Custom USB cables (whisker)

whiskerBox

15 Apr 2012, 05:04

Hey guys,

I have been making cables for a little while since I was having trouble getting those awesome wrapped ones on KBD / OTD. After some people expressed interest I started making some cables for people on GH. I figured it was time to show some of my work over here at DT so here are a couple pics of what I have been doing :)

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whiskerBox

15 Apr 2012, 05:08

Also I get a lot of people asking why there is so much shrink wrap on the mini ends and the reason is because they are made to be flexible so that you don't need angled cords :)

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Trent

15 Apr 2012, 05:38

These are very cool! Would you be able to do a USB <-> SDL cable? I've seen them for sale on eBay but I would LOVE To see something that is a bit more interesting/colorful. Either way I would be interested in them for my external HD.

Here is eBay link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-to-SDL-6-Pi ... 3f1635a475

Trent

User avatar
Acanthophis

15 Apr 2012, 05:47

[threadcrapping]
Spoiler:
Hm, IMO, you've done great work sleeving them, but, no offense to you, the sleeves look awful.
Some are so bad they look like a garden fence.
Especially the last one, you can see the original cable just too good which is bad.

If you are looking for quality sleeves and shrinks, I can strongly recommend you a German guy called Nils. He also ships internationally.
Not to forget his custom drawings for every delivery ;)


Edit: I just saw he only opens his shop for internationals at certain times. So if you want to browse his shop you have to visit for Germany.
[/threadcrapping]
Last edited by Acanthophis on 15 Apr 2012, 06:48, edited 1 time in total.

demik

15 Apr 2012, 05:53

DeathAdder wrote:Hm, IMO, you've done great work sleeving them, but, no offense to you, the sleeves look awful.
Some are so bad they look like a garden fence.
Especially the last one, you can see the original cable just too good which is bad.
He used techflex to purposely show off the custom sleeving. That is not "the original cable".

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Acanthophis

15 Apr 2012, 06:03

[threadcrapping]
Spoiler:
Had to google techflex only to find out this is an actual German brand I never heard of. But the word 'Kabelschutz' does mean something to me :D
Damn you google.de. Gave me the German site of techflex. Company is still american^^

If you say techflex you mean a big sleeve which bundles many cables? As in pic #2 bottom left?
Then no, thats not what I meant.

I meant the last pic. You can actually see the red coating under the blue sleeve.
And for me that's an awful sleeve.
[/threadcrapping]
Last edited by Acanthophis on 15 Apr 2012, 06:49, edited 2 times in total.

whiskerBox

15 Apr 2012, 06:06

demik wrote:
DeathAdder wrote:Hm, IMO, you've done great work sleeving them, but, no offense to you, the sleeves look awful.
Some are so bad they look like a garden fence.
Especially the last one, you can see the original cable just too good which is bad.
He used techflex to purposely show off the custom sleeving. That is not "the original cable".
Yes demik is correct. I tend to use different colors and layers to create new colors and textures :)

The particular cable you think looks awful is actually a color shifting cable which makes it hard to take a pic of. There are actually two colors going on here which are both UV reactive (neon blue, neon red) which together give that purple / blue color that shifts.

Hopefully this picture will clarify:
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User avatar
Acanthophis

15 Apr 2012, 06:12

[threadcrapping]
Spoiler:
Ok.

So instead of taking a dense purple sleeve you mix a dense red and a **** (can't find the opposite of dense) blue cable and mix them?
Despite of the double material cost and double work, exactly what hidden advantages are there?


I hope you don't feel offended, I am just curious ;)
[/threadcrapping]
Last edited by Acanthophis on 15 Apr 2012, 06:49, edited 1 time in total.

whiskerBox

15 Apr 2012, 06:22

DeathAdder wrote:Ok.

So instead of taking a dense purple sleeve you mix a dense red and a **** (can't find the opposite of dense) blue cable and mix them?
Despite of the double material cost and double work, exactly what hidden advantages are there?


I hope you don't feel offended, I am just curious ;)
No your good :)

Basically it gives you kind of a shimmer effect and in this case kind of a color shifting effect. This allows for many different color combinations as well. Personally my favorite combination is paracord with techflex over it which gives great color combinations and texture.

It is double the work, but its the details that count in the end :)

User avatar
Acanthophis

15 Apr 2012, 06:31

Ah, ok. Thanks for clarification.

[threadcrapping]
Spoiler:
I like clean dense sleves better, but thats just my taste. For me they have a more 'quality look'.
Nils (the German sleeve guy) had once a special sleeve offer.
This sleeve also shifted colour in relation to the viewing angle, so acutally the same effect as your double sleeve, but just with one sleeve. Sells them not anymore, though.
[/threadcrapping]
Last edited by Acanthophis on 15 Apr 2012, 06:47, edited 6 times in total.

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litster

15 Apr 2012, 06:38

DeathAdder, no offense, you are threadcrapping. Really, no offense.

Why don't you include more links to other places where we can find all other custom-made USB cables, right here on WhiskerBox's thread where he talks about his own custom-made USB cables?

No offense, but you are threadcrapping.

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Input Nirvana

15 Apr 2012, 07:21

I tried to go back and look at what Deathadder is talking about, but I don't get it? No matter.

In any case, I think these pics look great, pretty sharp what you can do with something that is so plain with some effort and creativity.

I'm thinking of a black cable with red ends/accents....

whiskerBox

15 Apr 2012, 07:24

"No Offense"



Haters gonna hate I guess
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;)
Last edited by whiskerBox on 15 Apr 2012, 16:36, edited 2 times in total.

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captain

15 Apr 2012, 07:30

Do you cut the cables to get the shoe laces on, and then re solder? I want to do this with a 6' right angle cable, and shrink it down to 1', plus pretty orange cover.

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Input Nirvana

15 Apr 2012, 07:37

Whiskerbox is inspiring me to get a bold, one of a kind, detachable cable for my Kinesis....
red home keys.jpg
red home keys.jpg (50.45 KiB) Viewed 7865 times
Kinesis keyboard.jpg
Kinesis keyboard.jpg (22.18 KiB) Viewed 7865 times

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Trent

15 Apr 2012, 07:40

So, USB <-> SDL version? Can you make one? :lol:

If so you have a buyer (me)

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nanu

15 Apr 2012, 16:06

captain wrote:Do you cut the cables to get the shoe laces on, and then re solder? I want to do this with a 6' right angle cable, and shrink it down to 1', plus pretty orange cover.
That's generally how these are made, to my understanding. If someone is willing to create the connector for least one end from untainted, more basic parts, that item could be considered higher quality—because of no break in the cord (and shielding). If you were to advertise that method, you'd probably get more business. But since (probably) no one does it that way, there's no need to advertise this method that would get less business because it's a fairly simple (but laborious) mod to do.

re: Threadcrapping
Obsessive modders tend to be elitists, nothing new.

EDIT: "this" -> "that"
Last edited by nanu on 15 Apr 2012, 20:00, edited 1 time in total.

ripster

15 Apr 2012, 16:24

My Filco camo wrapped cable is ultra stiff. Actually my favorite is my Topre USB cable. THICK. UGLY Manuf labeling. Big toroid. Bitches like thick toroids.

mkeeley

15 Apr 2012, 16:52

So who's adding this [threadcrapping] rubbish, is it the mods? If so then is this going to happen every time someone makes non complimentary comments? If so not a good way to go. Not saying I agree with him but basically censoring threads seems a bit childish.

ripster

15 Apr 2012, 16:57

It's the latest thing at Geekhack. Even when it's a classifieds and the OP is a mod.

I like OCN's silent mods better myself.

Personally I'm a fan of free form ThreadRapping. It's when it turns into ThreadRaping the mods should intervene.
Last edited by ripster on 15 Apr 2012, 17:10, edited 1 time in total.

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off

15 Apr 2012, 17:01

mkeeley, untill we hear otherwise from DA; assume he did it himself after lits' suggestion, all those posts were edited by him, at least according to phpBB. ;)
on topic: I approve of the fake purple cable. :P

User avatar
Acanthophis

15 Apr 2012, 17:14

mkeeley wrote:So who's adding this [threadcrapping] rubbish, is it the mods?
Don't worry, it just was stupid me.

ripster

15 Apr 2012, 17:24

If it makes you feel any better I'm not a big Techflex fan either.

I'd concentrate on upgrading the connectors where it counts.

Neutrik is a bit overkill here.

http://www.focusattack.com/neutrik-naus ... ugh-black/

Ovoxo

16 Apr 2012, 10:59

The last purple cable looks amazing. >.< Now I want one!

Keep up the amazing work!

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Topre Enthusiast

16 Apr 2012, 11:09

They look great whiskerBox.
My only concern would be the durability of the heat-shrink tubing (if that's what it is?). Probably a non-issue as a keyboard cable doesn't generally get moved around much.

AvenZerg

19 Apr 2012, 21:41

where can i purchase one of those cables?

cactux

19 Apr 2012, 22:34

[Account and posts deleted on request]

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