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Cable Management To Defeat Clutter?
igny writes "I have just recently cleaned up my home office, reducing the clutter, but I could not come up with a neat solution to my cable problem. I believe my cable usage is even below average for a slashdotter, but still I have three computers with a bunch of ethernet and power cables, two cellphones, video and photo cables, with several proprietary chargers/AC adapters, printer, two NASes with a couple of external drives, phone, audio system, routers/switches, modem ... Everything requires cables of different kinds. I believe that AC adapters still draw some power even with no device hooked to it. So I organized my power cables by usage with several power strips to turn off adapters which I use less frequently. I am asking for advice from experienced slashdotters. How do you cope with your cable problem? Do you use dedicated tables, shelves, armoire for the cables? I am still looking for a neat, efficient, and safe (I have small kids) solution."
I used to deliver to a company in santa cruz county that made a lightweight plastic hose with a slit down the middle to insert all the cables into. So instead of a bunch of different cables you just had one big 'hose' running through your room. It was a more organized look, sorry I can't remember the name of the company but you can probably modify something to do the same thing.
Velcro strips to bundle the cables work quite well (IMHO). The desk furniture I use (ikea) has room between the desk frame and the surface to thread the velcro strips through to hold it close under the desk.
I've used velcro in racks too -- very convenient when you are constantly changing cabling.
Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
I've always wanted to try the "pegboard under your desk" arrangement. It sounds like a functional solution to keep the clutter under the desk, not on top of it.
http://lifehacker.com/237789/diy-under+desk-gadget-mount
Of course, I'd have to get off my lazy ass to give it a shot so I'm not holding out hope of it happening any time soon...
What doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable
I believe that AC adapters still draw some power even with no device hooked to it.
yes, they draw some. some devices like televisions can even draw an appreciable amount, like 20 watts.
Your average AC adapter has a transformer to step the voltage down to say 12-18V and then a rectifier to turn it into DC, and probably an inductor after that as a filter to smooth out the left over ripple.
When your AC adapter is plugged in with nothing plugged into the DC side, the transformer will still draw a bit of magnetizing current, but it is fuck all.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer#Equivalent_circuit
I think magnetizing current might be 1% tops, so for your 60W laptop power pack you are talking .6 watts.
Even adding up all your power packs you are talking tens of watts.
at $0.30 a for 1000 watts for an hour, those power packs being plugged in is costing you next to zero.
The mess is one thing, but don't worry about the power.
They occasionally post clutter-busting suggestions over at www.lifehacker.com. The original links from this one no longer seem to work, but I thought it was brilliant:
http://lifehacker.com/237789/diy-under+desk-gadget-mount
Basically, mount a peg board on hinged stand-offs with hasps to lock it in the 'up' position, and then mount all the small peripherals and cabling to the bottom of the desk. May not be completely child proof, depending on the size of your children and the extent of the cable fasteners you use.
I think this is a nice DIY example as well: http://lifehacker.com/software/workspaces/hack-attack-the-cordless-workspace-sort-of-179911.php
Velcro these days is _necessary_. I've seen far too many "skilled technicians" slice open cables when cutting open Ty-Wraps that have been bundled too tightly, and had fiber-optic fail because similar idiots bent it too firmly Ty-Wrapping it down.
Cable labels are very helpful: 3com makes label dispensers that help, and when you have 3 or 4 network cables on different subnets but all the same color, they're very helpful indeed. They also help sort out old PS/2 cables for mouse or keyboard, number KVM cables, etc.
Power supplies are a problem. Far too many companies use power bricks that plug directly into the socket, and block everything else. For such foolish designes, one-foot power extenders are very useful. Short extenders also useful for USB devices that are supposed to fit directly into the slot, but block other defices. (Wireless USB devices are particularly bad about this.)
Other issues include _not_ stringing power strip onto power strip to provide enough outlets: get strips with longer cables, probably of heavier gauge, and be sure to tie them directly to the wall socket to avoid adventures.
Power running through a wire creates a EM field. Run power and signal cables separïately.
Someone once told me of a car audio installer who kept running the cables in parallel next to each other. He kept wondering why every time he would rev the engine his speakers would make noise.
Cross power and signal cables at right angles and put some distance between them if you're running in parallel.
Besides that I find grouping the cables with electrical tape every couple of feet works well. Electrical tape has no electrical significance I just like using it.
1. http://cableorganizer.com/ This site is good for hours of fun.
2. Velcro cable ties are great.
3. Build your own custom-length Ethernet cables.
4. Label all your cables and transformers. See http://www.brother-usa.com/Ptouch/Ptouch_HandHeld/
Dave Barnes 9 breweries within walking distance of my house
Put some eyehooks into the back edge of your desk, and hang carabiner clips from them. Run the wires through those. It's even easier to get the wires into and out of than velcro, and holds up well.
I was going to parcel out some mod points in this thread, but I can't let this go unchallenged.
Don't make coils (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Wed Jul 22, '09 06:41 PM (#28789059)
Don't make coils out of excess cable. Loops of cable act as an inductance. When you switch on a device which is connected via a long power cable in loops, the extra load from the inductance can be enough to blow the fuse of the circuit.
Electrical load goes up as resistance and/or reactance goes down. Coiling a wire increases inductance. This increases inductive reactance. This delays direct current from reaching maximum and reduces alternating current. In other words, less load, not more.
That doesn't mean that I'm recommending loops in long power cords, just that the loops will not increase current draw.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Seriously a good idea. I got a bunch of these http://www.belkin.com/surgeprotection/concealed/
They are great, I have just one box on the floor under my desk, easy to sweep around, doesn't collect dust and looks tidy.
I've replaced 90% of my zip ties, mounting bases, velcro, etc. with Dinosaur Duct.
It's available in shorter seqments from Markertek.
Kirkland Signature
Power supplies are a problem. Far too many companies use power bricks that plug directly into the socket, and block everything else. For such foolish designes, one-foot power extenders are very useful. Short extenders also useful for USB devices that are supposed to fit directly into the slot, but block other devices. (Wireless USB devices are particularly bad about this.)
I've had good luck with the folks from Amtex . They make a range of modular power supplies. Australian firm, but they can do 100VAC@60 inputs if you need them. If your phone chargers etc. are mostly the same power in / similar power out, a modular power supply with multiple output leads would be safer than a rank of bricks on a power strip. In one contract I worked we experienced some issues with individual power bricks at a large grocery chain. The bricks can be a problem at the retail lane where space is crowded and occupational safety is a concern.
Oh, and all the grocers use velcro ties at the POS too. They're magic. Use cable ties inside a box when you're manufacturing a consumer gizmo, but velcro if you ever intend to move things around. Spiral nylon cable organisers are good, reusable ways to gather cables in groups too.
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
No, that's 3 watts. The watt is a unit of power, not energy, and is equivalent to joules/second. Power is energy per unit time. kWh is kind of a strange unit; it seems to only serve to confuse people, when it's really just expressing an amount of energy in Joules (1 kWh = 3,600,000 Joules). It'd probably make more sense to just use megajoules, but because of the insistence on referencing energy usage to hours, you'd have to divide by 3600 instead of an even 1000.
HTH.