Re: Screw On Cable

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Ryan,
On these types of cables that use the Switchcraft MC1F screw on connector,
two things have been problematic over the years. One is that getting wire
that fits SNUGLY thru the ground spring, and the other is that the ground
wire of the cable has to be soldered on to the top of the ground spring. The
newer production cables have been hit or miss when it comes to this as I
have a pair of these. What I suggest doing is remove the the set screw, then
unsolder the lead wire of the cable so the cable is free of the connector
and then take a look at how  the ground wire is set with the ground spring.
The newer cables tend to be a bit thinner, and so you unsolder the ground
wire from the spring and remove the cable. Next, get a small amount of
electrical tape so that it fits thru the ground spring extremely tight. Once
this is done, put the cable thru the ground spring and then sand or file the
beginning quarter inch of the top of the ground spring. Once this is
complete, place the ground wire over the top and then the rest of it between
the first 2 coils of the spring. Then solder the ground wire to the spring,
and then resolder the lead wire to the connector and then while holding the
spring tightly towards the top of the connector, put back the gset screw so
that it is firmly in place. This should solve many of the headaches.

During the 70's to mid 80's, rather than buy commercially made cables, which
often times were lacking even then, I used to go to electronics stores
(these days, thery're far different than they were then, as they mainly
cater to computer related stuff these days), and buy the necessary
connectors and jacks, and got 20, but not more than 25 feet of raw Belden
8410 cable, which was both heavily shielded and used rubber jackets, as
opposed to the plastic that's more commonly used these days, and I used to
make them myself. The toughest part of the process was getting the cable
thru the ground spring because that was far thicker cable than what's
presently available. These were far better quality than what's around now,
and because of the rubber jacket, the cable would NEVER kink and ALWAYS
could be counted on to lie flat and makezero noise while handling it, and
also were damned near indestructible. I know of no place at the moment that
still stocks this particular Belden wire number these days, and if anyone
out there knows who stocks it, let me know, because I'd jump on it in a
hurry.

Anyway, hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: RHartt1234@xxxxxxx
  To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
  Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 8:50 AM
  Subject: Screw On Cable


         I have a newer cable with a screw on connector. No matter how hard
I jam the cable into the connector and crank down on the set screw it's
loose enough where as soon as the weight of the cable is pulling down the
cable cuts out.
         Any tips?
         Ryan