Cable Management

[dcbrown73]

Hey all,

No, I don't mean cable management from wires connecting devices, but test cable management!

So, I've seen pictures and how a lot of people manage their test leads / cables.   Many hang them like they are on towel racks and stuff, and I'm just want to ask about any innovative ways that maybe you guys have come up with to manage the mass of cables you collect and use often.

I am an IT guy by trade, a ham radio operator, and an electronics tinkerer and my cable collection has run amuck between all of them.   I normally just use drawers and keep the most used ones on top of the devices I use them with, but I'm always switching them out and don't feel the drawers help protect them so well as I'm always digging around in them for the cable I need.

Anyhow, I just wanted to reach out and see how you guys handle yours and how I may learn from the community a better way.

Thanks,
Dave

[ajb]

If you've got the wall space, racks like these are nice for keeping things untangled and accessible: https://www.pomonaelectronics.com/products/dmm-test-leads-and-probes/test-lead-holders

I've seen some cheaper but similar options, or you could DIY something along those lines. 

[Kim Christensen]

At work, we had a "test-lead closet" with brackets (ajb posted link) mounted inside. Kept things together, out of sight, and out of the way.

[MarkF]

My workbench is in a small bedroom and all my parts and cables are kept in the closet.
The clothes shelf in the closet is a wire mesh and I 3D printed a cable hanger to clip
onto the outer edge.

[Halcyon]

Since I don't have a proper "lab" as such, the only storage space I have is at home.

I do have a dedicated storage/server room (which is essentially just a study converted into that purpose, so I can just close the door and not hear/see anything). Cables which aren't used frequently are in storage tubs or archive boxes in said room, each labelled neatly.

More frequently used cables (like USB, adapters etc...) are in those open electronics parts bins inside the wardrobe in my office.

Very frequently used cables are in the drawers next to where I work.

[nfmax]

Each individual cable loosely coiled inside a ziplock bag, with a descriptive label on a card insert. All the bags stacked filing cabinet style (on edge) so the labels are visible, in a drawer. Apart from mains leads, which breed when you don’t look at them.

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

I use something like nfmax.  I use storage bags and put them into expandable files. These are the ones for paper files and kinda resemble accordions..

[madires]

I keep cables which are used regularly on a self-built holder. It's similar to the commercial ones, but the fingers are several cm apart to put the cables across each finger, not between the fingers. And the fingers are also longer. This way I can store long cables and cables with large connectors. Picking a cable is easier too (no need to remove others in front of). Rarely used cables are placed into drawers (you can buy nice plastic boxes with a few drawers) and kept tidy with Velco (different vendors sell large rolls of that stuff).

[soldar]

I have a wire strung between two nails and cables hang from there.

I am considering adding a horizontal board with closely spaced nails.

[Smokey]

Each individual cable loosely coiled inside a ziplock bag, with a descriptive label on a card insert. All the bags stacked filing cabinet style (on edge) so the labels are visible, in a drawer. Apart from mains leads, which breed when you don’t look at them.

With the bags, don't forget the desiccant packet and moisture monitor card!  That is, unless you are purging with argon.  Or better yet, full vacuum.

[Smokey]

My workbench is in a small bedroom and all my parts and cables are kept in the closet.
The clothes shelf in the closet is a wire mesh and I 3D printed a cable hanger to clip
onto the outer edge.

I do this.  One of these racks on the wall next to the lab bench.  Cables draped through slots.  Bonus feature is you get to also fill the shelf with junk!  Win-Win!

[EPAIII]

I have been in electronics for over 55 years and the meter and test cables have always been a problem wherever I have worked as well as in my own shops. Just a few months ago I came up with a new idea and, so far, I really like it.

Being 80 years old I have a number of prescriptions. Being cheap, I have saved the empty, plastic bottles the pharmacy packages them in. All the pharmacies I have used have used a yellow plastic bottle with some kind of child safe cap. A pair of close wire cutters, the type made with sheet metal, makes short work of removing the lock on the bottles that I have collected. I have many, many of my small parts stored in these Rx bottles. For the most part I use the bottles with just the child lock cut off but when I decided to store my meter cables in a couple of them I decided to use my power band saw for metal work to cut the tops completely off, at an angle. I did this due to the shortage of space on my electronic work benches. I plan to make a base for the ones in the first photo with my 3D printer as soon as I can get a round-tuit.

As seen in the second photo this is also a good way to store computer cables as well.

In addition to that, I have literally hundreds of small parts stored in these Rx bottles. I print round labels for the tops and consolidate them in cardboard bins and mini-bins on shelves in my shop.

And the best thing about using these Rx bottles is they are free. Well, I don't pay anything extra for them, that is.

[watchmaker]

 

[edpalmer42]

I came across an Ikea wire rack for holding stemware glasses at a bar.  I mounted it on the end of one of my shelving units and adjusted the width of the slot so that it holds a BNC connector while allowing the cable to slide in.  I slid vinyl tubing over the rails so that the cables didn't slide on the chrome rails.

I'm going to build another cable holder.  Take a flat piece of wood and mount dowels or threaded rods that are spaced to hold the connectors while allowing the cable to slide between the rods.  Put vinyl tubing over the rods and ensure that the tubing sticks out beyond the end of the rod so that if someone bumps into it they hit vinyl tubing rather than the wood or metal rod.

[thermistor-guy]

Each individual cable loosely coiled inside a ziplock bag, with a descriptive label on a card insert. All the bags stacked filing cabinet style (on edge) so the labels are visible, in a drawer. Apart from mains leads, which breed when you don’t look at them.

I do something similar:

 - coil the cables with generous radius in large ziplock bags;
 - place the bags in stackable transparent storage boxes; label the boxes (3 labels: side, front, top of box);
 - have separate labelled boxes of cables meant for repair or scavenging;
 - have separate labelled boxes for connectors and unterminated cables;
 - have a catch-all box labelled "misc" for odd items.

The idea is to have stacked array of boxes, where it's easy to tell what's inside each one from a glance.

[EPAIII]

And there are commercial cable hanging brackets:

https://www.pomonaelectronics.com/products/dmm-test-leads-and-probes/test-lead-holders

Of course you could roll your own with a board and some wood dowels.