Members monkeyland Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 I received this snake today from a friend as a trade for a piece of equipment that I don't use anymore, basically for free. It used to be installed in a church and the person that removed it did not know how to remove the connectors on the fantail from the sockets that they were connected to and just cut them off instead. It is also missing the strain relief for the fan end. It's a 150ft Rapco 24/8 made from Belden cable. I don't have any problem taking the time to clean it up and put on new XLRs, I was just wondering what you guys would do to finish off the part where the Main jacket ends and the fan begins. You can see the small section where the foil shield has become exposed and partially broken. I would hate to put all of the work into fixing this thing up and have that part of it bite me in the ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted May 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 I would also like to know where I can get a strain relief hanger for the fan end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 I get snake parts from Audiopile. It's best to call the order in during a not so busy time and see whats on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rezrover Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 It used to be installed in a church and the person that removed it did not know how to remove the connectors on the fantail from the sockets that they were connected to and just cut them off instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stangconv Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 I would send it to me then receive money in return.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 that is a fairly low/mid end snake but with some care could be very useful. i have never seen a rapco box layout like that, 32 channels is really cool plus the 150' is very useful. you may just want to go ahead and replace the box jacks with something better while you are at it because otherwise they will one at a time break on you (seems the center sections like to come out with the mating jack or get smashed into the box). i wouldnt worry too much about the foil, if you are overly concerned you could just cut the snake end off and star the whip end over, lose about 5 feet maybe? you can order a kellums pull from a variety of places, like grainger for example. be prepared to pay $40 you will likely have to put $120 into the snake to get it working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted May 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 that is a fairly low/mid end snake but with some care could be very useful. i have never seen a rapco box layout like that, 32 channels is really cool plus the 150' is very useful.you may just want to go ahead and replace the box jacks with something better while you are at it because otherwise they will one at a time break on you (seems the center sections like to come out with the mating jack or get smashed into the box).i wouldnt worry too much about the foil, if you are overly concerned you could just cut the snake end off and star the whip end over, lose about 5 feet maybe? you can order a kellums pull from a variety of places, like grainger for example. be prepared to pay $40you will likely have to put $120 into the snake to get it working. Yeah I was thinking about 100 - 150 bucks as well. Already priced out the connectors from Audiopile and they are around 70. Plus Strain relief and heat shrink. Would you just put a big piece of Shrink tubing over the trunk to fan transition or should something extra be done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members desertzj Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 I would get some heat shrink for to cover the spot with exposed foil. 1" heat shrink should fit that cable and give it a little protection. You also want to see if the idiot who cut the snake left the heat shrink numbers. If not you will want to get some numbered heat shrink to identify which channel it goes to. The other option is the Whirlwind connectors with the engraved numbers (Can be a little pricey). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 i use thick double wall stuff for the transition, you can usually find this at car stereo places but i get it at a wholesale distributor with a city desk. it is not inexpensive, but it is very, very tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trevcda Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 I would hate to put all of the work into fixing this thing up and have that part of it bite me in the ass. The first thing I would do (and did) before spending a single penny on this is to get it out in the sun and untwist it if needed and then grab a meter and test for continuity on every last wire, shield and drain in it, moving spots in the cable that look like they may have issues. It's time consuming but if you do it right, you're essentially prepping the bare wire for termination while your verifying it and the only thing your out is time if it turns out to be a steaming pile. Edit: And if the number are no longer on the fan end, this is the perfect time to straighten out that part too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 i should put up some pics of my medusa; i put some time and money into that as well and it was worth it. it has a similar multicore with the exposed foil; the newer horizon snakes i have are all jacketed pairs - so my guess is this rapco may have some years on it - from the looks maybe late 80's early nineties(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted May 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 i should put up some pics of my medusa; i put some time and money into that as well and it was worth it. it has a similar multicore with the exposed foil; the newer horizon snakes i have are all jacketed pairs - so my guess is this rapco may have some years on it - from the looks maybe late 80's early nineties(?) I'd love to see the Pics. I just got word that the connectors still exist and I'll be getting them tonight, too bad they are not connected to the snake. If they turn out to be of any decent quality maybe I'll try to salvage them, the last thing that I want to do though is have to deal with possibly problematic XLRs so I'm leaning toward just replacing them. First things first though...time to get out the old Meter and test for continuity. None of the fan ends have numbers on them so it's going to be a long journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 I'd love to see the Pics. I just got word that the connectors still exist and I'll be getting them tonight, too bad they are not connected to the snake. If they turn out to be of any decent quality maybe I'll try to salvage them, the last thing that I want to do though is have to deal with possibly problematic XLRs so I'm leaning toward just replacing them. First things first though...time to get out the old Meter and test for continuity. None of the fan ends have numbers on them so it's going to be a long journey. open the box up and get the color codes from there; then the whip end will be easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 3, 2011 Members Share Posted May 3, 2011 Good snake, good cable. Worth repairing correctly. Wrap the exposed foil area tightly with premiun (3M) electrical tape about 6 layers smoothly going beyond the exposed area about an inch each side, and then use a 12" piece of heavy duty shrink of suitable size (probably 1.25" expanded) and shrink tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted May 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 So the update is that I did manage to get all of the cable ends complete with labels and connectors. I'm contemplating whether to remove the connectors and put them on the fan as it is now or possibly splice the cut pieces back on. Of course using care to insulate everything well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted May 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 XLRs are all neutrik as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 So the update is that I did manage to get all of the cable ends complete with labels and connectors. I'm contemplating whether to remove the connectors and put them on the fan as it is now or possibly splice the cut pieces back on. Of course using care to insulate everything well. Splicing can be a real nightmare... unless you're set-up good and you've got the chops... and even at that, I'd still suggest just shrink-tubing up a new fantail. As for the trunk to fantail transition: I suggest a double layer approx. 6" - 8" long of GOOD shrinktube (Raychem or similar) at the transition point. Edit: oh... I see Andy already answered the question about the trunk : fantail transition. Andy's suggestion is spot on (as usual). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dennis a Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 None of the fan ends have numbers on them so it's going to be a long journey. This has already been addressed and is unnecessary but I am going to post anyway. Most everyone uses the same color code...the one I am posting is Whirlwind and it is on the left of the page. http://whirlwindusa.com/media/uploads/downloads/manuals/wwcolorcode.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted May 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 Splicing can be a real nightmare... unless you're set-up good and you've got the chops... and even at that, I'd still suggest just shrink-tubing up a new fantail.As for the trunk to fantail transition: I suggest a double layer approx. 6" - 8" long of GOOD shrinktube (Raychem or similar) at the transition point.Edit: oh... I see Andy already answered the question about the trunk : fantail transition. Andy's suggestion is spot on (as usual). I'm really hoping to avoid completely reading the fan from scratch. As of now there is a little less than 2 feet of it left. I think I'm leaning toward putting the connectors on that. It seems like it should be wide enough still for any board that I will encounter without adding extra strain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankiefeedback Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 Nice snake, good luck. I have to ask, is it even possible to splice foil wrap? I would think that certainly cause intermittent problems. A cable tester is a MUST for this project, I have the Berringer tester but wish I had gotten one that tested speakon connectors too. I picked up an old 100' 12/4 medusa a couple of years ago. It had a few bad channels and I needed to convert the 1/4" returns from ts to trs but it has been absolutely flawless since the repairs. I must say that you will nee some good soldering skills and if you don't have them you will by the time you are done reconnecting the xlrs! LoL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 12/4 medusa really? mine is a 12/3 and also came with TS returns. maybe yours is newer than mine. does yours have unmarked cable but has the channel # stamped into the xlr shell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 This is a good time to consider a multipin for a snake that size. In the long run, you would be glad you did it. If you have to make the fan anyway, thats what I would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 This is a good time to consider a multipin for a snake that size. In the long run, you would be glad you did it. If you have to make the fan anyway, thats what I would do. That's a good idea. Then everytime it's just one connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 the multipin connection with labor could cost in the neighborhood of what a brand new snake at this level would run! would be quite nice though until something went wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 4, 2011 Members Share Posted May 4, 2011 Multipin makes sense only if your console's case has a doghouse andthe fan can live there hooked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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