[Elecraft] Ultra flexible Multi-Conductor Shielded cable source?

David Moes dmoes at nexicom.net
Mon Feb 20 08:35:21 EST 2012


The only things that are "high grade" about Monster cables and their
competitors are the advertising hype and the price.

I agree that monster cable is a thousand times overkill  and equally 
overpriced but in many cases the cables and wires are  high quality.  
speaker cables not included.  often you can find them in a surplus store 
like I did (beware of knock offs) like Princess auto   I recently 
purchased some monster HDMI and component video cables at Princess auto 
at a surplus price about 20% of retail.  I repurposed them changing ends 
etc for use at the theatre and in the case of the HDMI for my headset. I 
was quite surprised at the quality of the cables with multiple foil and 
tight braided shields and decent gauge center conductors.

Stick to cable from good manufacturers. Belden and Gepco are the good US
mfrs, and there are dozens of no-name companies selling stuff with
questionable construction and performance.  Canare is ok, but not great,
and is overpriced.  West Penn is also a step down.

having worked  in theatres with audio for years I have found that the 
beldens and other "pro grade" cables are great quality especially when 
bought by the spool or in custom snakes etc but be aware that  often 
those short cables in the blister packs hanging on the rack at the music 
store with belden labels are not always what you expect,   I have had to 
change ends on belden off the shelf cables because of an internal 
breakage  only to find a thick outer insulation and over a poorly 
shielded and sometimes not even braided coax or pair.   at the theatre I 
no longer buy short lengths for this reason  just make them up myself 
from the spool.     I got the impression from the OP that he was looking 
for short lengths and not for a spool so thats why I suggested what I did.







More information about the Elecraft mailing list