Cable Chaos

thames writes "I have recently moved in to a new college-dorm, and I'm reinstalling all my electrical equipment, such as DVD-player, CD-player, Stereo Receiver, Computer, Speakers, Mini-Disc-player, Video, Playstation, TV and so on... All these things are connected via multiple cables, so I have approximately 50 cables running in my room, and it isn't pretty... My question is: How do I get rid of all those (or most) cables, without throwing my stuff out the window??"

Comments

some help

[aderusha]

after wading through 30 posts telling this guy to get rid of it all, i feel i have to pipe in.

i have a weekend hobby doing video performances for parties and clubs. the environments i work in are probably similar to dorm life - dirty and prone to chaos. my setup involves a couple computers, projectors, playback decks, cameras, mix boards, switchers, modulators, amps, midi instruments, the occasional game console and roughly 281 linear miles of cable - all to be connected together, installed in a venue, run all night in a room full of drunken idiots, and torn down again before dawn. in doing this, i've learned a few tricks to deal with the rougly 40-50 connections that need to be made each time i setup.

CABLE TIES ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND

can't say it enough. buy em in bulk. get a couple pair of diagonal cutters to cut them off with. if you have a unit that has 2 or 3 or more cords, ties the cords together every few inches so it can be handled as 1 cord. go to your local hardware or auto parts store and buy some split loom tubing. it's that bendy plastic tubing with a slit run down the length of it that covers all the wires under your car's hood. if you are planning on it being semi-permanent, but still easily removeable, staple cable ties into the wall and afix your wires to the mop boards with those ties. and when you're not using a particular cable, wrap it up in a loop, cable tie it, and throw it in a box or bag. if every cable in that box is cable tied, you'll never have to deal with the rats nest it will otherwise certainly become.

if it's a complicated setup, and you have the time, try labling both ends of every cable. you can get a good and cheap label printer from target for $20. label the jacks the cable will plug into while you're at it so you'll be able to do it in the dark (or by black light, strobe lights, or bic lighters).

buy yourself a nice switch unit to run the whole thing. either a decent receiver or an outboard switch will allow you to have one source or one destination for every cable. i ebayed myself a 10x10 av switch for $100, but i'm running quite a few outputs in addition to inputs. having enough inputs will also prevent the frequent reconfigurations that take your nice cable setup and turn it back into the spaghetti it wants to be.

and i couldn't go without mentioning this site showing you how to cheaply make great looking and great performing audio and video cables. you can make cables 10 times nicer than monster cable for 1/10th the price.

Do what the professionals do...

[NOT-2-QUICK]

While I certainly concur with the many previous posts pointing out how positively unnecessary owning this mass of redundant equipment truly is, I also admit to being a bit of a electronics junky myself. From my audiophile tendencies to my true geek nature, if it's electronics - I want it!

As such, I have encountered many similar cable management issues of my own such as those being alluded to in this 'ask Slashdot'. In my experience, the best available answer is to follow the lead of professionals and use professional-grade cable management solutions.

The easiest and most cost effective that I have found is simple conduit. Examples can be found and purchased online here and here...

Dollar for dollar, this is the most affordable and, if done right, most attractive and eloquent solution available for the cable intensive electronics aficionado. Plus, all-important to an environment such as a dorm, this is a rather invasive solution that is both low impact to existing structures and portable!!!

Or, of course, he could simply follow one of the many creative suggestions on proper "disposal" of said equipment - not discounting throwing it out the proverbial window... :-)