Dealing with the rat's nest of cables.


This came up in another discussion and I just wanted to expound a little (vent) on the subject.

It seems to me that there are certain realities that conspire to make the area behind our component rack a nightmare of cables and cords.

  1. Although most of us have our components in close proximity, manufacturers continue to offer their cables in minimum 1 metre lengths. 1.5 metres for some companies.
  2. Wall warts continue to be supplied with low voltage components and they are obnoxious in several aspects. They generate interference, they utilize extra long power cords and the wall wart plugs are so large that they usually take up two outlets on any power conditioner or power strip.
  3. Why are some wall warts plugged in horizontally and some are plugged in vertically. The horizontal ones may be okay for a wall outlet, but for strips and conditioners they can block up to three outlets. If all of them were standardized it would be wonderful.
  4. Power cables that are so stiff and heavy that they have a very hard time maintaining a secure connection with the component itself and often require a "brace" of some sort to not sag.

Not sure if anything can be done about these things, but I feel better now.

128x128tony1954

1 and 4 - Customized or DIY cable options would solve that.

2 and 3 - Wall warts are the devil. Some situations benefit from a LPS. I’ve noticed a trend with laptops where the power supply is inline; with a separate power cord. Much better solution.