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Your Guide to Cable Repair vs. Cable Replacement

Your Guide to Cable Repair vs. Cable Replacement

Repair or build your custom cables at PacRad

Frayed consumer cables can be fairly easy to fix, and we do share a few ways you can fix those below. However, when it comes to more expensive cables, especially those connected to costly AV equipment — those aren’t as easy to fix, nor can you just throw them out.

Your best bet when it comes to damaged CAV cables is to get them repaired professionally by certified AV technicians who know what they’re doing and won’t compromise the integrity of your cable.  

To start, let’s take a look at how you can quickly repair some of your standard consumer-grade cables at home or work, and then move on to when to replace your cables or go in for professional cable repair:

Electrical Tape

One of the quickest and cheapest ways to fix a cable that’s close to meeting its end is by using some electrical tape. Sure, it won’t look pretty and it isn’t the most fool-proof method, but it’ll work.

Electrical Tape over Exposed wire

The best way to do this is to wrap the frayed part of the cable a few times with the electrical tape to support it properly. You should ideally cover the frayed part first and then work your way out from the frayed part to strengthen the area around the break. This will help to prevent any future damage.

When using electrical tape, go in with the right expectations. Yes, it’ll get the job done, but don’t anticipate it lasting forever.

Heat Shrink Tubing

Need a more robust solution? Go with heat shrink tubing. Heat shrink is slightly more expensive than electrical tape but is a more secure solution. However, if you’ve got large connectors on both ends heat shrink tubing may not work if the tubing is not able to get through the connectors to the actual cable.

Schrumpfschlauch animated modified

Available in a variety of sizes and colors, you’re sure to find a heat shrink size that fits your cable’s needs. Once you’ve found the right size, slide it carefully on one end of the cable and position the tubing over the frayed area. Now use a hair dryer on high heat or a heat gun to trigger the tubing to shrink and wrap tightly around the cable. This will help to reinforce the area that has been damaged and bring back the cable to working condition.

Standard Cable Replacement

If your computer charger or phone charger is beginning to wear out, any of the above solutions will work, and usually at a small cost of actually replacing the entire charger itself. However, if you’re dealing with a broken cable such as a broken USB cable, Ethernet or lightning cable, your best bet is to just replace the cable altogether.

You can get any cable at a fraction of the cost of OEM cables, without sacrificing on the quality. At Pacrad, our NoShorts line of cables are studio-quality cables built with high-quality components and are available in-stock for last minute needs. We have hundreds of custom cables and cable assemblies for professional use in audio, video, broadcast and data applications.

Design, Repair and Build Cables

With commercial AV cables such as audio, video, fiber, networking and broadcasting cables you may find that you need professional help when it comes to repairing your cable.

At Pacrad, we can build and repair any cables to any specifications you need.

Choose from:

  • Audio
  • CATV/RF
  • Control
  • Data
  • Multichannel/Snake
  • Video
  • Fiber

You can choose everything from the cable length and manufacturer to the type of cable and the cable sub-type you need. So for example, if you need to build an audio cable, you can further choose whether you’d like to build an instrument, line level, microphone, speaker, AES/digital, or quad microphone cable.

Similarly, we can repair any fiber cable, or custom-build it for you — special colors available.   We can work with all types of custom fiber cables including:

  • Custom break-outs
  • 900µm, 250µm, and ribbon fiber
  • Indoor cable
  • Outdoor cable
  • Indoor / Outdoor cable
  • Armored cable
  • Tactical cable

By repairing and reusing your cables you can extend the life of your cable along with experiencing higher cost-savings. At Pacrad, our highly skilled technicians evaluate your damaged cable, fix frayed areas, replace connectors, and rigorously test your cable.

Need to repair, replace or build a cable? Visit us at our flagship store or buy or build your cable online!

By Pacific Radio
On April 26, 2019
In Pacific Radio News
Tagged cable building, cable repair, custom cable builder, electrical tape, heat shrink tubing
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