Can "home made" cables "kinda sorta" work?

[PheelTheMusic]

Tonight I built my very first XLR cables! I'm using Mogami 2549 cable and Neutrik XX series connectors. With each connector end that I soldered I got a little bit more proficient and more confident. Even so, my process is still a bit clumsy and I am wondering if you all have any tips that help in your cable making workflow???

Anyway, is it possible for these cables to "sort of" work.??? I tested each cable individually with a condenser mic and they all sound fine and apparently pass signal perfectly. Does that mean I had total success?! Is there any way that I could have screwed something up that make these cables only live up to a certain percentage of their potential?

They all work so of course I'm very pleased but since it's my first time I'm just nervous that I might have screwed something up that I'm not yet noticing haha.

[peeder]

I take a multimeter and measure resistance across the intended lines and also the unintended ones looking for shorts. Yes you can get cold solder joints that will intermittently succeed and fail (perhaps static or dropout sound). You can also get a cable that passes signal, but only unbalanced signal, and it will sound 6db quieter than a balanced cable would. You can lose grounding which will possibly pick up hum and noise in some configurations and not in others. You can send the signal through the shield/screen and the ground through the core wire which will probably not sound terribly great nor reject interference well.

In short, sure, it's quite possible to screw up and still hear signal.

Probably much of cable mythology sprung from such subtle faults.

[Harley-OIART]

Generally if they all work fine, are wired correctly, and the soldering job is decent, then your good to go... however if you would like some helpful suggestions - my best advice would be to post some quality photos of the soldering work, that way some of the very fine experts around here can offer some helpful critique.

Cheers

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by PheelTheMusic

Anyway, is it possible for these cables to "sort of" work.??? I tested each cable individually with a condenser mic and they all sound fine and apparently pass signal perfectly.

Get an ohm meter.
It is the only way to be sure.
You could have reversed phase without knowing.

Make sure you clean your soldering iron with flux (which prevents oxidation) fairly often.
A dirty iron won't help you much.
As others have said, pre-tin the connections and I found it helpful to dip the end of the wire into the flux and then solder it to the terminal.
Have a good selection of wire strippers, don't 'carry' solder to the connection on a hot iron- you want to use a clamp to hold all the parts in place, have solder in one hand and the iron in the other.

I use a 19" patch panel with a bunch of connections on it built into my work table.
That way I can mount the connector on the patch panel so it stays still- then you can get the hang of holding the wire and the solder in one hand and the iron in the other.
Or just buy a small clamp.

Show us pics of your connections.

[PheelTheMusic]

Thanks guys!

I will post pictures tonight when I get home from work. I have an ohm meter available to use. What should I check for???

[PheelTheMusic]

How do I check for phase reversal? I tested each cable individually with the same gain setting and then a Monster 1000 series studio cable as a control and got the same level across the board. I guess they are balaced at least. Also, I'm fairly certain all of my wires are connected to the right pins. I was careful about lining them up and this part is not exactly rocket science. What's left to worry about???

[Stu Gutz]

Originally Posted by PheelTheMusic

How do I check for phase reversal? What's left to worry about???

Stick an ohm meter lead into the female pin 2 hole and then measure that you have continuity to pin 2 of the male connector. Do the same with pin 3 and then pin 1. Then, at the same connector, check the various combinations of 1->2, 1->3. 2->3 etc. and make sure there is no conductivity (shorts) between them.

That's all there is to test.

Before I solder connections like that I twist the ends of the wire and then apply solder to the wire first as well as solder in the pins of the connector before joining the two. I use a vise to hold the connector when I solder. Just make sure you do a clean job with no loose strands and you will be fine.

[PheelTheMusic]

I just checked all of my XLR cables with an ohm meter. There were no shorts between any pins. Pin 1 always registered 0.0 ohms. Pin 2 and Pin 3 measured 0.3 kOhms on my 20' cables and measured 0.0 ohms on my 10' cables. Am I shooting for 0 across the board or is 0.3 ok???

So it seems like everything is great . The only thing that you all mentioned that I haven't checked is reversed phase and Im not sure quite what you mean by that...

[TAVD]

I made up a patch cable once that revealed some static but only did it on one note of one song on one of my favorite CD's. It was very bizarre.

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by PheelTheMusic

How do I check for phase reversal? Also, I'm fairly certain all of my wires are connected to the right pins. I was careful about lining them up and this part is not exactly rocket science. What's left to worry about???

That's basically it. There should be a color code for hot and cold. Ground will be raw. As long as the pin 2 (say blue) on one side matches to the pin 2 same color (blue again) on the other you will be fine. The Neutrik end should be labeled 1, 2, 3.

[tINY]

Originally Posted by PheelTheMusic

I Pin 1 always registered 0.0 ohms. Pin 2 and Pin 3 measured 0.3 kOhms on my 20' cables and measured 0.0 ohms on my 10' cables. Am I shooting for 0 across the board or is 0.3 ok???

300 ohms seems a bit high for DCR. But if it's consistent, it'll work.

You might want to check the 20 footers again.....




-tINY

[analogtodd]

The only piece of Behringer gear that I'll ever own...
http://www.americanmusical.com/item....000BEH%20CT100

No more guesswork with your cables

[PheelTheMusic]

Tiny:

I have since tested and used all of the cables and the work and sound great!

I actually tested an unsoldered raw 20ft stretch of the 2549 cable and I measured 0.3 kOhms on the two conductors and 0.0 on the shield end to end. When I tested the raw 10ft stretch I got 0s across the board. Could the cheap-o Radio Shack multimeter be wrong? I never got a reading between 0.3 and 0.0 even for a flash so maybe thats the first interval above zero on the display?

[Mixermend]

I have made up a small wooden board with an aluminium panel secured to it - on which I have mounted a male and a female XLR chassis connector, together with a pair of jack sockets and some DIN sockets.

The insert that needs to be soldered can be plugged into the appropriate connector on the panel - which is marked clearly with the pin numbers.

It could be improved by some form of rapid clamp to hold the cable securely whilst soldering - use your imagination to make this device as elaborate (or simple) - as required!

[TAVD]

Originally Posted by Mixermend

I have made up a small wooden board with an aluminium panel secured to it - on which I have mounted a male and a female XLR chassis connector, together with a pair of jack sockets and some DIN sockets.

The insert that needs to be soldered can be plugged into the appropriate connector on the panel - which is marked clearly with the pin numbers.

It could be improved by some form of rapid clamp to hold the cable securely whilst soldering - use your imagination to make this device as elaborate (or simple) - as required!

That's smarter than what I do, which is just hold the plug with any device that will accept it.

[CompEq]

I picked up one of these a few weeks back. It does 1/4", 1/8", RCA, XLR, MIDI and Speakon. OSP CT-01. Couldn't bring myself to buy Behringer.

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