[ncolug] Re: Spare Patch Cable Management
- From: "M. Knisely" <charon79m@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "ncolug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ncolug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 14:44:52 -0400
I've got a large duffle for my cables. The long 5+ meter cables are looped
and sitting in the large compartment (I've often thought of putting each
of them in their own zip-lock but I just never get around to it), and I
have about 100m of loose cable in the bottom too. The short cables <1
meter are in one end pocket; and the medium cables are in the other end
pocket. Specialty cables, such as cross-over cables, are in a front
pocket. I also have a smalll canvas bag that is in the large compartment
that has my crimpers, 100 or so ends, a punchdown tool, cable tester, and a
handful of other cabling related things.
I find having the cables in a portable enclosure helps when I'm doing
projects for people.
I have also learned to help curb my obsession of collecting hardware this
way. Once my duffle gets full I stop collecting cables. If I REALLY like
the cable, I'll pull one of the more ratty ones and replace it with the new
cable. Yes, I do need this process to limit my collection.
Hello. My name is Michael Knisely and I'm a computer hardware addict.
On Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 12:47 PM, Silas Lang <aptget@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Oh, I also use the rows of little drawers too, just not much for
> computer-related. All my small computer-related parts are in ziplocks in a
> tub.
>
> I think the key to the tubs and shelves thing is to have LOTs of them, so
> that they aren't too full. I have about 8 of the 5' tall steel shelves (I
> call them "shopping cart" shelves because that's what the chrome versions
> look like, even though some of mine are black.) Probably 20 or so tubs. The
> tubs stick out slightly so I can look down into them, and that is also why
> the 5' high spec - in this case (lots of obscure items) I don't want stuff
> up high where I can't look down into the tubs...
>
> Then for stuff that I hardly ever open, I use larger tubs, in stacks, with
> covers...
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Chuck
> Sent: Friday, June 7, 2013 8:31 AM
>
> To: ncolug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ncolug] Re: Spare Patch Cable Management
>
> It's funny how one solution -- your cables in bags in tubs on a shelf,
> for example -- can work for one person, but not another. I tried that
> and totally lost track of many of my cables and stuff. Which explains
> why I just tossed a bunch of Cat 3 stuff in the trash and am debating
> about the fate of several Cat 5 patch cables.
>
> Thanks for sharing your solutions. I was sure that I wasn't the only
> one who's had to be creative in coming up with a system for storing our
> stuff.
>
> For adapters, I was thinking about using one of those storage thingys
> with the rows and columns of little plastic drawers. (Harry had a
> couple that he used to keep Legos in that is just itching to be
> reused...)
>
> On Fri, 2013-06-07 at 06:10 -0400, Larry DiGioia wrote:
>
>> My solution was similar - I just put two large hooks into a wall, about
>> 5' apart. Then draped cables across them.
>>
>> This covered the medium ones... in the 6 to 8' range, which are the most
>> popular... and best of all it lets me see the ends, which is similar to
>> your solution. I should mention I included power and audio cables mixed
>> in. Finally, I put the both the shortest ones and longer (15' to 100')
>> ones into ziplock plastic bags in a tub, with a large printed page in
>> the bag for length... ("less than 6' " etc)
>>
>> For all my audio adapters I use a fishing tackle box that has clear
>> sides, I can immediately see what I am looking for. In my new house I
>> settled on the "tubs on shelves" method for everything else.
>>
>> On 6/6/2013 7:06 PM, Chuck wrote:
>> > Howdy.
>> >
>> > Are you like me in that you have a collection of spare patch cables
>> > floating around? I have tried to get a handle on my cables for several
>> > years. At first I just coiled my cables up and tossed them in a tub.
>> > But the tub would always end up in the basement among a bunch of other
>> > tubs, so when I needed a cable I'd have to go down to the basement and
>> > sort through the tubs to find the right one, and then I'd have to dig
>> > through the mess of cables that magically became entwined while in the
>> > tub. I tried putting the coiled cables in zip-lock baggies, but the
>> > largest ones wouldn't fit.
>> >
>> > Fortunately, I think I've finally come up with a winning idea, and I
>> > wanted to share it with you all.
>> >
>> > First, I have classified my cables as either "short" or "long" and I
>> > deal with them differently. For me a long cable is one that is > 2
>> > meters, all others are short. The thing to note here is that my cut-off
>> > for long vs. short is not arbitrary; it was chosen for a particular
>> > reason, that I will came back to in a moment.
>> >
>> > I have found that I typically use shorter patch cables more frequently
>> > than long ones, so I want them to be available. Also want to minimize
>> > tangling and I want to be able to visually distinguish cables by type --
>> > coax vs. Ethernet vs. USB -- and I want to get an idea about how long
>> > they are without a bunch of fussing around. In order to meet these
>> > goals I've concluded that the cables need to be hanging vertically. But
>> > hanging from what? Well that's where my first bit of inspiration comes
>> > in. I went to a local hardware store and picked up 6 small compression
>> > springs, and then dug around in my garage and found a small board and
>> > some clips. About 20 minutes later I had a small wall-mountable
>> > solution.
>> >
>> > I then drilled a couple of small holes in my office closet and used
>> > those little plastic insert dodads to screw it to the wall and started
>> > hanging cables from it, with the cables hanging down, and tied with hook
>> > & loop wire ties.
>> >
>> > The middle two springs are now full of various USB cables, which has me
>> > thinking that I didn't build this big enough. I may make another one
>> > and put it on the other side of the closet...
>> > But that's how I am now storing my patch cables that are < 2meters long.
>> > Note: DO NOT use anything like this for fiber optic cables, as the
>> > springs do pinch the cable and you could end-up crushing the fiber.
>> >
>> > For cables that are longer than 2 meters, I lay the cable out next to a
>> > tape measure and use a sharpie to mark it every meter. I then coil the
>> > cable up so that the circumference of the coil is 1 meter long. This is
>> > quite easy as all you need to do is to line up the sharpie marks. I
>> > then use 3 small pieces of black electrician's tape evenly spaced around
>> > the coil to help it retain it's shape. Now I can tell how long a cable
>> > is just by counting the number of loops in each coil.
>> >
>> > That's it. I now have a small stack of coils for my long patch cables
>> > and a couple of bundles of shorter ones hanging in my office closet.
>> >
>> > I'll send pictures in follow-up emails.
>> >
>> > I hope someone finds this useful.
>> > Chuck
>> > .
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > To unsubscribe send to ncolug-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe'
>> > in the Subject field.
>> >
>>
>>
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