Cable ties

[Ken82]

Can anyone post some links to which cable ties or similar to buy ? I've got dew control , power , camera cables all over the place and I need to better manage it . 

[laudropb]

Just go onto Amazon. Pages and pages of them.

[The Admiral]

Or Ebay

[Skipper Billy]

I hate cable ties - they are too stiff for cable control and if you get the tail off they always leave a very sharp edge and they are very unkind to the insulation of the wire.

Your local yacht chandlers will sell a product called self amalgamating tape.

It looks like insulation tape but its amazingly stretchy and only sticks to itself.

A small piece wrapped around cable bundles provides support but still stretches, no nasty sharp bits and is kind to the insulation.

A much better solution to my (small!) mind !!

[The Admiral]

And you can get that from Maplin and Screwfix as well.

[roblegion]

Double sided velcro is wonderful stuff as cable ties, only about 8 - 10 mm wide, cut it to length and it stick to itself, think I got mine off ebay.

[Tinker1947]

21 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

I hate cable ties - they are too stiff for cable control and if you get the tail off they always leave a very sharp edge and they are very unkind to the insulation of the wire.

Your local yacht chandlers will sell a product called self amalgamating tape.

It looks like insulation tape but its amazingly stretchy and only sticks to itself.

A small piece wrapped around cable bundles provides support but still stretches, no nasty sharp bits and is kind to the insulation.

A much better solution to my (small!) mind !!

This or Velcro straps, as said cable ties will shred your fingers

[theastrodragon]

I tend to use loosely wrapped duct tape. But then I've always loved duct tape...:)

 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

duct tape can leave a sticky residue, which requires white spirit to clean up after, go for the Velcro ty-wraps, e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401002379810?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[VSOP]

As a few others have suggested, Velcro is the ticket.

[Ken82]

Thanks all , just purchased some Velcro tabs from maplin . 

[SonnyE]

7 hours ago, Ken82 said:

Can anyone post some links to which cable ties or similar to buy ? I've got dew control , power , camera cables all over the place and I need to better manage it . 

Boy! Did I come to the right place....

You want spiral wrap. I'm using the cheap stuff and so far happy with it. This cheap stuff is thin and more plyable, which is what you want for our Astro wiring looms, flexibility.

Yes, it is arduous to apply, but once done, great fun!

Here are some links to Amazon:

6mm - It is the equivalent of 1/4" relaxed, but you can wrap in around most any sized bundle. I particularly like this for 2 wire loom, example: the mounts power cord and the CCD camera power.

10mm _ It is the equivalent of 3/8" relaxed, Same as above but wider and as you might suspect a little stiffer. I use it as a general wire looming wrap.

12mm - It is the equivalent of 1/2" relaxed, Same as above but wider, stiffer, and makes a great over-cover for bundles and placing harness snaps for controlling loom routing.

So what's all this look like in the real world?

Glad you asked:

(I have lately changed a few things about my loom, but you can get the idea here. ;^)  Also, I use key rings sometimes, like the swiveling arrangement on my balance bar.)

 

[SonnyE]

6 hours ago, theastrodragon said:

I tend to use loosely wrapped duct tape. But then I've always loved duct tape...:)

 

Point to ponder here: Never use Duct tape on house wiring. It is often conductive.

I did a troubleshooting job where a guy had used duct tape on some splices and wondered why things were shorting out.

Proceed at your own risk. ;^)

[wuthton]

+1 for double sided velcro, soft, strong and long. 

[LukeSkywatcher]

Tesco sell them. 

[Physopto]

You can also get ziplock sleeve. One of our members uses it. Looks just the ticket as it is also reusable many times over. Easy to insert a new wire or replace one. 

Derek

[Owmuchonomy]

Ziplock sleeves are the way to go.  Why I didn't use them before I don't know.  I also use the Maplin Velcro cable ties in various colour coded options.

[Ken82]

That looks great ! Where did you get the ziplock braided sleeve from ? 

[Uranium235]

Overly tidy cables are a sign of a sick mind....lol.

But, I do use the above mentioned velcro strips to take the strain out of my cables.

[Scott]

26 minutes ago, Uranium235 said:

Overly tidy cables are a sign of a sick mind....lol.

But, I do use the above mentioned velcro strips to take the strain out of my cables.

or an astro imager that can't use his set-up due to dirty,rotten,stinking,filthy,mungrel,persistantly petulent,putrid clouds

[Uranium235]

lol...

Cloudy weather getting to you mate? Same here, got yet another storm blowing through at the moment... and the worst part is I have 10 days off and not one of them is looking like its going to be clear. I forecast severe boredom, with occasional outbreaks of melaise followed by extreme gusts of frustration.

[ian_bird]

These are great.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisual-Cable-Tidy-Length-Black/dp/B0096PUZ7S?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Cheers

Ian

[Mav359]

I use this now for all my looms, is braided sleeving spring wrap

http://www.canford.co.uk/TECHFLEX-BRAIDED-SLEEVING-Split-Spring-Wrap

its split open so you can pullit on and off rather then having to feed it through.

I like it because it acts as protection, cables on the ground like my extended handset loom or the loom from the Van to the scope can be walked on & because its completley reuseable.

[Owmuchonomy]

3 hours ago, Scott said:

or an astro imager that can't use his set-up due to dirty,rotten,stinking,filthy,mungrel,persistantly petulent,putrid clouds

 

4 hours ago, Uranium235 said:

Overly tidy cables are a sign of a sick mind....lol.

But, I do use the above mentioned velcro strips to take the strain out of my cables.

?

 

[Owmuchonomy]

4 hours ago, Ken82 said:

That looks great ! Where did you get the ziplock braided sleeve from ? 

The 'bay.