Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

blog.jim-nielsen.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

401–410 of 464 posts

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#401

Post by zimpenfish »

dns_snek wrote: post #316
mceachen wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a cheap pack of 5 colors of 3m electrical tape. Each cable gets one or two pieces of tape: Data: White if usb2 Blue if it supports USB 3 data (because 5Gbps USB 3 ports are mostly blue) Green if TB/USB4/40Gbps Power: None if low/no Power Delivery Yellow for 45W PD Red for 65W+ PD

I suggest finding something else, electrical tape starts coming off after a few years, leaving behind sticky residue that's impossible to remove without some kind of solvent. Same goes for masking tape.

I use wraparound cable labels[0] which seem to work ok (although do end up sliding up and down the cable to some extent.)

[0] e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FQTX4MPL

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#402

Post by mattlondon »

I have all "current" cabling needs in a sort of travel bag thing ... I think it is intended for digital cameras or something but its kinda an A5-sized zip-up "book" of a few pages of pockets and straps and velcro etc. So USB-C to USB-C cables, USB-C USB-A adaptors, audio cables, audio splitters, USB->RJ45, etc etc etc

Then whenever we are travelling we just grab that and I know that basically whatever happens on the plane or when we get to a hotel or whatever I have basically every possible combination covered. Perfect for carry-on.

Its bad consumerism, but I try not to keep too much legacy stuff around and send it for recycling. If I need it again in O(years) then amazon will have it for me usually the same day or next morning.

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#403

Post by bluGill »

mattlondon wrote: post #402

I have all "current" cabling needs in a sort of travel bag thing ... I think it is intended for digital cameras or something but its kinda an A5-sized zip-up "book" of a few pages of pockets and straps and velcro etc. So USB-C to USB-C cables, USB-C USB-A adaptors, audio cables, audio splitters, USB->RJ45, etc etc etc Then whenever we are travelling we just grab that and I know that basically whatever happens on the…

Right, I keep the cables I commonly need, or cables that I know exactly what they go to. A new mini USB cable is cheap and I can get them from amazon if I need one, so why would I risk keeping one in my junk drawer in hopes it works (I just did this - I found a used high end device that has mini USB so I bought a new cable).

That doesn't mean I purge all cables I'm not using. However I try to make sure that I know what they are for and be realistic about my odds of using them again.

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#405

Post by hamburglar »

dataflow wrote: post #128
booty wrote: post #24

Key for me is to "group" cables. For example, I have a bag of USB-C cables, a bag of USB-A cables, etc. Grouping them is key to deduplicating. It's easy to look at a single legacy USB A-to-B "printer" cable in isolation and think "I might need this someday!" Because you really might need it someday. However, if you group them you might see that you have ten of them. And then you can get rid of... maybe 8 of them. I a…

That sounds hard. Is a USB-A-to-C cable in the A group or C group or neither? What about the inverse? What about cables that only do data but can't transmit enough power? What about cables that are slow but high power? What about thick cables like USB4 that barely bend or fit in the bag? What about male-to-female vs. male-to-male? What about brand-specific cables that have their own abilities (say, high-powered but n…

This is exactly why my reaction to this was “who has one box of cables? Doesn’t everyone have an array of 18 stackable bins of cables sorted by function and vaguely grouped by vintage?”

Don’t ever let anyone take away your wildly overengineered cable shrine.

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#406

Post by bluGill »

ssl-3 wrote: post #333
demritocracy wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

another benefit of the hair tie method is when you go to use the cable, you can take as much length as you need from either end, then bunch/coil 'n wrap the rest with the hair tie. You have given me a lot to think about though, I'm always looking for ways to improve my cable storage techniques

It works best with short-ish cables; several meters or less is nice and quick and is simple to keep neat. Longer cables can also work but it kind of takes more space to get it done. Like, a 30-meter extension cord or similar is completely do-able, but it's useful to be able to walk around while it is happening. If the cable is both very long and very heavy, then it's a great workout for all kinds of muscle groups tha…

Hint for long cables: figure out what end you will be looking for first when unwrapping and start at the opposite end. For extension chords I'm going to plug it in and then unwrap to where I want to use it, so I always start at the socket end thus ensuring the plug is easy to access when I next use it.

It took a while, but I learned the over-under technique. It isn't hard at all and works well, but I have no clue who to describe it in text. Come over to my house and I'll be glad to teach you on a real cord - it won't take long. (I did learn it online not in person so I'm sure there are good instructions out there, I don't know which are good, and there are a lot of bad ones)

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#407

Post by bruce343434 »

michaelt wrote: post #146
EvanAnderson wrote: post #9

I wish the old cables, gear, etc. I have squirreled-away stopped saving Customers' and friends' asses because I could feel good about getting rid of it. We've been unspooling the stash of wood off-cuts, bits of copper pipe, and misc. broken or trash-picked parts from my late grandfather's workshop for the last few years. He always seemed to have materials at-hand to fix anything and, as a kid, I was in awe of that. N…

> I wish the old cables, gear, etc. I have squirreled-away stopped saving Customers' and friends' asses because I could feel good about getting rid of it. What you've got to do is become more forgetful. Ask not what a 17v power supply can do for your friends. Ask if you'll remember it and find it when that moment comes.

Alternatively build a searchable inventory app with claude

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#409

Post by IAmBroom »

dns_snek wrote: post #316
mceachen wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a cheap pack of 5 colors of 3m electrical tape. Each cable gets one or two pieces of tape: Data: White if usb2 Blue if it supports USB 3 data (because 5Gbps USB 3 ports are mostly blue) Green if TB/USB4/40Gbps Power: None if low/no Power Delivery Yellow for 45W PD Red for 65W+ PD

I suggest finding something else, electrical tape starts coming off after a few years, leaving behind sticky residue that's impossible to remove without some kind of solvent. Same goes for masking tape.

I have 20 year old white duct tape on containers in my basement that has never peeled. It takes ink pretty well.

Obviously hell if you need to remove it, but we're talking about permanent labels. If I need to change a label I just put on a fresh layer of tape.

Re: Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables

#410

Post by lozenge »

tmountain wrote: post #344
zxexz wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somewhat recently, on a wild night out on the town, I ended up buying a USB-C USB-C cable tester[0]. Using it, I managed to find a few amazing cables amongst my collection. Gave away the others with context. I want something like this for every type of cable. [0] https://caberqu.com/20-42-c2c-caberqu.html

What makes for an amazing cable? For USB, if it carries data and power, I’m usually pretty happy with it.

I just checked and there's 4 levels of data speed (including USB 4 Gen 4) and 3 levels of power (up to 240 W) but I wouldn't be surprised if that is an outdated answer.
Post reply on HN