Cable storage

[Shaun]

Cables...cables.....and more cables. Currently I carry all my cables in couple of huge heavy duty bags on wheels. Despite trying to keep them organised they soon turn into an un-organised nightmare every so often.



Ideally I'd like to find some sort of rigid bag with compartments/dividers in to keep different cable types separated. I've seen flightcases with dividers, but really don't want to go down the flightcase route if possible.

So...what does everyone else use for their cables? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance. :beer1:

[Sapphire Disco]

I have 3 large stackable plastic crates , one for sound cables one for power cables and one that's mixed that I take with me when I go out, then every few weeks I empty them out one by one tidy them up and make sure the one I'm taking out with me has still got everything I will need in it.

[musicology]

I use a large holdall which has dividers that attach inside with velcro.

[leelive]

I use one bag for DMX cables and one for Power Cables. All are neatly wrapped around my arm before being bundled away... no major issues unless I don't follow that pattern.... and then the law of Entanglement Theory reigns.

[DJ Jules]

I've got one large bag for power and one large bag for low voltage cables. Every cable (except 1m power cables) has a velcro cable tie attached to it and is wound and secured before being put back into the bag. Generally this works, except for those short power cables that occasionally come out of the bag in one big knot.

I follow this procedure (more or less) and it really does help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j1Wdc-ymbI

Julian

[DJColsie]

I use this;

http://www.diy.com/departments/jcb-yellow-polypropylene-tool-box/214010_BQ.prd

I have all power cables the the box and xlr cables in a "bag for life" in the box. All cables with cable ties.

I also put a selection of fuses, screwdrivers, electrical tape along with remote controls in the boxes in the lid.

Another bonus, you can stand on it to adjust lighting :-)

[Benny Smyth]

+1 for velcro cable ties.

[Daryll]

em................must be me then

4 speakon cables
1 mains extension
1 iec to overhead......................that s it

any thing else is either pre wired , or in with the piece of kit , ie laptop + power supply + mic and cable + usb lead

And a small box with duplicate cables , just in case

Daryll

[yourdj]

I've got one large bag for power and one large bag for low voltage cables. Every cable (except 1m power cables) has a velcro cable tie attached to it and is wound and secured before being put back into the bag. Generally this works, except for those short power cables that occasionally come out of the bag in one big knot.

I follow this procedure (more or less) and it really does help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j1Wdc-ymbI

Julian

Its amazing how many good DJ's I have seen that have no idea about how to coil a cable.
Its all in the little twist. Cant believe that state of some peoples cables. :)

My lighting is all preassembled, so just IEC's and speak-on cables for me.
All audio cables are also preassembled in a small case with power and mixer/wireless DMX.

Cant help you there Shaun. :)


em................must be me then

4 speakon cables
1 mains extension
1 iec to overhead......................that s it

any thing else is either pre wired , or in with the piece of kit , ie laptop + power supply + mic and cable + usb lead

And a small box with duplicate cables , just in case

Daryll

Thats the spirit.. only the essentials have to be plugged in. :)
IMO - Carrying in boxes uppn boxes of cables and having to plug everything in is a waste of time and space.

[ukpartydj]

I have a large plastic storage container which I put 4 mains extensions, around 10 short main cables in a bag loose then another 10 long mains cables neatly tied together. 8 x10m xlr and around 20 dmx cables all coiled proper of course. Table cloths, tape etc just chuck it all in different corners and it works fine for me haha

[ckpr2]

I just use a plastic container.
I make my own speaker jack leads so made them from orange mains cable so I know they will take 13 amps ok and orange = speaker lead.
Any other audio leads are made black.
Mains cables are all 13 amps so can be used on anything.

[Pe7e]

Mains cables are all 13 amps so can be used on anything.

Have you ever wondered why manufacturers make 3 amp cables?

[ckpr2]

Have you ever wondered why manufacturers make 3 amp cables?

It is a little dangerous using 13 amp cables with 13 amp fuses on something that takes less than 3 amps.
Risk of fire.
My amps all have correct internal fuses anyway.

I dont think most Joe average would understand watts/amps anyway.
W=VI W=IIR W=VV/R

[DazzyD]

Due to practicality of getting gear in to the car if needs be (we often use the people carrier with the back two rows of seats down), the cables are all kept, wound and bound, in a couple of large sports holdalls. The microphones, AV cables, and flatpar remotes are also kept in there.

[Casual77]

Cable management is probably my least favourite aspect of this job, especially packing them away at the end of the night. I've tried various different approaches but the one I've settled on which seems to be working ok for me is this...

Three hold-alls, one for my speaker and microphone cables, one for my various power cables and one for my DMX cables. In the bags I have smaller bags clearly marked up so that all my cables of different lengths are kept together and can be found easily. I picked up a load of cheap zip-up wash bags in different colours so that I can colour-code the different lengths to make them easy to find. I've also just bought a couple of 10m 4-way roll extensions which are easy to wind up and I'm looking to daisy chain as much as possible so that I can use shorter cables which are much easier to store and pack away.

I'm sure that will sound like a terrible way of doing it but it works for me. I'd love to be able to pre-wire but I haven't got anywhere to safely store a pre-wired bar so I have to pack all my lights in bags and set them up on every gig.