coil up the excess and tie the loops. It's not worth the effort and frustration to do anything else.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Watching some of those 'How do they do it' shows soon convinces you that trying to make your own or alter a cable is not a good idea due to the type of 'wire' used and the way the connections are made.
    I once and once only tried to solder a telephone handset cable many moons ago and it appeared to be made of cotton strands with minuscule bits of copper for conductivity somehow woven into the strands.
    It was fun to watch the cotton strands catch fire when the iron hot enough to solder touched them.
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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    it appeared to be made of cotton strands with minuscule bits of copper for conductivity somehow woven into the strands.
    Sounds like my stereo cable ...

    Based on the above comments it is time to visit that site and see what is on offer ..
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    Just as an aside, joining cables by other than matching impedance connectors (eg: cutting and soldering cables) affects the cables impedance, which can upset data transmissions.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Guiseppe View Post
    What problems will I be getting myself into if I try to shorten these cables.

    The reason for the question is that I have been looking at a stereo cable that has been in the junk box for some time. I found that each "lead" consists of about 7 strands of enamel(?) coated wire that is just so fine that one wonders how it could have been produced.

    Trying to scrape off the enamel is not easy - the wire strands break. Is the "enamel" solder through? What is the best method?

    Any member had success shortening USB and 5V cables?

    Tips/tricks gratefully received.
    Hi

    you can shorten them with no issues i've seen i once had to cut down my printer cable from 10m to 5m because every one knows usb 2 cables are only rated for 5 or they don't work well or not at all so you can the enamel if it has it on the copper is just that and all you have to do is apply a little heat with a lighter to it and it will turn black and can be wiped off and you don't need to solter it just do a good twist job on it and insulate it with some tape and heat shrink at the end over the top

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    I shorten/makeup my cables the whole time, there is no issue with impedance matching with Audio and and standard USB cables. The reasons I do this go far beyond the scope of this thread. Often the USB cable is directly soldered on one end directly to the PCB.
    However I would never touch those USB3 cables that come with the harddrives that are generally very short anyhow.

    My main gripes with USB cables are that most of them are garbage even if you pay more for thicker looking cables, once you strip them many are just the same thin strands , it is very hard to find good quality cables without going to the overprice brand names, where cutting them up just does not feel right.

    I often build solar chargers with 10W panels and a tiny stepdown inverter that fits inside the connector box, that then delivers almost 2A on 5V (that I trim to 5.1V) and it is very hard to find any USB cable that can handle that without the voltage dropping below the devices charge threshold, so the only way is to cut them as short as possible.

    I have (and always have as far as my demented brain still remembers) used a soldering iron with temperature control, which I set to max and then using solder with a good flux core I can tin the ends of enameled wirestrands just as easy as normal copper strands.
    The lighter method can work if you are quick but it can also oxidse the copper and make soldering difficult, a bit of trial and error there.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 07-10-17 at 11:18 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    I shorten/makeup my cables the whole time, there is no issue with impedance matching with Audio and and standard USB cables. The reasons I do this go far beyond the scope of this thread. Often the USB cable is directly soldered on one end directly to the PCB.
    However I would never touch those USB3 cables that come with the harddrives that are generally very short anyhow.

    My main gripes with USB cables are that most of them are garbage even if you pay more for thicker looking cables, once you strip them many are just the same thin strands , it is very hard to find good quality cables without going to the overprice brand names, where cutting them up just does not feel right.

    I often build solar chargers with 10W panels and a tiny stepdown inverter that fits inside the connector box, that then delivers almost 2A on 5V (that I trim to 5.1V) and it is very hard to find any USB cable that can handle that without the voltage dropping below the devices charge threshold, so the only way is to cut them as short as possible.

    I have (and always have as far as my demented brain still remembers) used a soldering iron with temperature control, which I set to max and then using solder with a good flux core I can tin the ends of enameled wirestrands just as easy as normal copper strands.
    The lighter method can work if you are quick but it can also oxidse the copper and make soldering difficult, a bit of trial and error there.
    Hmmmm if your just using the usb cables for pwer you can always build your own cable from ordinary usb connectors and run better cable with it - even power cable rated to your needs will do the job and should be cheap enough

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    I have (and always have as far as my demented brain still remembers) used a soldering iron with temperature control, which I set to max and then using solder with a good flux core I can tin the ends of enameled wirestrands just as easy as normal copper strands.
    The lighter method can work if you are quick but it can also oxidse the copper and make soldering difficult, a bit of trial and error there.
    Virtually all enamel insulated wire now uses a type of enamel called 'bicaflux' (from memory) which allows it to be tinned nicely with a very hot soldering iron (>350C) which is way better and faster than burning it off with a flame then scraping the oxide off to get back to clean copper.

    Here's a prototype controller I made wired with 0.25mm enamelled wire using that method to avoid the need for a double sided PCB:



    I can get up 16 separate insulated conductors into 1mm^2 of cross-section area that way (each conductor good for several hundred mA max)

    Sergei has the right idea for making your own power-only usb cable with heavier gauge wire than the standard data+power ones. In-line plugs & sockets are readily available so the only other thing you'd need is some heatshrink tube to finish it off.
    Last edited by Skepticist; 12-10-17 at 12:54 PM.

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    Sergei has the right idea for making your own power-only usb cable with heavier gauge wire than the standard data+power ones. In-line plugs & sockets are readily available so the only other thing you'd need is some heatshrink tube to finish it off.
    I basically did that but soldered to the existing cable just cut a couple of cm from the existing plug.
    Pretty tight to solder heavy gauge wire on a micro USB plug and the stiff cable is easily broken off those tiny soldering lugs, even with heat shrink.
    Also something I didn't have lying around when I needed it.
    Anyhow I will try these with my next order if that is what you mean:

    if I can get at least a twin 0.75sqmm cable through the caps for support
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 14-10-17 at 01:03 PM.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
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