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Cable Management?

Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:22 pm
by dicecca112
How do you guys do it? I have a ton of cables, how do you know what's what and bundle them together?

Point and Case
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Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:36 pm
by Skippman
Well I guess I'm not sure I understand your question.

For a long time I was a big fan of zip ties and split loom. It does indeed look nice when it's finished but if you ever want to change something better have some cutters handy and a bunch of replacement zip ties.

When I built my basement theater I decided to use Velcro ties instead. They worked fantastically. They're easy to use, hold very well, and are reusable.


If you're asking how do you know which wires are ok to bundle together that's going to depend on a few variables. As a rule you don't want to bundle anything carrying power with anything carrying signal. In other words you don't want to bundle your component video and power cables together. If your power isn't clean you CAN induce 60hz hum on the signal wires. In audio this comes across as a huming. In video it comes across as a rolling line in the picture.

With optical cables like TOS/LINK you want to avoid kinking them at all costs and doing so can cause the fibers to break and stop carrying the signal. Make sure you leave enough slack to have a gentle bend in the wire as opposed to a sharp kink. Think of it like a water loop in your PC. You wouldn't want it to have a 90deg bend, would you?

Speaker wires are ok to bunch together. Just make sure the weight of the bunched together wiring isn't so heavy as to pull the cables out of the rear of the AVR. I've seen this happen with 7 channel systems and heavy gauge speaker wire. While we're on speaker wiring, I can't recommend banana plugs enough. When you start getting connection dense on the rear of your AVR with 5.1 and 7.1 systems using those little screw down terminals can be rough. Banana plugs eliminate the need for all of that.

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:42 pm
by martini161
for some reason im very good at managing cables inside a computer case but suck at it on the outside :lol:

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:33 pm
by vicaphit
Easy! Just remove the unneeded mouse and use the velcro strap as seen in the picture!

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Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:30 pm
by dicecca112
Funny, how did I know someone was going to pick up on that. That's from my EEE PC, that's the Power Brick, and my Mouse is from the EEE PC as well. The Netbook is one the dresser out of frame, and that is hanging down. :P

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 8:00 pm
by vicaphit
Haha, I was just trying to be funny. Anyway, I always think about where the cables are going to be running, and I will put in items based on where the cables should be. It all goes crazy after I have organized because I frequently take my computer to other places.

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:10 pm
by DaIceMan
Haven't gotten as far as "how to" just yet, but next weekend is reorganize/cable manage the downstairs TV rack. I'll try to shoot pictures as I go along.

I found this site this week, and it's a decent idea, just not sure how applicable it is for everyone. http://www.decluttered.com/

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:26 pm
by vbironchef
What's the dif. between someone married and single? answer: Neat wires. It takes alot of time and patience to do it right. Have to unplug everything to untangle the crows nest.

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:44 pm
by DaIceMan
vbironchef wrote:What's the dif. between someone married and single? answer: Neat wires. It takes alot of time and patience to do it right. Have to unplug everything to untangle the crows nest.
neat wires are only necessary in obvious spaces (as far as my wife is concerned, that is)... like the upstairs living room. My computer room is behind a door, and until I get a chance/the money to buy the boxes for my network cables, the door gets closed when company comes over.

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:20 pm
by vbironchef
What's personal space? :lol:

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:38 pm
by stev
Just saw this posted on a newswire today.

The clip says that this is a LEADING provider of telecommunications! That's just shocking! :shock:

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Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:40 am
by DMB2000uk
wow, just, wow.

Dan

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:47 am
by dicecca112
stev wrote:Just saw this posted on a newswire today.

The clip says that this is a LEADING provider of telecommunications! That's just shocking! :shock:

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Caption says R&D lab, so I'm not surprised. Must be a bitch to find a cable when you need it

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:48 am
by bubba
Hey trace the gray wire.

Here is a shot of my little wire room before I cleaned it up, can't imagine that dealing with that mess all the time.

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Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:44 am
by mr_noname111
My idea of cable management: as long as you cant see the mess, often hidden behind desks, dont worry about it! :mrgreen:

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 3:03 pm
by Major_A
Zip ties are my best bud. Too bad they just wrangle the mess and not hide it.
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Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:38 pm
by DMB2000uk
It's a shame that the cables aren't long enough to at least tuck along the skirting-board, rather than half way up the wall.

Get some plastic tube that is the same colour as the wall and run them all in that so they aren't black and as a visual mess.

Dan

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 3:25 am
by Daniel85
hi there,
for organizing your cables you can use this cable holder https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Clips-Mana ... B00NVKHLP8solution.

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Thu May 07, 2020 3:04 am
by KnightRid
Daniel85 wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 3:25 am hi there,
for organizing your cables you can use this cable holder https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Clips-Mana ... B00NVKHLP8solution.
11 Years later - I am SOOOOOO glad you are here to save the day :roll:

Stop digging up old threads!

Re: Cable Management?

Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2020 8:44 am
by marshelwilson87
Hello there,
bubba wrote: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:48 am Hey trace the gray wire.

Here is a shot of my little wire room before I cleaned it up, can't imagine that dealing with that mess all the time.

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I suggest you your using cable management kit this is the right option to use and manage all wire in your showcase.