More than 50 years on this planet, and some random UA-cam video teaches me how to coil a cable. Unreal. So, THANK YOU! I have a feeling my air compressor hoses and garden hoses thank you too.
I’ve been playing guitar and bass for 58 years. I never knew this. Thanks for showing me and I will show all my students this and require that they show their friends.
I wonder how people make it so far in life without learning that people don't like being told they look like so and so. Or they think they are the first one to notice.
I've worked in a venue doing AV for over 30 years. I have wrapped thousands of cables. This is the first video I have seen that goes deep into why we do it the way we do. I even learned a few things and will be enen more proficient now. I'm going to use this as a training video for all my new AV techs because I want them to know not just the how but also the why behind these methods. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, you are obviously someone who knows cable and I respect that.
I used to work as an A/V tech and when I was being 'trained', they wouldn't let me take the time to understand how it worked and actually made fun of me for not figuring it out within 10 seconds. I ended up doing a lot of over overs because of that until I naturally figured out a better way on my own. This video proves that not everybody figures it out in 10 seconds. Thanks for posting it.
.... anyone who resists 'over/under' - don't let them touch your cords. Yes it can be confusing, if anyone laughs at you for taking your time to understand it .... over/over a really long cord, let them unroll it and deal with all of the assholes (loops) that introduces into the cord. They won't be laughing. :) :) Finding the correct end to start the out-feed is key)
I've had a couple of "start at the bottom" jobs where the people who trained me couldn't explain anything except to say, "that's how we've always done it." It's frustrating to have to bite your tongue as a newby because you don't want to embarrass your new boss.
I have no idea why this was recommended to me, BUT I’M SO GLAD IT WAS! I just went out and over-undered my garden hose, which always gets twisted…this method works like a champ! Then I did the hose for my air compressor…awesome. All my extension cords are now laying in the sun to warm up and relax before I recoil them over-under. I like the daisy-chain loop method for those cords, except for storage - they will be much more compact now. THANK YOU, and thanks to the weird UA-cam algorithm!
Oh nice! I was wondering if it would work for garden hoses. I worked at a Nursery/Gardencenter for a while and the watering hoses, ( lots of them and all 100’ or longer ) were kept coiled up, but more like twisted and piled up, laying on the ground next to each spigot. The worst part was untangling them when you went to use them. Also, the inevitable kinks that would form.
It was recommended to you because videos like this (although useful and interesting) they keep you from thinking about the things that really matter. It's nothing more than a distraction.
I never even realized this technique had a name. I just kinda copied how my dad did it. My dad was an electrician so as a kid in the 70s he made me wrap a lot of cables and rubber tubing and had me cut them to different lengths. This kind of niche knowledge is what UA-cam was made for!! Super nerdy and brilliant knowledge for people whose dads weren’t electricians!
I learned this years ago, watching "This Old House". Tom Silva pulled the show's gaffer into the camera, to show everyone this method of cable/cord wrapping. He had never noticed it before and thought everyone should see and use it. He was right. I wrap both my power cables and air hoses this way. Remember though, flat cables Always get wound flat. 😁✌🖖
Thanks for mentioning this, I just found that video. "How to Coil an Extension Cord | This Old House" It's a very short demo of this method in that video so it's nice to see an in-depth explanation of it here. I'm still not completely sold on this method though, there is an old figure-8 method that works quite easily on long cables and ropes and I find it far more intuitive and gives the same results. I also like the bucket method mentioned in the This Old House episode for certain situations.
OMFG, I feel like a total idiot. This is so simple and so obvious and pure genius. Can’t believe I’ve never just figured it out on my own! This was the video I didn’t know I needed until I watched it. Thank you 10^6
A word of caution. Do not use over/under with fiber optic cables. This can cause a lateral break in the fiber. Fiber optic likes to be rolled on to a form/reel.
You can spot without binoculars a mile away if a person is someone you want to work with at a festival gig by how they're coiling up a cable. Glad for a clear guide to this on UA-cam, thank you for sharing!
The fastest way to relax cable? Is take the cable outside on warm sunny days, extend it for just a short while. The heat will relax the cable and will wrap up very easy. When it's 90 degrees it only takes about 10 mins. I do this often during the summer months. Once the cable is relaxed run your hands along it to pull the kinks or twist out. Another way for very long cable is once it is relax, just pull on it, the stretching will pull the kinks out, but make sure it is a very warm day, and road black top works fastest. I live in the northeast and work in hockey rinks and outside in the winter doing sporting events, wrapping cold cable is pure monster, so having properly wrapped cable helps. If you bring really long cables into cold enviroment only unwrap what you need. In a normal enviroment always unwrap the whole cable so it rewrap up fast when you are done. Word of advise try to use only the length you need and kinks will be a thing of the past.
If you want to do anything related to being an audio technician or audio engineer professionally, this is THE most fundamental and important thing to learn. If you can’t do this well, who’s gonna hire you? I coiled miles and miles worth of cables in my career
the Moment when someone explains pretty well what you do for so many Years but never thought about. Love the advice to feel the Cable... the Key on many Topics
Very clearly explained, you defined over and under as cable position relative to the previous loop, which make immediate sense verses other videos that ambiguously define those as hand motions. Thank you!
I’m watching this while I’m on vacation. Can’t wait to get back and do this with all my cables and freaking hoses too. Nothing p’s me off more than tangled hoses, extension cords and guitar cables.
Other way is to do a figure eight wrapping, that is/was specially true for the heavy tri-coax cables for analog TV camera. That can be useful for water hose. It has the same result of inverting the twists= at each time. My dad taught me the fine art of cable coiling when I was like 10 yo, he was the one supervising fleets of analog TV cameras (at that time, there was even on guy following the camera and cameraman, he was in charge of making sure the cables were following untangled). When you wrap an extension cord around your arm, you can make a figure eight. When you wrap the power cord around your drill, make a figure eight.
Thank you. I finally get it 😂. If I wind laid out cable onto a reel the problem doesn't exist but if I use my usual over over method to wrap it into a loop I'm actually twisting the cable in a corkscrew whilst holding one end tight!
Thank you. Very clear. I wish UA-cam existed in 1988 when i was training staff at a large convention center hotel. Constant battle against elbow wrapping.
"Roadie Wrapped" all my long XLR cables after our orchestra concert today. (I play 1st violin, but I'm also in charge of recording audio.) Can't wait to effortlessly "fling" them out before the next concert! Thanks for the upload. :)
When you fling the cable, be darn sure you are holding onto the end you wrapped last. If you are holding onto the starting end, you might end up with 50 feet of overhand knots rather than a flat lay. That can result in some choice muttering as you spend 5 minutes untying the whole cable.
Way back when we were "wired" on the stage, we were fanatics about wrapping cables the proper way. Every new team member would always marvel at the way the cables were preserved and easily accessible.
I've been using figure 8s forever. I may give this a shot. I play acoustic but I use air hoses and extension cords and rope all the time on my small farm. Good stuff, man. Thanks!
I learned that about 25 years ago, I do it a little differently (hand positioning) but achieve the same result \m/ And 100% makes ALL cable storage so much easier when it's time to use them. It's wild to see the comments section, I had no idea that everyone didn't already know this haha
Thanks so much for this most informative video. I am now walking around my house looking for cables to rewrap. So far I’ve done three instrument cables, an extension cord and two EV charging cables. My wife thinks I’ve lost my marbles.
I've asked sound guys about this, and usually it's at the end of the night, and we're all trying to pack up and leave, so I never got to really understand what's going on. Thank you so much for showing how to do this. I thank you, and my cables thank you. Including the cable you made for me, which is awesome, btw!
Wow, this is the first time I ever saw a good reason for WHY! In studios many typically do all over because we are going to THROW the cable from the mic to the wall panel. It works like crap for pulling. We avoid over under because it is awful for throwing. But now I see why I might want to do over under...now just need to get good at it.
This is applicable to so many things beyond just standard AV gear. I do lots of Radio work and antenna wire is a PITA, we often coil it much like spooling it to maintain that natural curve. This seems like a much better method for cables during non permanent ops. Not to mention network cable. Where have you been for the past 25 years of my life! 😂
I've watched a few cable wrap demonstrations and yours is the best for sure. The fact you take the time and explain the do's and don'ts and clearly show SLOWLY how it's done clicked in my brain. Before I was doing the under loops the same as the over, just with a weird wrist flick motion. I just went and re-wrapped all my cables like a pro. Time to order that sweet looking rattlesnake weave cable.
Thank you for this comprehensive, friendly video. As an owner of an electric car, I find this very useful to try to minimise headaches because of the twisted charging cable for AC charging.
Nice job showing this trick. I worked in a major sports broadcast studio in CT and this is something people should be taught. I also pull fiber and we learned to lay cable or fiber in a figure 8s on the floor when we pulled cable thousands of feet between the buildings.
Wish I had known this 50 years ago. I knew the shoulder/elbow wrap screwed up (in my case) electric cord. Then I started doing long loops and that didn’t work. I could see that the wires, the conductors, were twisting inside the sheath. I didn’t know why. Good comprehensive video. Thanks.
I work in IT and have watched videos on this method and tried it once. My brain just kept saying that this has to cause repeated knots, I hated it but think today I'm going to finally start doing it this way.
Based on some of the comments below, I see mention that CAT5/6 cable shouldn't be wrapped with this technique. Though, I've been wrapping network cable like this for years and years. You might want to do some research on that to ensure that is okay. This video was primarily for Coax audio cables (guitar cables), but works great on other cables and hoses, etc. The first time I heard mention that should not be done with network cables were in these comments.
@@RattlesnakeCableCompany Appreciate the concern and taking the time to reply. Wonder if it's more of an issue for cables that are going to be constantly wound and unwound. I'll have to look into it, ChatGPT here I come! :p I'll do some real research too I suppose.
Just like the "Hooley Hoop" why didn't I think of that..... have been wrapping up my hoses and cords over-over for 30+yrs. The over-under makes total sense because it keeps the twist out.
I feel so stoopid (stupid) for not knowing this sooner by about 60 years. Fortunately my longest amp cable is 6 ft. But I have to work on my 25-50 ft power cords. Arrrrrggghhhh! BTW, excellent teaching technique, different views, and, and REPEATING what is important each step of the way.
Thanks for the load out lesson. Playing guitar and wrapping up cables the wrong way for 32 years. 😂 I learned something new today. You're the best Hank! 🤟
I was told in high school that this was the correct way, but I had never bothered to learn. Thanks for the excellent video with not only the "how" but the "why" so clearly articulated. I'll have to start rehabilitating some of my cables!
Super useful as a home owner. Four areas where I have been using this technique are garden hoses, compressor hose, extension cords, and pressure washer hose.
The first test my advanced video production professor gave was an over under cable wrapping test. That was it; show up and properly wrap a 25ft XLR cable. I'm so thankful for that lesson. I still use it for everything
I do it mostly like the first roadie wrap, except one big difference. When I extend my arm to go for the grab for my under, I open my palm and face it forward as opposed to your fist forward. I grab the cable and bring my wrist in and rotate it to put the cable under. Your way messes with my coordination. When I get knots, it can be what you said about tossing from the wrong end, but a lot of times it's 50 ft or 100 ft+ mic cable or 14/3 power or 12/3 power. I can't seem to wrap it without overlapping it, or tie it without bundling up the nice wrap I just did. So I don't throw it out - I just lay it out one or a few over/unders at a time. One tip I learned, especially for cables carrying power (feeder and portable extensions) is always start at the male/plug side and end at the female side. This is to ensure the power is disconnected for safety purposes without really having to think or question. A lot of times you can't see both termination points at once.
For power cables, I also start with the male end, because I don't want the male prongs getting banged up, as it gets pulled across the pavement/ground/floor/whatever. I wrap my air hoes the same way and start with the male, for the same reason. 😁✌🖖
Velcro is not always used to secure the cable. It is much faster to use loops and a knot. This works well on relatively soft cables, such as microphone cables, they do not get damaged. In this case, I also always start winding from the male connector. Because the cable on the side of the female connector will always get a slight spiral bend from the loops and knot. I do not want this bend to be visible on the microphone, let it be hidden in the multicore or stagebox.
Very comprehensive explanation. While I already knew these things and just needed to be reminded of the technique I thought your thorough and clear explanation was worth commending
I'm a carpenter for 40 years, coiled many a cord, over and over. As the memory develops in the cord, I sometimes throw in an under wrap, but didn't know why. Thanks for the explanation, I'll do it right from now on, I promise!
Excellent it is correct. I have 40 year old power extension cords that are still in perfect shape because when the wire is wrapped over & under there is no tension on the wire it will be relaxed as its stored. Whats really cool is you can tech a cord to relax. if you buy an new power extension it will be wrapped like a garden hose loop loop its a mess to store. if you wrap it back up over & under and let it sit on the hook it will unloop itself and remember that over under relaxed memory. The other important thing to make it easy to pull out a uniform length on every loop is I like to hold the hand holding the roll against my right hip bone the one that protrudes at your waist line. Hold the loop there palm out to load the wire and pull the free hand out to the proper wire length for each loop.Its hard to get correct lengths if both hands are in space and one at least not fixed.
Worked in theater and could never figure this out. One day years later it just clicked when wrapping USB cables - this video would have helped a lot in the meantime! Fun fact I also learned later - same concept applies for coiling braided rope in sailing. We call it “figure 8” or “Goofy ears” depending on the technique.
Great video! I was always good at coiling and organizing cables properly, but learn over-under until I helped with video at college. Cheers to the late Don Reiber, director of media services at the University of Toledo!
probably one of the most valuable videos on UA-cam and I’ve watched hundreds of thousands of them. Thank you so much for this. I used to think I was pretty good at it. I just learned today I am not. I’m gonna start practicing technique tonight.
Excellent video, thanks. 30 years ago my grandfather taught me the same idea, slightly different technique, but same result - a cable thats not twisted and rolls out great.
Also works great with the tow rope when wakeboarding and what-not. You can just toss it out there, take up the slack and it straightens right out with no annoying tangles.
I was taught to use your finger and thumb to rotate the cord to match the coil of the wire as opposed to wrapping it around your elbow. However I like how this allows you to uncoil smoothly. A variation of the thumb and forefinger where you alternate the spin ofd your fingers results in the same effect.
As a Hollywood soundman for over 40 years, that is the only way we wound our cables. However, as a lefty, I would hold the cable in my right hand and wrap with my left. My crew hated it. 😂
Ive been wrapping extention and other cables over and twisting as i went for years, worked in a hospital engineering dept, man this would have been awesome to know, have shaired to my sister who is getting into music and a few friends, a lot will snort before watching but this is awesome. Now i have to go through all my PC, phone, home electical cupboard in a aud way lol. Cheers! 😂🎉🎉
Great explanatory video. Been using the over under method for approximately 30 years. I also tend to call it the linksom/rechtsom method. Dutch for counter clockwise/clockwise. This because i tend to not move my hand under the other cable but rather twist the cable with my right thumb counter clockwise for over and clockwise for under loops and let the cable/loop automatically find its way and prevent making the awkward move with your hand. Might even be the more ergonomic way? It works especially well with stiffer cables.
This is also how I do it. I start with the connector forward in my left hand, just like in the video. The over loop is hard to get wrong and the clockwise under loop is really not that hard to master either, twist just enough to make the cable turn itself naturally into the under loop while being pushed straight towards the left hand. The right arm makes more or less the same minimal motion for both over and under, it just collects the next length of cable and brings it to the left hand. This also means that I can keep my hands low and relaxed. Great video!
Great presentation especially the POV camera angle. I’ve seen other videos where the presenter knows the technique so well, they seem to speed up on the crucial part so it’s not readily seen by the viewer. Thanks for making this video. I use cables for power, connecting coaxial cables to antennas and routing them down masts and across the ground. If they are twisted with the memory of loops they don’t lie flat and cause accidents and further cable damage.
Been doing the over-under since 1986. You can just "twist" or "twirl" the cable with your fingers to do the "under" wrap. Those of us with arthritis in the wrists will find this very helpful, ask me how I know.
I learned this as an apprentice in a machine shop for electrical cables and hoses. The owner expected them to be put away this way. I never gave it much thought till I tried teaching some of the help in my shop. Some people can pick this up in a couple minutes. But for some reason some people have a really hard time wrapping their heads around it.
I learned how to do this when I was in college. I worked as a gaffer on a TV show. The first thing they taught me was a gaffers coil. Same as a roadie wrap.
Been doing this for years and it has not only saved me time but also cables which all adds up to real money in the bank. We also use the last two rounds to kind of knit the end around the coiled cable to act as a natural tie. This tie can be annoying to undo at times but having the Velcro or other ties adds cost and one more thing to keep track of and clean. The chain stitch used by a lot of the construction trades works but it puts more bends in the cable adding to the work hardening of that internal copper or other wire - a coiled cable does less of that and stack or hangs better during moves and storage.
More than 50 years on this planet, and some random UA-cam video teaches me how to coil a cable. Unreal.
So, THANK YOU!
I have a feeling my air compressor hoses and garden hoses thank you too.
Thank you so much! Glad you liked it.
I was thinking exactly the same thing, Ive ruined so many cords over the years
My thoughts exactly!
@@bobjackson7516 i can confirm both will like it very much 😀
😂😂
I’ve been playing guitar and bass for 58 years. I never knew this. Thanks for showing me and I will show all my students this and require that they show their friends.
@@dukeofearl4117 sharing the video would be amazing. Glad you liked it.
Nice to see Fred Armistan in the cable biz!
Um yeah.. that's me
@ seriously, great info. Looks like it will work well for rope and line too.
@@chiphill4856For rope, check out the Joe Brown flake. It is a similar principle but different technique
fr i seriously had to double check this wasn't a portlandia skit!!! 😂
👍🥰
I wonder how people make it so far in life without learning that people don't like being told they look like so and so. Or they think they are the first one to notice.
I've worked in a venue doing AV for over 30 years. I have wrapped thousands of cables. This is the first video I have seen that goes deep into why we do it the way we do. I even learned a few things and will be enen more proficient now.
I'm going to use this as a training video for all my new AV techs because I want them to know not just the how but also the why behind these methods. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, you are obviously someone who knows cable and I respect that.
Wow! Thank you for the comment! Thanks for sharing this as a training video!
I used to work as an A/V tech and when I was being 'trained', they wouldn't let me take the time to understand how it worked and actually made fun of me for not figuring it out within 10 seconds. I ended up doing a lot of over overs because of that until I naturally figured out a better way on my own.
This video proves that not everybody figures it out in 10 seconds. Thanks for posting it.
Thanks for watching!
.... anyone who resists 'over/under' - don't let them touch your cords. Yes it can be confusing, if anyone laughs at you for taking your time to understand it .... over/over a really long cord, let them unroll it and deal with all of the assholes (loops) that introduces into the cord. They won't be laughing. :) :) Finding the correct end to start the out-feed is key)
I've had a couple of "start at the bottom" jobs where the people who trained me couldn't explain anything except to say, "that's how we've always done it." It's frustrating to have to bite your tongue as a newby because you don't want to embarrass your new boss.
I have no idea why this was recommended to me, BUT I’M SO GLAD IT WAS! I just went out and over-undered my garden hose, which always gets twisted…this method works like a champ! Then I did the hose for my air compressor…awesome. All my extension cords are now laying in the sun to warm up and relax before I recoil them over-under. I like the daisy-chain loop method for those cords, except for storage - they will be much more compact now. THANK YOU, and thanks to the weird UA-cam algorithm!
Thank you youtube-algo! Glad you liked the video. This comment made my day.
Lawn mower cable, hosepipes, extension cables. So many applications.
If you have ever wrestled with a steel cable, this is how you defeat them.
Oh nice! I was wondering if it would work for garden hoses. I worked at a Nursery/Gardencenter for a while and the watering hoses, ( lots of them and all 100’ or longer ) were kept coiled up, but more like twisted and piled up, laying on the ground next to each spigot. The worst part was untangling them when you went to use them. Also, the inevitable kinks that would form.
It was recommended to you because videos like this (although useful and interesting) they keep you from thinking about the things that really matter.
It's nothing more than a distraction.
I never even realized this technique had a name. I just kinda copied how my dad did it. My dad was an electrician so as a kid in the 70s he made me wrap a lot of cables and rubber tubing and had me cut them to different lengths.
This kind of niche knowledge is what UA-cam was made for!! Super nerdy and brilliant knowledge for people whose dads weren’t electricians!
That's cool you dad was rocking this technique and passed it down to you!
I learned this years ago, watching "This Old House".
Tom Silva pulled the show's gaffer into the camera,
to show everyone this method of cable/cord wrapping.
He had never noticed it before and thought everyone
should see and use it. He was right.
I wrap both my power cables and air hoses this way.
Remember though, flat cables Always get wound flat. 😁✌🖖
I loved that show!
Thanks for mentioning this, I just found that video. "How to Coil an Extension Cord | This Old House"
It's a very short demo of this method in that video so it's nice to see an in-depth explanation of it here.
I'm still not completely sold on this method though, there is an old figure-8 method that works quite easily on long cables and ropes and I find it far more intuitive and gives the same results. I also like the bucket method mentioned in the This Old House episode for certain situations.
@@edelweisstomner9009: Yes, the figure eight can be good, for those lengths too
long to bungle in one hand.
I HATE flat cables... Such a pain in the ass.
OMFG, I feel like a total idiot. This is so simple and so obvious and pure genius. Can’t believe I’ve never just figured it out on my own! This was the video I didn’t know I needed until I watched it. Thank you 10^6
Glad I could help!
This video is by far the most effective cable wrapping tutorial I have encountered. Thank you for creating this exceptional tutorial.
Awesome! Thank you!!
A word of caution. Do not use over/under with fiber optic cables. This can cause a lateral break in the fiber. Fiber optic likes to be rolled on to a form/reel.
That makes sense!
I remember being told how to do this 20yrs ago when I worked at a small media company, it's the best.
Yes! Thank you!
You can spot without binoculars a mile away if a person is someone you want to work with at a festival gig by how they're coiling up a cable. Glad for a clear guide to this on UA-cam, thank you for sharing!
Absolutely!
The fastest way to relax cable? Is take the cable outside on warm sunny days, extend it for just a short while. The heat will relax the cable and will wrap up very easy. When it's 90 degrees it only takes about 10 mins. I do this often during the summer months. Once the cable is relaxed run your hands along it to pull the kinks or twist out. Another way for very long cable is once it is relax, just pull on it, the stretching will pull the kinks out, but make sure it is a very warm day, and road black top works fastest. I live in the northeast and work in hockey rinks and outside in the winter doing sporting events, wrapping cold cable is pure monster, so having properly wrapped cable helps. If you bring really long cables into cold enviroment only unwrap what you need. In a normal enviroment always unwrap the whole cable so it rewrap up fast when you are done. Word of advise try to use only the length you need and kinks will be a thing of the past.
Yes, the sun-trick is a great one.
If you want to do anything related to being an audio technician or audio engineer professionally, this is THE most fundamental and important thing to learn. If you can’t do this well, who’s gonna hire you? I coiled miles and miles worth of cables in my career
100% agree!
the Moment when someone explains pretty well what you do for so many Years but never thought about.
Love the advice to feel the Cable... the Key on many Topics
Yes!
Are you kidding me?!! I've been playing for over 50 years and am just learning this for the first time! Thank you!
Glad to help!
This might be the best thing I’ve ever learned through UA-cam.
Amazing! Thank you!
the only better tip was that guy that taught us not to drink ocean water. but strongly agree!!!!
It’s 23:20 on Sunday and I’m appreciating this video
Awesome! Thanks for the comment!
if anyone knows how to wrap a cable...it's this man! this is who you listen to right here!
Thank you!!
This the best over under cable cooling video I have ever seen. Thanks so much!
Amazing! Thank you!
Best cable wrapping vid ever.
Aw.. thank you!!
For me, 40 years of doing it incorrectly! If only YT had been there long ago. Thank you!!
Awesome! Glad the UA-cams led you to this!
Very clearly explained, you defined over and under as cable position relative to the previous loop, which make immediate sense verses other videos that ambiguously define those as hand motions. Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback! It's always good to know what works.
This video is a MUST-SEE for all production people. Brilliant!
Awesome! Thank you!
I’m watching this while I’m on vacation. Can’t wait to get back and do this with all my cables and freaking hoses too. Nothing p’s me off more than tangled hoses, extension cords and guitar cables.
Exactly!
Tangled hoses, extension cords, guitar cables - it’s a pain! I feel you.
Other way is to do a figure eight wrapping, that is/was specially true for the heavy tri-coax cables for analog TV camera. That can be useful for water hose. It has the same result of inverting the twists= at each time.
My dad taught me the fine art of cable coiling when I was like 10 yo, he was the one supervising fleets of analog TV cameras (at that time, there was even on guy following the camera and cameraman, he was in charge of making sure the cables were following untangled).
When you wrap an extension cord around your arm, you can make a figure eight. When you wrap the power cord around your drill, make a figure eight.
Learning something from a company in my own town. Love it!
Missoula!
Thank you. I finally get it 😂. If I wind laid out cable onto a reel the problem doesn't exist but if I use my usual over over method to wrap it into a loop I'm actually twisting the cable in a corkscrew whilst holding one end tight!
Glad it helped
this should be taught in schools worldwide ! omg
That's awesome, thank you!!
I'm an amateur FOH tech. I had a buddy teach me this years ago and it's one of the first things that should be taught. Great video!
Awesome! Thanks for the comment and watching the vid!
I'm drooling over the organization in that shop! Gorgeous!
Thank you so much. We do like it organized! Makes for a great work flow and environment! Thanks for the comment.
Thank you. Very clear. I wish UA-cam existed in 1988 when i was training staff at a large convention center hotel. Constant battle against elbow wrapping.
Elbow wrapping... you just made me cry. ;)
"Roadie Wrapped" all my long XLR cables after our orchestra concert today. (I play 1st violin, but I'm also in charge of recording audio.)
Can't wait to effortlessly "fling" them out before the next concert! Thanks for the upload. :)
Yes!
When you fling the cable, be darn sure you are holding onto the end you wrapped last. If you are holding onto the starting end, you might end up with 50 feet of overhand knots rather than a flat lay. That can result in some choice muttering as you spend 5 minutes untying the whole cable.
Great stuff. Old skool is best. ♥️
Thanks for watching!
Definitely going to keep track of this video for when I have to train other people how to do this. It's always a little tough to teach this.
Yes, it's a hard technique to explain!
Way back when we were "wired" on the stage, we were fanatics about wrapping cables the proper way. Every new team member would always marvel at the way the cables were preserved and easily accessible.
It's a beautiful thing.
Thanks! For the first time I really got it and now I can actually do it the right way!❤
Glad you got it dialed in!
I've been using figure 8s forever. I may give this a shot.
I play acoustic but I use air hoses and extension cords and rope all the time on my small farm.
Good stuff, man. Thanks!
Figure 8s is a good move - especially for the super long cables - 75+
Yeah, hand-and-elbow figure 8s are my goto as well. In my case it's power cables for machinery, though.
Well, I know whose cables I’m buying from now on, thanks for showing this!
That's awesome! Thank you so much!
This is the best instructional video I've seen on the topic! Thanks for putting it together so I can share the technique!
Oh, thank you! Thanks for watching.
Oh man…! Thank you so much! I will use this technique from now on. Especially with my charging EV cables 😂
Glad you liked it!
I learned that about 25 years ago, I do it a little differently (hand positioning) but achieve the same result \m/
And 100% makes ALL cable storage so much easier when it's time to use them. It's wild to see the comments section, I had no idea that everyone didn't already know this haha
Yes, there are lots of nuance to in the process - just as long as you get the over/under it's all good.
Thanks for unwinding all the problems with this.
I see what you did there ;)
Thanks so much for this most informative video. I am now walking around my house looking for cables to rewrap. So far I’ve done three instrument cables, an extension cord and two EV charging cables. My wife thinks I’ve lost my marbles.
That's awesome! You're on a roll!
2 scores and 7 years later after graduating from kiddie level coiling cables on my hand and elbow, I now learn this.
Never too late to learn.
I've asked sound guys about this, and usually it's at the end of the night, and we're all trying to pack up and leave, so I never got to really understand what's going on. Thank you so much for showing how to do this. I thank you, and my cables thank you. Including the cable you made for me, which is awesome, btw!
Yeah, probably the worst time to ask a sound guy anything is at the end of the night. Glad you found the video!
Wow, this is the first time I ever saw a good reason for WHY! In studios many typically do all over because we are going to THROW the cable from the mic to the wall panel. It works like crap for pulling. We avoid over under because it is awful for throwing. But now I see why I might want to do over under...now just need to get good at it.
I really wanted to show the 'why'. It's never mentioned.
This is applicable to so many things beyond just standard AV gear. I do lots of Radio work and antenna wire is a PITA, we often coil it much like spooling it to maintain that natural curve. This seems like a much better method for cables during non permanent ops.
Not to mention network cable.
Where have you been for the past 25 years of my life! 😂
I've watched a few cable wrap demonstrations and yours is the best for sure. The fact you take the time and explain the do's and don'ts and clearly show SLOWLY how it's done clicked in my brain. Before I was doing the under loops the same as the over, just with a weird wrist flick motion. I just went and re-wrapped all my cables like a pro. Time to order that sweet looking rattlesnake weave cable.
That's great! Thank you. Right now you can use code VET20 to save 20% on that snake weave cable!
Thank you for this comprehensive, friendly video.
As an owner of an electric car, I find this very useful to try to minimise headaches because of the twisted charging cable for AC charging.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
This video is a good candidate for the canonical recommendation on how to wrap cables correctly. It's going to be mine for sure. Well done, sir!
"canonical recommendation" - not sure what that means, but sounds good!
@@RattlesnakeCableCompany If you are familiar with the term "religious canon" it has the same origin.
Nice job showing this trick. I worked in a major sports broadcast studio in CT and this is something people should be taught. I also pull fiber and we learned to lay cable or fiber in a figure 8s on the floor when we pulled cable thousands of feet between the buildings.
Awesome. Thanks so much! I hear the Figure 8 is the best move for fiber.
Wish I had known this 50 years ago. I knew the shoulder/elbow wrap screwed up (in my case) electric cord. Then I started doing long loops and that didn’t work. I could see that the wires, the conductors, were twisting inside the sheath. I didn’t know why. Good comprehensive video.
Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
I work in IT and have watched videos on this method and tried it once. My brain just kept saying that this has to cause repeated knots, I hated it but think today I'm going to finally start doing it this way.
Based on some of the comments below, I see mention that CAT5/6 cable shouldn't be wrapped with this technique. Though, I've been wrapping network cable like this for years and years. You might want to do some research on that to ensure that is okay. This video was primarily for Coax audio cables (guitar cables), but works great on other cables and hoses, etc. The first time I heard mention that should not be done with network cables were in these comments.
@@RattlesnakeCableCompany Appreciate the concern and taking the time to reply. Wonder if it's more of an issue for cables that are going to be constantly wound and unwound. I'll have to look into it, ChatGPT here I come! :p I'll do some real research too I suppose.
Just like the "Hooley Hoop" why didn't I think of that..... have been wrapping up my hoses and cords over-over for 30+yrs. The over-under makes total sense because it keeps the twist out.
Yes! You got it.
@@RattlesnakeCableCompany you read all these comments you respond to? ... If so Bravo.
I only respond to the nice ones ;)
What a nice video❤ and if you Watch the video in the studio, you Can start right now. Thank you 😊
Awesome!
The video popped up, watched it. Will never wrap a cord the wrong way again! Well worth the watch if you value your equipment!
Amazing! Glad it popped up for you.
My dad taught me this when I was a kid. Great. Video
Awesome! I taught this to my kids at an early age. I hope it sticks.
A friend of mine would say: That's very German. 😀 I'll try the technique, thanks for the video!
Glad you liked it!
I feel so stoopid (stupid) for not knowing this sooner by about 60 years. Fortunately my longest amp cable is 6 ft. But I have to work on my 25-50 ft power cords. Arrrrrggghhhh! BTW, excellent teaching technique, different views, and, and REPEATING what is important each step of the way.
Yes! Glad you liked it.
How did YT know I _needed_ to see this? Great tutorial Hank, I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon getting my cable life in order.
Awesome! Thank you YT algo!
Thanks for the load out lesson. Playing guitar and wrapping up cables the wrong way for 32 years. 😂 I learned something new today. You're the best Hank! 🤟
The Over/Under is where it’s at!
I was told in high school that this was the correct way, but I had never bothered to learn. Thanks for the excellent video with not only the "how" but the "why" so clearly articulated. I'll have to start rehabilitating some of my cables!
Awesome! I'm glad this video was helpful.
Super useful as a home owner. Four areas where I have been using this technique are garden hoses, compressor hose, extension cords, and pressure washer hose.
Those are some classic home-zones for this. I remember doing it to my garden hoses for the first time.
Heard about this just yesterday on a podcast (lacking visuals), thanks to the magic of algorithms now I have 😂
So glad you found the vid!
The first test my advanced video production professor gave was an over under cable wrapping test. That was it; show up and properly wrap a 25ft XLR cable. I'm so thankful for that lesson. I still use it for everything
That's a great first test!
I do it mostly like the first roadie wrap, except one big difference. When I extend my arm to go for the grab for my under, I open my palm and face it forward as opposed to your fist forward. I grab the cable and bring my wrist in and rotate it to put the cable under. Your way messes with my coordination.
When I get knots, it can be what you said about tossing from the wrong end, but a lot of times it's 50 ft or 100 ft+ mic cable or 14/3 power or 12/3 power. I can't seem to wrap it without overlapping it, or tie it without bundling up the nice wrap I just did. So I don't throw it out - I just lay it out one or a few over/unders at a time.
One tip I learned, especially for cables carrying power (feeder and portable extensions) is always start at the male/plug side and end at the female side. This is to ensure the power is disconnected for safety purposes without really having to think or question. A lot of times you can't see both termination points at once.
For power cables, I also start with the male end, because
I don't want the male prongs getting banged up, as it gets
pulled across the pavement/ground/floor/whatever.
I wrap my air hoes the same way and start with the male,
for the same reason. 😁✌🖖
Velcro is not always used to secure the cable. It is much faster to use loops and a knot. This works well on relatively soft cables, such as microphone cables, they do not get damaged. In this case, I also always start winding from the male connector. Because the cable on the side of the female connector will always get a slight spiral bend from the loops and knot. I do not want this bend to be visible on the microphone, let it be hidden in the multicore or stagebox.
I wouldn't have thought about starting at the male end, thanks for the tip! (that's what she said)
Very comprehensive explanation. While I already knew these things and just needed to be reminded of the technique I thought your thorough and clear explanation was worth commending
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
I've been doing it right but grabbing the wrong ends each time! I appreciate that part
Ooof.. yeah, that part can be painful!
I'm a carpenter for 40 years, coiled many a cord, over and over. As the memory develops in the cord, I sometimes throw in an under wrap, but didn't know why. Thanks for the explanation, I'll do it right from now on, I promise!
That's awesome! Glad the vid was helpful!
I have zero idea why UA-cam sent me here but now I’m rolling my air hose for the compressor up like this from now on. Thanks
Sometimes the best things come to us when we're not looking for them!
Excellent it is correct. I have 40 year old power extension cords that are still in perfect shape because when the wire is wrapped over & under there is no tension on the wire it will be relaxed as its stored. Whats really cool is you can tech a cord to relax. if you buy an new power extension it will be wrapped like a garden hose loop loop its a mess to store. if you wrap it back up over & under and let it sit on the hook it will unloop itself and remember that over under relaxed memory. The other important thing to make it easy to pull out a uniform length on every loop is I like to hold the hand holding the roll against my right hip bone the one that protrudes at your waist line. Hold the loop there palm out to load the wire and pull the free hand out to the proper wire length for each loop.Its hard to get correct lengths if both hands are in space and one at least not fixed.
Nice! I like that hip bone technique!
Great advice Hank. I'm sure a lot of younger cats out there aren't hip to that tip. Thanks for sharing man...keep on rockin'!
Thank YOU!
Worked in theater and could never figure this out. One day years later it just clicked when wrapping USB cables - this video would have helped a lot in the meantime!
Fun fact I also learned later - same concept applies for coiling braided rope in sailing. We call it “figure 8” or “Goofy ears” depending on the technique.
Glad to help! It's amazing how the same principle applies to so many different things.
Thank you and bonus points for explaining the knots when using correct technique. My volunteers will get to check this out as well.
Yes, that is helpful while learning.
I've taken for granted I was doing it right since I was a kid so I had to check, thank you and yeah, I was taught the right way, thank goodness.
Phew..
I had no idea. GREAT INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO. Much thanks.
Thank you!
Best cable wrap tutorial ever!
Wow! Thank you so much!
Great video! I was always good at coiling and organizing cables properly, but learn over-under until I helped with video at college. Cheers to the late Don Reiber, director of media services at the University of Toledo!
probably one of the most valuable videos on UA-cam and I’ve watched hundreds of thousands of them. Thank you so much for this. I used to think I was pretty good at it. I just learned today I am not. I’m gonna start practicing technique tonight.
Awesome! Glad you liked it!
Finally! I've been searching for a really good explanation of how to do this, and this is the *best* one ever.
Thank you!
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Thanks for the reminder on how to do it right.
You bet!
I saw this video in my recommendations and I almost skipped past it.
I CAN"T BELIEVE I ALMOST SKIPPED PAST IT !!! 😲
Awesome! Thanks for watching
Excellent video, thanks. 30 years ago my grandfather taught me the same idea, slightly different technique, but same result - a cable thats not twisted and rolls out great.
Yes, lots of variation on this, just as long as you're achieving over/under on the loops.
Also works great with the tow rope when wakeboarding and what-not. You can just toss it out there, take up the slack and it straightens right out with no annoying tangles.
I use this for rope too!
I was taught to use your finger and thumb to rotate the cord to match the coil of the wire as opposed to wrapping it around your elbow. However I like how this allows you to uncoil smoothly. A variation of the thumb and forefinger where you alternate the spin ofd your fingers results in the same effect.
I think the finger/thumb - depending on how you're doing it, will lead to natural rotation of the cable - but over/over
Great info, Fred Armisen!
As a Hollywood soundman for over 40 years, that is the only way we wound our cables. However, as a lefty, I would hold the cable in my right hand and wrap with my left. My crew hated it. 😂
I’ve been wrapping cable, hoses and ropes like this since I was about 10yrs old, nearly 40yrs.
Marvelous presentation. Thank you so much!
Awesome! Thank you!
Ive been wrapping extention and other cables over and twisting as i went for years, worked in a hospital engineering dept, man this would have been awesome to know, have shaired to my sister who is getting into music and a few friends, a lot will snort before watching but this is awesome.
Now i have to go through all my PC, phone, home electical cupboard in a aud way lol. Cheers! 😂🎉🎉
That's great. Thanks for sharing!!
Great explanatory video. Been using the over under method for approximately 30 years. I also tend to call it the linksom/rechtsom method. Dutch for counter clockwise/clockwise. This because i tend to not move my hand under the other cable but rather twist the cable with my right thumb counter clockwise for over and clockwise for under loops and let the cable/loop automatically find its way and prevent making the awkward move with your hand. Might even be the more ergonomic way? It works especially well with stiffer cables.
Awesome!
This is also how I do it.
I start with the connector forward in my left hand, just like in the video. The over loop is hard to get wrong and the clockwise under loop is really not that hard to master either, twist just enough to make the cable turn itself naturally into the under loop while being pushed straight towards the left hand. The right arm makes more or less the same minimal motion for both over and under, it just collects the next length of cable and brings it to the left hand. This also means that I can keep my hands low and relaxed.
Great video!
For vacuum cords, criss cross between the posts to facilitate ease when using the rotating post for quick release.
Great presentation especially the POV camera angle. I’ve seen other videos where the presenter knows the technique so well, they seem to speed up on the crucial part so it’s not readily seen by the viewer. Thanks for making this video. I use cables for power, connecting coaxial cables to antennas and routing them down masts and across the ground. If they are twisted with the memory of loops they don’t lie flat and cause accidents and further cable damage.
Awesome! Thanks for the comment!
Great job! Never heard about over/under wraps before...
Awesome! Glad you found it.
Been doing the over-under since 1986. You can just "twist" or "twirl" the cable with your fingers to do the "under" wrap. Those of us with arthritis in the wrists will find this very helpful, ask me how I know.
Thanks! Many paths to get the over/under, as long as the loops are over/under as a final result - gets the job done. Thanks for the comment!
I learned this as an apprentice in a machine shop for electrical cables and hoses. The owner expected them to be put away this way. I never gave it much thought till I tried teaching some of the help in my shop. Some people can pick this up in a couple minutes. But for some reason some people have a really hard time wrapping their heads around it.
Thanks for the comment. I agree. They need to get that a-ha moment, and then it's automatic.
I learned how to do this when I was in college. I worked as a gaffer on a TV show. The first thing they taught me was a gaffers coil. Same as a roadie wrap.
That's great! Gaffers know their stuff.
Been doing this for years and it has not only saved me time but also cables which all adds up to real money in the bank. We also use the last two rounds to kind of knit the end around the coiled cable to act as a natural tie. This tie can be annoying to undo at times but having the Velcro or other ties adds cost and one more thing to keep track of and clean. The chain stitch used by a lot of the construction trades works but it puts more bends in the cable adding to the work hardening of that internal copper or other wire - a coiled cable does less of that and stack or hangs better during moves and storage.
Very cool.