Cables and other logistic messes

[GS3]

I hate all the mess of cables behind all my desktop computers. Any time I need to do anything it is a tangled mess of cables. Today I had to do something and had to spend some time just untangling cables. I even found a couple of Ethernet cables which were unused because at some point I had just put another cable in their place. Hmmm... this cable hanging here is not connected, let me follow it to see where it goes... and the other end is just hanging somewhere, unconnected. The mess of cables is just ... a mess.

One part of the problem is the many mains power cables which all have to go to a power strip ... or more tan one strip usually. This, again, creates a confusing mess which just gathers dust if left on the floor.

So I have just done something I used to do years ago which is to splice several power cables so that I end up with a single plug on one end and four or five C13 connectors on the other end. This clears a lot on the power strip as I have a single cable leading away from it which then splits into several without the bulk and inconvenience of a power strip. One power strip saved right there.

To do this one has to be aware of the ampacity limitation of a single plug but most computer peripherals use relatively little power and this has never been a limitation for me.

Another thing I hate is power warts, bricks and any external PSUs because they just get in the way. I will sometimes secure them wherever I can like the back of the monitor it is connected to, the wall, the desk, whatever I can do to get it out of the way.

Where I sit right now I have four desktops, one laptop, and a host of peripherals like printer, scanner, etc. and the mess of cables is astounding. Trying to identify both ends of the same cable can take a while.

I just received a special video cable I ordered, Display port to HDMI, but when I went to install it and started inspecting what I had it turned out I already had one similar cable I was not really using. It was connected to the computer and monitor but it was not in use because I had installed another HDMI cable in parallel and that is what was in use. I could have just taken the cable I had there instead or ordering another one.

[cliffcoggin]

On a related topic, I have printed a layout of all the ports on the back of the computer so that I can quickly identify which is which without having to trace each cable back to its device while lying on the floor beneath the desk with a torch in my mouth.

[Portreve]

I am very much a neat-freak when it comes to cabling, however you'd never know it from looking at the back of my present computer desk. The problem with this desk is that it's so open a desk that there's nowhere truly good to route or run cables.

I have my desk running through approximately the middle of my bedroom-cum-office (I don't sleep in here; I have a separate bedroom for that) and no matter what I do, everything on the back side of the desk is exposed. The reason I have my desk like this is I hate having my back turned to the door or the rest of the room.

A place I used to live, where such a consideration simply wasn't an option (because my office and bedroom were one in the same room) I had a couple runs of surface-mount wire channel, a surface-mount outlet box with a number of different jack types, and then I tried to keep everything mounted very cleanly, segregating high voltage stuff from low voltage stuff, etc. Once everything was set up, you saw only the bare minimum number of wires, but more than that I tried to make it easy to determine what went where, which of course is one of the main concerns as expressed above by GS3.

I guess I've kind of gotten used to the situation and become very lazy about it.

Of course, another way to look at this is back in the day I had (we all did, really, if we're being honest about it) lots more cabling and lots more kinds of cabling associated with computer installations than we do now, with serial cables, parallel cables (well, not for Mac users, but for darned near everybody else), phone wires, network cabling of some description, SCSI cables, and so forth and so on. It's wonderful, as far as I'm concerned, that today there's basically just USB cables and power cables and maybe an ethernet cable nearly nothing else.

[GS3]

Some of my ASUS monitors have the connectors in such way that they are a real pain to connect cables to. One I have right here has the connectors in the back, pointing down and covered by a plastic lip enough so that the cable connector is not visible from the back when installed. It might make for nice aesthetics if, say, the monitor is on a desk where there will be someone on the other side, but it is a royal pain to connect or disconnect anything because you have to turn the big, heavy monitor totally up side down. And you need someone's help to hold it there while you connect whatever because the stand is now facing up and getting in the way of what you are trying to do.

I do often take a photo and label it but the main problem still remains. I realize these connections are meant to be done once and not touched but still, sometimes you need to do different tests.

I also put the computers on a stand that lifts them off the floor and the dirt. In the rear I install some wheels or felt so the whole thing with the computer can slide out easily. Being careful to give the cables enough length this helps a lot.

[cliffcoggin]

It's wonderful, as far as I'm concerned, that today there's basically just USB cables and power cables and maybe an ethernet cable nearly nothing else.

Lucky you. I still have one parallel and one serial port, as well as the eight USB ports, the Ethernet port, the monitor port with screws (whose name I don't know), the six phono ports (don't know why as I only use one of them), and the power socket.

[GS3]

USB has replaced the legacy serial and parallel connections but there are a host of new types. Yes, most peripherals use USB now instead of legacy serial and parallel but video only used to be VGA and now, on top of VGA, you have HDMI, DVI and Displayport. Also eSATA, audio, etc. There is more variety of cables now, not less.

But the problem is not the different types as much as the sheer quantity of cables.

In my last office I screwed to the wall a huge power strip and it still wasn't enough and that's when I started splicing multiple power cords together.

[Portreve]

It's wonderful, as far as I'm concerned, that today there's basically just USB cables and power cables and maybe an ethernet cable nearly nothing else.

Lucky you. I still have one parallel and one serial port, as well as the eight USB ports, the Ethernet port, the monitor port with screws (whose name I don't know), the six phono ports (don't know why as I only use one of them), and the power socket.

Well, there are three kinds of monitor connectors which came with screws in the PC world, and actually one more if you also include ones used on Macintosh video cards from back in the day:

15 Pin D-Sub: Known to PC users as a joystick port, this was used as the original graphics connector for Macintosh computers which used external monitors.

9 Pin D-Sub Mini: Used for both 9 pin serial ports in the PC world (and the first two Macintosh computers), this became the standard graphics port for CGA, EGA, and early VGA cards.

15 Pin D-Sub Mini: The same physical dimensions as the 9 Pin D-Sub Mini, this comes with three rows of pins, and would eventually replace everybody's other graphics ports. This standard was originally referred to as SVGA (Super VGA), but came to be used with every graphics standard of the analog era. When someone today says "the VGA port" this is the one to which they are referring.

DVI (A and D): This was the first generation broadly deployed¹ for digital video connections, and actually hung around for quite a while.

There have also been BNC-style connectors used for video purposes; often one would find a cable with an SVGA connector on one end and three color-coded BNC connectors on the other end. Normally, these were associated with high end, professional gear, and aren't something you'd normally find in a regular retail store.

Every other port associated with connecting a monitor does not use screws (DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C).

---

¹ In consumer electronics, one could also find something called "Component Video" which used a series of three RCA connectors. This supported higher quality video, though still an analog standard. But, it was seen on a number of higher-end and very large screen TVs and DVD players of the early to mid 2000s.

[majpooper]

USB has replaced the legacy serial and parallel connections but there are a host of new types. Yes, most peripherals use USB now instead of legacy serial and parallel but video only used to be VGA and now, on top of VGA, you have HDMI, DVI and Displayport. Also eSATA, audio, etc. There is more variety of cables now, not less.

But the problem is not the different types as much as the sheer quantity of cables.

In my last office I screwed to the wall a huge power strip and it still wasn't enough and that's when I started splicing multiple power cords together.

I am in the same boat - we have what is called a bonus room above our garage which we call the computer room.
Two PCs (one dual monitor the other a dual monitor + flat screen TV w/Roku) , a PiHole DNS server, two network printers (don't ask) and a couple of laptops from time to time that I am testing or installing linux for someone. When the house was built I had three CAT runs to the router from the computer room and I still need two switches (a four port and 8 port).

So yeah it's not the different types - that almost helps actually - it's the quantity. It just kind of evolved into a huge rat's nest. Sometimes I think I would like to de-cable everything and using cable ties clean everything up nice and neat - but it such a daunting task to contemplate.

[Portreve]

USB has replaced the legacy serial and parallel connections but there are a host of new types. Yes, most peripherals use USB now instead of legacy serial and parallel but video only used to be VGA and now, on top of VGA, you have HDMI, DVI and Displayport. Also eSATA, audio, etc. There is more variety of cables now, not less.

I'm not going to sit here and say those different standards don't exist, but at least from where I sit, I'm not seeing many people using almost any of that apart from USB 3.x and HDMI. I gather there is something of a horse race between Displayport and HDMI, but most video-related devices use HDMI, and as an interface standard it has certainly developed a lot over the last several years.

[RollyShed]

Warning from Canon in their instruction manual for the i560 printer about the power source -

“Never plug the printer into a power socket that is shared with other equipment (extension lead/cord, 2- or 3- way adapter, etc.).”
Canon i560

Considering that most people, if not using a laptop, will have a desktop computer, monitor, modem, etc. one wonders where they expect you to plug it in. If to a wall socket, that might be a double outlet unit and no different electrically from a 2 – 6 way adaptor.

Basically they are saying DON’T buy this product as they consider it too risky to power it up. That means one less cord/cable.

[GS3]

Sigh... several hours wasted for nothing...

I was using VGA cable for this monitor and it was working well but I thought I try HDMI and see if the image was brighter and sharper. It took many tries and tests and the HDMI cable does work but the VGA quality was about the same. More importantly, it seems the computer *must* start with VGA and only switches to HDMI after Linux has started. In the end I just went back to where I started and thought I just should have left well enough alone.

Then I did the splicing of three power cables together. Not complicated but time consuming because I like to do a good job and solder the wires together. Then lots of insulating tape, some ties and... I realized I had done it wrong. I had four cables and selected three at random and left out the fourth which has an angled C13 connector which absolutely needed to go in the group because the computer box has little space behind it and a straight C13 pushes badly and bends the cable. So just as I was about to plug everything in I realised I could not find the angled C13 connector on any of the cables I had spliced. Dang! There was 75% probability of getting it right just by chance and I managed to get it wrong. Murphy's Law is alive and well.

What a feeling of frustration when after hours of work you have achieved nothing and even made the situation worse.

Warning from Canon in their instruction manual for the i560 printer about the power source -

“Never plug the printer into a power socket that is shared with other equipment (extension lead/cord, 2- or 3- way adapter, etc.).”
Canon i560

Considering that most people, if not using a laptop, will have a desktop computer, monitor, modem, etc. one wonders where they expect you to plug it in. If to a wall socket, that might be a double outlet unit and no different electrically from a 2 – 6 way adaptor.

Basically they are saying DON’T buy this product as they consider it too risky to power it up. That means one less cord/cable.
canon-i560.jpg

Probably the printer control circuitry was badly designed and subject to interference from line noise and spikes and this was worsened by using undersized extension cords loaded with heavy or noisy loads. Canon are taking an easy way out but people who use and misuse cheap and undersized extension cords are a danger to world peace.

[GS3]

I am attaching a design of stand I have been building for ages. It keeps the computer off the floor and dirt and it is extremely simple to make in no time flat.

Sometimes I will put wheels on the back so it is easier to pull out frontwards. Sometimes I have two computer boxes, one on top of the other, and the wheels make it easier to pull everything out.

[Portreve]

people who use and misuse cheap and undersized extension cords are a danger to world peace.

Darn skippy!

[Lady Fitzgerald]

"...Body Type: Clearly not one to turn down a taco."

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[majpooper]

Then I did the splicing of three power cables together.

I am trying to visualize this - do you mean to say you literally take three power cords and splice them onto one plug so that this eliminates the need for each to have a separate electrical socket to plug into? Is this safe?

[GS3]

I am trying to visualize this - do you mean to say you literally take three power cords and splice them onto one plug so that this eliminates the need for each to have a separate electrical socket to plug into? Is this safe?

That is exactly what I do and, yes, it is safe if done right. As I said, I solder and insulate well all connections. Like everything, you just need to know and understand what you are doing and it will be safe.

The power drawn by most computer and peripherals is very low and can be put on a single plug. And if the power draw is higher then they should not be on a power strip anyway and should go directly to a dedicated outlet.

I like to take clutter away from power strips where half the outlets are unusable because power warts cover them. I just try to decrease the clutter by taking things away from the lower strip. And even then ... right now I must have at least half dozen power strips daisy chained around me and they are mostly full. Computers, peripherals, IP security cameras, digital recorder, lamps, timers, ... I don't know, it just seems there are never enough outlets and when I need to plug in something for just a moment I can never find an available outlet. Splicing cables like I do removes a lot of clutter and decreases the need for outlets.

Many years ago I used to build electronic testing equipment and I always fitted each one with an outlet so the different units could be daisy-chained. I really liked that system because it removed a lot of clutter. I hated having a bunch of devices all plugged in to a power strip when I could just plug one in and daisy chain the rest. I remember the first XT PC computers had the PSU so you could plug the monitor there. If it were up to me I would do it like that.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Then I did the splicing of three power cables together.

I am trying to visualize this - do you mean to say you literally take three power cords and splice them onto one plug so that this eliminates the need for each to have a separate electrical socket to plug into? Is this safe?

There are industrial duty adapters that can be used to "splice" multiple power cords into one. I have a ruggedly built 15A adapter that accepts the plugs from three power cords and can be either plugged directly into a wall socket (it just has the plug, no pigtail) or into the end of a single extension cord. Mostly to cut down on cable clutter, I have my wall hung monitor type (also self amplified) satellite speakers' power cords plugged into a heavy duty "Y" adapter which has two female pigtails that feed into a short male pigtail which I plugged into a heavy duty extension cable that then goes to the surge strip. This is all safe because at no point is any part of the chain loaded beyond its rated capacity (SSA NEC regulations banned doing daisy chaining power strips because too many people were overloading components; this isn't exactly the same thing but as long as all components in the chain cannot be subjected to any more current than they are rated for, it is safe despite possibly being illegal).

While soldering three cables into one can be done safely (I would have used heat shrink insulation rather than just tape to insulate the soldered joints), it leaves the problem of what happens if one of the devices fails? Disconnecting just the faulty device isn't easy. As I mentioned earlier, there are heavy duty adapters that accomplish the same thing but you have to make sure each link in the chain, including wall outlets and the circuit they are on (keep in mind there are probably other outlets on the circuit), are able to accept the load. This rules out many of the lighter duty adapters.

[GS3]

While soldering three cables into one can be done safely (I would have used heat shrink insulation rather than just tape to insulate the soldered joints), it leaves the problem of what happens if one of the devices fails? Disconnecting just the faulty device isn't easy.

I don't see the problem. Just pull the C13 in the back of the device, just like I would if it had a normal power cord.

[RollyShed]

We have tapon plugs, already wired or wire yourself. No need to splice wires together.
https://www.showtechnix.co.nz/store/10a ... connector/
https://www.rackpower.co.nz/10a-3-pin-t ... ck-pdl940/

[GS3]

We have tapon plugs, already wired or wire yourself. No need to splice wires together.

All this is a matter of personal preference. To each his own, horses for courses, different strokes, no accounting for tastes, etc. There is no single "correct¨ answer but to me those tap-on plugs just make matters worse. They are like a "tripler" where you get three outlets out of one. But the jumbled mess is there and I am trying to move it away.

When it comes to cables some people seem to prefer a "centralised mess" while I am more of a "distributed mess" kind of guy.