An idea for the pushing cable through paracord part - instad of pulling out the white strings, attach them to the end of the cable and pull it out from the other side. This way you can just hold the paracord on one side and it will be much faster :)
What do you mean by that? By any chance do u have a video tutorial of what u just said? I've been building some cables but I've been trying to speed up the process. Any advice is greatly appreciated :)
@@rwoosh_master the idea is that you already have a thread in the paracord, you want to pull it out and replace it with a cable, so instead of doing it separately you can use the thread to your advantage. Pulling through is easier than pushing, because creases won’t form. So you can tie one end of the exposed string to the end of the cable (best would be in a way that doesn’t make it thicker) and pull the string on the other side while holding the hole in paracord which the cable is entering through.
Some tips: 1) It's actually black, green, white, red. Lookup USB pinout. Doesn't matter if you consistently connect it the other way around in your own cables, the electrons will happily march down any conductor, regardless of the colour of the surrounding insulation. But if someone else ever needs to work on your cables, they expect white to be D- and green to be D+. I know this sounds nitpicky, but if there's an industry standard, best follow it, especially if it's no extra effort. 2) A little bit of flux will help the tin flow better into the connectors on the aviator cable. Don't use too much, because it is a bit messy. Best way to clean it after soldering is with some cleaning alcohol and a stiff brush. 3) It's easier if you pre-tin your leads before connecting them to the connector. 4) I noticed your tip of the soldering iron was pretty black. They work better with clean tips. Rule of thumb: every time you put it back in the soldering rest, the first thing you do when taking it out is clean and wet the tip. 5) Don't put the solder onto the tip, and try to dab it onto the connector. The correct way is to heat the connector with the tip, and melt the solder by touching it onto the connector. Obviously, there's some danger of overheating those connector tips and have them melt the plastic. That's where flux would help. But what you want to see is not solder balled up on the connector, but the solder flowing into it of its own accord. It may not matter terribly for a keyboard, but a bad connection could cause all sorts of weird and hard to diagnose issues.
Thank you so much for the great suggestions Juan! I have learned so much since the launch of this video, and I hope it helps to improve my own cable building in the future!
When soldering the connector pins, preheat the pins to allow the solder to works it way into the pins and "tin" the wire side with solder so you have a solid connection. keeps you from having bad solder joints and connection failures.
I put mine in the freezer after heating the coil. Still wait about 30 to 45 mins, but I find it gives them a good bit of spring when you rapidly cool them after heating.
@@phyranios yup i did cool it off in the fridge and got good results. But i had better uniformity and springy feel after wrapping the coil with aluminum foil to have the heat spread evenly
@@Keybored metal housing is a ground... not supposed to be cut off. Also you should reverse coil after the cool off. Even this is done in Industrial Factories for phone cords. Its just better and keeps a tighter coil. Also $17 is pretty unattainable, considering the cost of a heat gun and a soldering iron. This isnt really a tutorial. You skipped alot or just didnt show it. Kinda disappointing the intro was so nice, then you basically fell flat on your face like The Verge PC Build.
just some words of advice from someone that's been making cables for the better part of the last year regarding coiling REVERSE COIL. If you want tight, solid coils that will hold their shape for a long period of time you need to reverse coil. What this means is that the first time you coil you're going to do so in the opposite direction you want the end product facing IE if you want a coil that runs to the right of your USB C then you'll start coiling to the left and vice versa. Do your coil as normal but pack it as tight as you can, pulling out excess slack as you go and tape it off securely at both ends. Then heat treat. I usually do about 6-7 minutes of heat treat for a 7" coil. Disperse the heat evenly and never get your heat source closer than an inch as you WILL burn through your techflex sleeving VERY quickly. I usually do 2-3 heat treats and let the first wrap sit for at least 3-4 hours. Remember, the longer the coil sits the better. After you've done your first coil, remove it from your dowel and start coiling in the OPPOSITE direction you just coiled, making sure to twist the cable as you wrap. Again, pull out any excess slack in the line, ensuring that the coils are packed tightly against one another and secure with tape again. Follow this with another 2-3 heat treats. I personally like to finish this off with about 30-45 minutes in the freezer to really lock the coil in. It's a long process but if you've done it right you'll have a MUCH tighter coil that will stand up to much more abuse and look super clean. This is just coming from a dude that's had plenty of practice and screw ups along the way. Also I do custom builds if you'd rather just avoid this whole process all together *wink wink nudge nudge* lol
Hi Colin! Thank you so much for this expert advice! I have some older cables that have lost some of that spring and I will try doing this to reset the coil. Do you have a website or anything for your cables? Would love to check it out!
@@Keybored no prob! I’m definitely no cruzctrl or space cables but I’ve made and sold a good few cables and just thought I’d pass along what I picked up along the way! I can be found at Ultos Cables on Facebook! Awesome channel and work btw! Your editing and production are really solid!
Outstanding. You not only taught people how to make cables, you taught them what a tutorial video should be: Easy to follow Long enough to impart all necessary information Pleasant atmosphere with background music that stayed firmly in the background. Excellent work.
Tip: If you're unsure about your heat gun temperature, if it will be too hot or not hot enough, you can make a test using a little amount of cable (2 or 3 inches). You make that little test cable and use your heat gun on that, if it does melt, you lost just a tiny amount of material and not much time on it.
Just a few moments: 1. To avoid spaghetti cable (when it's bending and coils falling apart) I think it's worth mentioning reverse-coiling 2. When it comes to numbers, phrases like "A proper heat gun set to Low" basically mean nothing except that you have to use the Heatgun. It will be cool to mention melting temp. for techflex and crystalisation temp. for paracord.
One of the best mech videos on the internet. I prefer to make things myself and now can have tons of color options without breaking the bank. 100 thumbs up!!!
WOW! that color is actually really nice. Its not a bright red and black "gamery" type aesthetic that i was expecting. Its a really subtle maroon color thats actually really classy
Solid Tutorial! You definitely deserve more subscribers. Any advice I could've gave has already been given. You took all of the advice and criticisms very well.
Wonderful tutorial. Level of detail in the instruction of how to complete this process is awesome. I will be using this video to create my own. Awesome job!
It's so hard to find the perfect coiled part of the cable for different size keyboards, some are too short (or too long) and end up looking out of place. I'm definitely going to try this and make it the right length. 💜
These kits are some CRAZY value! I just finished putting together a list of supplies to build a board and cable and it was in the hundreds, LOL! I'd love to see some more color customization available but other than that these are amazing. Great vid.
One, use Flux when soldering. Two, tin your wires before attaching them to the posts. It will make a much better connection and you'll have an easier time of it, as well.
Just a tip that might make soldering a little easier, especially with the big connectors (since they act like big heatsink for the heat of your solder iron tip). Tinning your wires ahead of time prevents fraying of the conductors and solder to solder adheres easier than solder to wire.
I know this kit was from Cruz ctrl cables but you should also check out zap cables they are slightly more expensive but you can get much longer cables like say you wanted a 12 inch coil and 6 ft cable over all with Cruz ctrl caping at 13 ft of cable that's not possible. Also zap has an extremely large selection of Paracord tech flex and a second double sleeve option that I can't remember the name of they also have anodized aviator connectors as well as weipu connectors Wich are a more slender style connector. And their standard is a 5 pin connector so that you can actually use the bare drain wire as it was intended( to drain induced voltage and stop data interference) instead of cutting it off
I am loving this! I hope I'll be able to create something similar for myself when the time comes. Right now, my setup will remain a generic cable mess.
This is a good tutorial. A couple of points: 1) Tin your soldering iron. It will work better and last longer. Basically you want to keep the tip shiny. I dip the tip in a tin of flux and wipe it off on a wet sponge. You can also get a tinning block. They're cheap and work great. 2) Twist the cables and tin them before soldering. Makes soldering the connection faster and better. 3) The lines inside 550 cord are the strength of the cord. They're not for "shaping". That doesn't matter in this case but that's what they're for.
One of the biggest issues I had when I was making these cables is that I would make the mistake of stripping too much wire insulation and have long exposed stripped wires. This would cause shorting as the wires would make contact with the housing or the other wires when you bunch them together to fit into the aviator housings or usb-a/c housings. Rookie mistake, but it took me many tries to figure out why I kept getting a power surge and/or "not enough power" error on my desktop when I plugged in the cable.
I've never soldered before, but I'd love to learn how so I can try this in the future. I love the look of a coiled cable with a custom keyboard, and you did such a clean, tidy job of it!
@Ospreysoul you heat the contact up with the iron and then touch the solder to the contact. it should soak in. Don't blow on it or move it until it's cooled. The end result should be shiny and stronger then the wire. Use 60/40 rosin core solder.
If anyone is going to actually do this, use marine grade shrink tube. It has an internal adhesive that's heat activated that will hold the sleeve in place. Overall good tutorial man
@@Keybored thank you for the awesome tutorial, I'm going to give it a try this week! I make custom moped harnesses and use the Amazon marine shrink tube and wire loom all the time it's good stuff 👍
Another tip for the final coil setting part is to grab a small length of extra techflex and just use your heatgun to heat it up until it melts. It gives you an idea as to how it will look like as it is about to melt and also you will know how long do you have to heat it with your specific heat gun/ hairdryer. As an added bonus, it removes the fear of failing because you already know how the failure would look like
@@Keybored Can you explain a little in detail of what this means? I imagine the coil (if followed exactly like the video) won't turn out like an old 80's home phone springy cable.
@@ulysses.cardenas hi Ulysses! Once you're done coiling with the heat gun, and the coil has cooled, you can actually grab the end of the coil, then reverse the coil (flip it inside out). This way, the coil actually retracts and becomes super tight and "springy." hope that helps!
@@Keybored I am a visual learner and wanted to see an example. I found one here th-cam.com/video/gE6d2ZaTWwk/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=Porch at around 0:28 the video shows what you are saying.
I know I'm late but I just got done building my first cable after watching this vid and man, it was rewarding. I had no soldering experience prior to this, so doing the tiny slots in the connector sides was incredibly difficult. And my coil is a little loose. But it was so worth it in the end!
I think somebody mentioned that after you heated the coil stick it into the freezer for 30-45 minutes still around your tube then it should be tight. I'm still planning on building my first so take it with a grain of salt. Btw what solder did you use?
@@vividphantom6975 Yeah I read about the freezer trick but I wasn't sure how that would work...would it need to thaw afterwards? how long would you have to wait? I used 60 tin/40 lead rosin core solder from amazon and a cheap ass iron. i'm a total noob though so i went through like 5 tips cause they kept getting brown residue on them lol. Just out of curiosity, what color paracord/techflex are you planning on doing?
@@nihalprakash8883 I'd say thaw it yes but I think it should maintain its shape, and yeah I imagine I'll probably do the same as I also have no soldering experience lol. Aqua techflex color and silver paracord color. Btw how thick was your solder? was it 0.6mm?
@@vividphantom6975 0.8mm. Aqua/silver would look great. One tip, make sure your heatshrink is either 1/4 or 1/2 inch on the USB-A side. 3/8 inch is too tight to fit over it unless you use pliers to stretch it out which can be a pain. For the other ends 3/8 works well. And for the soldering process, it helps a lot to just apply a little bit of solder onto the exposed wires before you solder them on to the connectors, it prevents the wires from fraying and makes it easier to solder them overall.
I dont even know why I wasnt subscribed to you. Such high quality videos with such low subscriber count! Keep up the awesome work and cannot wait for your next upload
Hi Deividas! Thank you so much for the sub and I really appreciate the comments! I am continuing to work on new content and hope to share it regularly! Thanks!
Amazing tutorial! As someone brand new to the hobby this will help me save a buck (assuming you found a company with open slots to begin with) and the possibilities are endless :D Also surprisingly straightforward unlike some other DIY! Thank you
Thank you for the advice mUltic0re! When I use a 5 pin aviator, I typically connect the shielding to the 5th drain, but with the 4 pin, I skipped this step. But got a lot of good advice of clamping to the connector clamps, or using copper tape so will be trying that next time!
@@vdfritzz No, another purpose of soldering it to the housing is to let the shielding withstand the strain (rather than the fragile solder joint), it is similar to how you should not really cut off the nylon strands in reinforced cable.
Thanks for the video, generally found it very informative but the soldering method isn't perfect. It could lead to mechanically poor solder joints or even spotty electrical connections. You do want to tin the tip of the soldering iron with just a touch of solder but you'd want to use far less and you wouldn't rely on that solder to make the connection. You burn off the flux before it can clean the surface you want to solder to using that method. What you want to do is touch the iron to the part to be soldered, let it heat up for a moment and then flow the solder into the part in a different spot. If you do it well it should flow over the surface of the electrical contact. If you notice there you had to spread around the solder like it was glue which shouldn't happen.
Hi DarkLordDylan! Thank you for the advice! I have a ways to go to perfect my soldering, and received a lot of good advice from experts through comments! Will try flux next time for sure, and tin the wires to help flow better! Thanks!
@@Keybored This was a great video, I'll echo another comment about how I can't believe I watched a full 30 minute video on making a coiled cable. In addition to what Dylan said above, I'd recommend reviewing some of the basic soldering lessons available here on TH-cam - this is a great video about soldering of solder cups (such as what you found on the male terminal of the aviator connector): th-cam.com/video/_GLeCt_u3U8/w-d-xo.html If you're curious about soldering standards, I'd recommend looking into IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies.
@@mrkoren Hi Mike! Thank you so much for sitting through all 30 Min! I received so many good advice from soldering and electronics experts, hope that next time I can make a better cable! I appreciate the link as well, I'll take a look!
After realizing how tedious creating a custom coiled cable looks I'm glad I can find these already made on Shopee for only 9$+ and we get to choose the colors too :>
Hey just a heads up. When you are tinning the gx12 connector you want to heat up the contacts and then melt the solder on them, not the soldering iron. That will make the solder stick easier and better to it.
Bring the solder to the connector... Not bring the solder to the iron then touch the connector... the smoke fumes you see leaving solder is the flux which your vaporising and not helping your bond.. Iron on connector, bring solder to connector. Trust me its a game changer :D
10/10 tutorial skills, I'll remember it all. I'm going to use this method for every cable in my life now probably... I can already hear the: "this is becoming ridiculous..."
WOW! If I ever upgrade I will be sure to try and use this but i could also use this for other things as well. The candy is a lovely touch! I hope they ship to UK... Easy tutorial with great presentation. Thanks in advance!
Interesting subject. But Please, get a new scissor that isnn't blunt, or use a sharp knife. Blunt tools destroy material and can actually be more dangerous then a sharp tool. Tip, tip is for heating, not applying solder. Because that would ruin the fluss in the solder. Pre tin the wires make it easier to connect them to the socket.
@@hashirowais6475 just get a USB A to C cable and cut it in the middle, takes even less time to solder. Also there is a large variety of plugs you can use for the middle part, not just the fatass aviator connectors. de.aliexpress.com/item/4000971475272.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7e514c4dEhZyUv cable
you forgot the part that you need to invest into equipments you'll never really use if you're not into building mech: soldering equipment, soldering iron, and many other tools to cut wire
At my job we build hoses and cables a lot, if you cut down the middle of the tape it helps control the fraying that you see happen from just cutting it normally.
I'm probably never going to make my own cable still, but this seems super helpful for those who want to. I assume you can also use the heat gun + dowel step to retighten old coils that have loosened over time?
At around 17:30 I noticed you struggled a bit putting the solder into the channels, though not needed in this specific situation, adding some flux to them would make the solder easier to work with (it increases the "wetting ability", basically makes the solder flow more evenly and not ballup). The only thing is, is that you would need to wash off the flux as it can cause corrosion over time. This is super easy to do with some isopropyl alcohol so def worth it if you solder small pads/wires/etc. often. This might actually be more helpful for soldering switches for a cleaner and easier application.
btw you're supposed to twist/coil the wire in the opposite direction after it's cooled down to get a really tight coil with stiffness, I hope this helps!
If you don't have a heatgun or good hairdryer, you culd also put the cable in boiling water for some minutes (water can not burn plastic so no worries if you have it in a longer time) if you have large enough pot :)
sweet, definitely gonna make a custom cable when I get the chance; probably non-coiled or with an aviator/yc8 connector inbetween either, but I still like the look of these.
Fantastic video! I have a question: what is the purpose of the aviation connectors? Why would you need to disconnect the cable at that location? Why not just make it one continuous cable?
@@Keybored It does look pretty damn cool, but still... that's a lotta work, for purely aesthetic results. I'm not sure I'd have the courage! (But this is probably due to the fact that my soldering skills are utterly horrendous.)
One thing to watch out for it seems like you have cold solder joints. although they will work they're more likely to break or not even make a connection, when soldering make sure to heat up both your wire and whatever you're attaching it to (connector, wire, circuit, etc) until the solder flows smooth, you shouldn't have to wipe it off the iron
When i made my speaker cables i stopped at paracord only. They felt premium at the time since sleeving was pretty new. Im totally excited to make new ones with expandable sleeving on top of the paracord for that extra premium-ness.
an idea for the heat gun part, set one end of rod onto a raised surface and hold the other end. you can then spin the whole rod and cable while heating instead of heating one side then the other :)
An idea for the pushing cable through paracord part - instad of pulling out the white strings, attach them to the end of the cable and pull it out from the other side. This way you can just hold the paracord on one side and it will be much faster :)
Thank you so much for the advice! I will try that out next time!
@@Keybored Lmk if it is an improvement! ;)
What do you mean by that? By any chance do u have a video tutorial of what u just said? I've been building some cables but I've been trying to speed up the process. Any advice is greatly appreciated :)
@@rwoosh_master the idea is that you already have a thread in the paracord, you want to pull it out and replace it with a cable, so instead of doing it separately you can use the thread to your advantage. Pulling through is easier than pushing, because creases won’t form. So you can tie one end of the exposed string to the end of the cable (best would be in a way that doesn’t make it thicker) and pull the string on the other side while holding the hole in paracord which the cable is entering through.
I was going to comment this exact thing.
Some tips:
1) It's actually black, green, white, red. Lookup USB pinout. Doesn't matter if you consistently connect it the other way around in your own cables, the electrons will happily march down any conductor, regardless of the colour of the surrounding insulation. But if someone else ever needs to work on your cables, they expect white to be D- and green to be D+. I know this sounds nitpicky, but if there's an industry standard, best follow it, especially if it's no extra effort.
2) A little bit of flux will help the tin flow better into the connectors on the aviator cable. Don't use too much, because it is a bit messy. Best way to clean it after soldering is with some cleaning alcohol and a stiff brush.
3) It's easier if you pre-tin your leads before connecting them to the connector.
4) I noticed your tip of the soldering iron was pretty black. They work better with clean tips. Rule of thumb: every time you put it back in the soldering rest, the first thing you do when taking it out is clean and wet the tip.
5) Don't put the solder onto the tip, and try to dab it onto the connector. The correct way is to heat the connector with the tip, and melt the solder by touching it onto the connector. Obviously, there's some danger of overheating those connector tips and have them melt the plastic. That's where flux would help. But what you want to see is not solder balled up on the connector, but the solder flowing into it of its own accord. It may not matter terribly for a keyboard, but a bad connection could cause all sorts of weird and hard to diagnose issues.
Thank you so much for the great suggestions Juan! I have learned so much since the launch of this video, and I hope it helps to improve my own cable building in the future!
Ah, Golgari Boros, got it.
When soldering the connector pins, preheat the pins to allow the solder to works it way into the pins and "tin" the wire side with solder so you have a solid connection. keeps you from having bad solder joints and connection failures.
Thank you for the advice xFBx!
love when the shipping cost is the same or greater than the price of the kit
That's the worst! Especially if you try to buy a washer or something for 5 cents and shipping is like $5
Hahahaha
Or worse, the kit is out of stock...
@@daftsapien I feel like that happens more often than not in this hobby unfortunately...
yeah DAniel, those bastards are very tricky, they scam us with those shipping prices
I put mine in the freezer after heating the coil. Still wait about 30 to 45 mins, but I find it gives them a good bit of spring when you rapidly cool them after heating.
That's great advice Jeremy! I'll be sure to try that next time! Perhaps I can compile the viewer advice and add it into the comments section!
If you want more springy, like old telephone coil, After you cool the coil, use same stick to reverse the coil direction to introduce tension.
So, once it cools off, won't there be moist build up on the usb connector after you take it out?
@@deviant619 their shouldn't be but if you're worried you can always seal it in a bag or container
@@phyranios yup i did cool it off in the fridge and got good results. But i had better uniformity and springy feel after wrapping the coil with aluminum foil to have the heat spread evenly
Great shots: check
Detailed instructions: check
Amazing advice: check
DESKPAD ROLL: CHECK
Hi Felipe! The most important is that desk pad roll! I wish my desk pad rolled a bit nicer, but that was the best I can do! Thanks for watching!
paracord gauge: Missing
teckflex guage: missing
usb cable source: missing
where did he get the stick: missing
focus: ...
@@Keybored metal housing is a ground... not supposed to be cut off. Also you should reverse coil after the cool off. Even this is done in Industrial Factories for phone cords. Its just better and keeps a tighter coil. Also $17 is pretty unattainable, considering the cost of a heat gun and a soldering iron. This isnt really a tutorial. You skipped alot or just didnt show it. Kinda disappointing the intro was so nice, then you basically fell flat on your face like The Verge PC Build.
@@NovocaineTV I'd expect that if you're building a keyboard you at least have a soldering iron lmao
This is some real high quality content. An amazingly informative video, loved every second of it.
Hi Shoobs! Thank you so much for watching this long video! I really hope it's helpful and it inspires more people to try making their own!
Shooooooobs omg
just some words of advice from someone that's been making cables for the better part of the last year regarding coiling
REVERSE COIL. If you want tight, solid coils that will hold their shape for a long period of time you need to reverse coil. What this means is that the first time you coil you're going to do so in the opposite direction you want the end product facing IE if you want a coil that runs to the right of your USB C then you'll start coiling to the left and vice versa. Do your coil as normal but pack it as tight as you can, pulling out excess slack as you go and tape it off securely at both ends. Then heat treat. I usually do about 6-7 minutes of heat treat for a 7" coil. Disperse the heat evenly and never get your heat source closer than an inch as you WILL burn through your techflex sleeving VERY quickly. I usually do 2-3 heat treats and let the first wrap sit for at least 3-4 hours. Remember, the longer the coil sits the better. After you've done your first coil, remove it from your dowel and start coiling in the OPPOSITE direction you just coiled, making sure to twist the cable as you wrap. Again, pull out any excess slack in the line, ensuring that the coils are packed tightly against one another and secure with tape again. Follow this with another 2-3 heat treats. I personally like to finish this off with about 30-45 minutes in the freezer to really lock the coil in.
It's a long process but if you've done it right you'll have a MUCH tighter coil that will stand up to much more abuse and look super clean. This is just coming from a dude that's had plenty of practice and screw ups along the way. Also I do custom builds if you'd rather just avoid this whole process all together *wink wink nudge nudge* lol
Hi Colin! Thank you so much for this expert advice! I have some older cables that have lost some of that spring and I will try doing this to reset the coil. Do you have a website or anything for your cables? Would love to check it out!
@@Keybored no prob! I’m definitely no cruzctrl or space cables but I’ve made and sold a good few cables and just thought I’d pass along what I picked up along the way!
I can be found at Ultos Cables on Facebook! Awesome channel and work btw! Your editing and production are really solid!
This is the best episode of "How its made" I've ever seen.
Hi Corey! Thank you for the comments! I appreciate it! I have more content planned for the future, so please stay tuned!
U still remember that show?
Its on Hulu rn I've been passing out to it every night xD
@@PNW_HB It is the best show ever
@@PNW_HB one of my fav shows
TH-cam keeps recommending me this video and I'm glad it did. Keybored to the moon!
Hi Hypyo Tech! Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate the comment, and love your content!
Man the vibe in this video so nice
Thank you for watching Reflex! I appreciate the comment!
Outstanding. You not only taught people how to make cables, you taught them what a tutorial video should be:
Easy to follow
Long enough to impart all necessary information
Pleasant atmosphere with background music that stayed firmly in the background.
Excellent work.
Thank you so much turtlemouth! I received a lot of great feedback and it'll help me make improvements in my cables as well!
im not a fan of the music lol but great video nonetheless
Tip: If you're unsure about your heat gun temperature, if it will be too hot or not hot enough, you can make a test using a little amount of cable (2 or 3 inches). You make that little test cable and use your heat gun on that, if it does melt, you lost just a tiny amount of material and not much time on it.
So...you use a wire stripper to cut off cables, but use a cable cutter to strip them?
Gimme some of your kush, bro.
:)
meanwhile me uses scissors :)
the video is pretty... but the technique is extremely poor.
Just a few moments:
1. To avoid spaghetti cable (when it's bending and coils falling apart) I think it's worth mentioning reverse-coiling
2. When it comes to numbers, phrases like "A proper heat gun set to Low" basically mean nothing except that you have to use the Heatgun. It will be cool to mention melting temp. for techflex and crystalisation temp. for paracord.
Great advice! Thanks!
One of the best mech videos on the internet. I prefer to make things myself and now can have tons of color options without breaking the bank. 100 thumbs up!!!
Thank you so much for the comments Grey Fox! I hope the video was helpful!
This DIY came out better than all of ROSE Cables' offerings.
Hi Michael! Thank you so much for the comments! I really appreciate it!
spill the tea, rose cables just imploded lol
@@hello-nq3ze Good i got the absolute SHIITIEST cable from them. actual trash QC. im glad they are no longer in business
Plus you'll actually have a product, unlike ordering from rosecables.
WOW! that color is actually really nice. Its not a bright red and black "gamery" type aesthetic that i was expecting. Its a really subtle maroon color thats actually really classy
:) thank you! Keeping it classy!
How are you only 1.96k subs, the production quality of this video is top notch
That’s what I’m sayin!
Thank you so much for your comment! I appreciate it! Started not too long ago, but will continue to make content and hope it's helpful!
He hit 2.04k after this video 😈
it was out of focus wdym
@@chasseiffert3032 hater!
Solid Tutorial! You definitely deserve more subscribers. Any advice I could've gave has already been given. You took all of the advice and criticisms very well.
Thank you NMLz89! I still have a lot to learn to improve my soldering! All good advices!
Wonderful tutorial. Level of detail in the instruction of how to complete this process is awesome. I will be using this video to create my own. Awesome job!
Thank you Lawrence! I hope it works out great and I appreciate the comments :)
Damn.. I don't usually sit through 30 minute videos but this was really good
Thank you so much for watching! I know it's a bit long, but I wanted to make sure I was capturing the details. I appreciate the comments!
It's so hard to find the perfect coiled part of the cable for different size keyboards, some are too short (or too long) and end up looking out of place. I'm definitely going to try this and make it the right length. 💜
:) I hope this tutorial guide is helpful!
These kits are some CRAZY value!
I just finished putting together a list of supplies to build a board and cable and it was in the hundreds, LOL!
I'd love to see some more color customization available but other than that these are amazing. Great vid.
One, use Flux when soldering. Two, tin your wires before attaching them to the posts. It will make a much better connection and you'll have an easier time of it, as well.
Thank you for the advice Griffin!
@@Keybored great video, though. It may be just what I need to bring that polish to my setup when I finally build my custom keyboard
Great video! One note on something that bugged me however, the red thing is not paracord, those nylon strands you pulled out are the actual paracord.
Thank you! Now I feel like I can save some money while having fun with color combos
Hi Eldrick! Glad to be of help! I think that first cable is a bit daunting, but after that, it gets so much easier to do!
I've been wanting to mod my keyboard cable, but i did not know where to start and this video will be a great help. Keep up the great content :)
mans clearly never soldered before and it just highlights how easy this process is to do. Great video!!!
:) Yup, so easy anyone can do it!
I have zero intention of doing this but your voice is so easy to listen to.
:) Glad to be of help in one way or another!
Just a tip that might make soldering a little easier, especially with the big connectors (since they act like big heatsink for the heat of your solder iron tip). Tinning your wires ahead of time prevents fraying of the conductors and solder to solder adheres easier than solder to wire.
:) I have learned so much from the viewers since the launch of this video!
Really satisfying to watch, I was searching for "Custom Coiled Type-c USB Cable" & your video was the first one.
Hi Dillinger! Glad to hear that! Never thought my usb cable video would show up as the first search result :)
@@Keybored Your video aka you, convinced me to make my own custom cable.
Dude, this was so damn good that now I want to make my own with all of my keyboards that I sell! Thank you so much for this video @Keybored!!
Hi HoyMachuuPichuu! So glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
I know this kit was from Cruz ctrl cables but you should also check out zap cables they are slightly more expensive but you can get much longer cables like say you wanted a 12 inch coil and 6 ft cable over all with Cruz ctrl caping at 13 ft of cable that's not possible. Also zap has an extremely large selection of Paracord tech flex and a second double sleeve option that I can't remember the name of they also have anodized aviator connectors as well as weipu connectors Wich are a more slender style connector. And their standard is a 5 pin connector so that you can actually use the bare drain wire as it was intended( to drain induced voltage and stop data interference) instead of cutting it off
So your saying if I wanted a 6in. coil & a 3ft cable I would need a 9ft cable?
@@Artfeav245 yes that's the general rule half inch ID coil 1 inch of coil length = one foot of cable
I am loving this! I hope I'll be able to create something similar for myself when the time comes. Right now, my setup will remain a generic cable mess.
Hi Envilon! Thank you for watching and good luck!
Same
This is a good tutorial. A couple of points:
1) Tin your soldering iron. It will work better and last longer. Basically you want to keep the tip shiny. I dip the tip in a tin of flux and wipe it off on a wet sponge. You can also get a tinning block. They're cheap and work great.
2) Twist the cables and tin them before soldering. Makes soldering the connection faster and better.
3) The lines inside 550 cord are the strength of the cord. They're not for "shaping". That doesn't matter in this case but that's what they're for.
Thabk you so much for that info! I've learned so much from the viewers after the launch of this vid!
One of the biggest issues I had when I was making these cables is that I would make the mistake of stripping too much wire insulation and have long exposed stripped wires. This would cause shorting as the wires would make contact with the housing or the other wires when you bunch them together to fit into the aviator housings or usb-a/c housings. Rookie mistake, but it took me many tries to figure out why I kept getting a power surge and/or "not enough power" error on my desktop when I plugged in the cable.
I've never soldered before, but I'd love to learn how so I can try this in the future. I love the look of a coiled cable with a custom keyboard, and you did such a clean, tidy job of it!
Hi OspreySoul! The coiled cable completes the look! Give it a go and you will be surprised at what you are capable of!
@Ospreysoul you heat the contact up with the iron and then touch the solder to the contact. it should soak in. Don't blow on it or move it until it's cooled. The end result should be shiny and stronger then the wire. Use 60/40 rosin core solder.
If anyone is going to actually do this, use marine grade shrink tube. It has an internal adhesive that's heat activated that will hold the sleeve in place. Overall good tutorial man
Thank you for the suggestion BeefyChowder! That is great advice, and I did notice some on Amazon as well! Will try that next time!
@@Keybored thank you for the awesome tutorial, I'm going to give it a try this week! I make custom moped harnesses and use the Amazon marine shrink tube and wire loom all the time it's good stuff 👍
Another tip for the final coil setting part is to grab a small length of extra techflex and just use your heatgun to heat it up until it melts. It gives you an idea as to how it will look like as it is about to melt and also you will know how long do you have to heat it with your specific heat gun/ hairdryer. As an added bonus, it removes the fear of failing because you already know how the failure would look like
That's a great idea! I learned the hard way when I melted a fully complete cable before lol
Don't forget to recoil it backwards so it would become springy
?
Great advice! I have reversed coiled some of my other ones to keep the tension :)
@@Keybored Can you explain a little in detail of what this means? I imagine the coil (if followed exactly like the video) won't turn out like an old 80's home phone springy cable.
@@ulysses.cardenas hi Ulysses! Once you're done coiling with the heat gun, and the coil has cooled, you can actually grab the end of the coil, then reverse the coil (flip it inside out). This way, the coil actually retracts and becomes super tight and "springy." hope that helps!
@@Keybored I am a visual learner and wanted to see an example. I found one here th-cam.com/video/gE6d2ZaTWwk/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=Porch at around 0:28 the video shows what you are saying.
I know I'm late but I just got done building my first cable after watching this vid and man, it was rewarding. I had no soldering experience prior to this, so doing the tiny slots in the connector sides was incredibly difficult. And my coil is a little loose. But it was so worth it in the end!
I think somebody mentioned that after you heated the coil stick it into the freezer for 30-45 minutes still around your tube then it should be tight. I'm still planning on building my first so take it with a grain of salt. Btw what solder did you use?
@@vividphantom6975 Yeah I read about the freezer trick but I wasn't sure how that would work...would it need to thaw afterwards? how long would you have to wait? I used 60 tin/40 lead rosin core solder from amazon and a cheap ass iron. i'm a total noob though so i went through like 5 tips cause they kept getting brown residue on them lol. Just out of curiosity, what color paracord/techflex are you planning on doing?
@@nihalprakash8883 I'd say thaw it yes but I think it should maintain its shape, and yeah I imagine I'll probably do the same as I also have no soldering experience lol. Aqua techflex color and silver paracord color. Btw how thick was your solder? was it 0.6mm?
@@vividphantom6975 0.8mm. Aqua/silver would look great. One tip, make sure your heatshrink is either 1/4 or 1/2 inch on the USB-A side. 3/8 inch is too tight to fit over it unless you use pliers to stretch it out which can be a pain. For the other ends 3/8 works well. And for the soldering process, it helps a lot to just apply a little bit of solder onto the exposed wires before you solder them on to the connectors, it prevents the wires from fraying and makes it easier to solder them overall.
@@nihalprakash8883 ooh I understand, thanks for the advice, I'm also watching how to solder videos right now too so this information is very valuable
I just watched a whole 30 min video even though I don't have the tools to make the cable 😂💀
Thank you so much for watching Phady! I hope it was entertaining :)
I dont even know why I wasnt subscribed to you. Such high quality videos with such low subscriber count! Keep up the awesome work and cannot wait for your next upload
Hi Deividas! Thank you so much for the sub and I really appreciate the comments! I am continuing to work on new content and hope to share it regularly! Thanks!
Amazing tutorial! As someone brand new to the hobby this will help me save a buck (assuming you found a company with open slots to begin with) and the possibilities are endless :D Also surprisingly straightforward unlike some other DIY! Thank you
Hi Asphroxia! Thank you so much for watching the tutorial! I appreciate the comments and I'm glad it was helpful!
Scott! Your videos are top notch, I really appreciate them keep it up!
The shielding should have been connected to the metal housing to be grounded and not cut off.
Thank you for the advice mUltic0re! When I use a 5 pin aviator, I typically connect the shielding to the 5th drain, but with the 4 pin, I skipped this step. But got a lot of good advice of clamping to the connector clamps, or using copper tape so will be trying that next time!
glad someone pointed this out. Not shielding your USB cable can result in a very poor transmission speed
nah, just cut it off, it's a keyboard cable
@@vdfritzz No, another purpose of soldering it to the housing is to let the shielding withstand the strain (rather than the fragile solder joint), it is similar to how you should not really cut off the nylon strands in reinforced cable.
@@ushiocheng it'll handle just fine, just cut it
So you're that one guy made the same guide in geekhack forum.
Now it's made into a video, steps are easier to understand. Thanks for the tip! :)
Hi Abdullah! I believe there are a few guides on the forums, but hopefully this video helps!
Thanks for the video, generally found it very informative but the soldering method isn't perfect. It could lead to mechanically poor solder joints or even spotty electrical connections. You do want to tin the tip of the soldering iron with just a touch of solder but you'd want to use far less and you wouldn't rely on that solder to make the connection. You burn off the flux before it can clean the surface you want to solder to using that method.
What you want to do is touch the iron to the part to be soldered, let it heat up for a moment and then flow the solder into the part in a different spot. If you do it well it should flow over the surface of the electrical contact. If you notice there you had to spread around the solder like it was glue which shouldn't happen.
Hi DarkLordDylan! Thank you for the advice! I have a ways to go to perfect my soldering, and received a lot of good advice from experts through comments! Will try flux next time for sure, and tin the wires to help flow better! Thanks!
@@Keybored This was a great video, I'll echo another comment about how I can't believe I watched a full 30 minute video on making a coiled cable. In addition to what Dylan said above, I'd recommend reviewing some of the basic soldering lessons available here on TH-cam - this is a great video about soldering of solder cups (such as what you found on the male terminal of the aviator connector): th-cam.com/video/_GLeCt_u3U8/w-d-xo.html
If you're curious about soldering standards, I'd recommend looking into IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies.
@@mrkoren Hi Mike! Thank you so much for sitting through all 30 Min! I received so many good advice from soldering and electronics experts, hope that next time I can make a better cable! I appreciate the link as well, I'll take a look!
After realizing how tedious creating a custom coiled cable looks I'm glad I can find these already made on Shopee for only 9$+ and we get to choose the colors too :>
Hey just a heads up. When you are tinning the gx12 connector you want to heat up the contacts and then melt the solder on them, not the soldering iron. That will make the solder stick easier and better to it.
Hi Tasty Yoghurt! Thank you so much for the advice! I'm still working on improving my soldering skills and this is helpful!
This channel is addictive. Thanks so much for this man.
No problem and glad you enjoyed it! I keep putting out content every week so stay tuned!
Bring the solder to the connector... Not bring the solder to the iron then touch the connector... the smoke fumes you see leaving solder is the flux which your vaporising and not helping your bond..
Iron on connector, bring solder to connector. Trust me its a game changer :D
this. the solderingjob is.... not on pair with the rest of his work...
Thank you for the advice! I have a ways to go to perfect my soldering game!
10/10 tutorial skills, I'll remember it all. I'm going to use this method for every cable in my life now probably... I can already hear the: "this is becoming ridiculous..."
Haha thank you Bob! I'm glad it was helpful and I am working on my own cable making skills as well!
yo thats insane content, Stick with it, you will blow up
Thank you so much Lazar! I have more content planned for the future so please stay tuned!
WOW! If I ever upgrade I will be sure to try and use this but i could also use this for other things as well. The candy is a lovely touch! I hope they ship to UK...
Easy tutorial with great presentation. Thanks in advance!
Thank you so much! It was a long tutorial to make, but if it's helpful, it was well worth it!
Interesting subject. But
Please, get a new scissor that isnn't blunt, or use a sharp knife. Blunt tools destroy material and can actually be more dangerous then a sharp tool.
Tip, tip is for heating, not applying solder. Because that would ruin the fluss in the solder. Pre tin the wires make it easier to connect them to the socket.
Yup! I definitely need new scissors! And a lot of great advice from soldering experts on this video, I learned a lot!
nice video!! Just want to say that if you want a more tight, springly coil, you can do the reverse coil method when you have the coil done.
Hi Peter! That's a great tip!
Dude, this is the best tutorial I've found, and going to work out to take it and remake it in Spanish, are you ok with that?
*goes to aliexpress to buy the parts*
Have you found all the parts from AliExpress?
Did you?!
@@Instinct0425 nope I haven’t. I haven’t been able to tech flex and the USB cable without the connectors
@@hashirowais6475 just get a USB A to C cable and cut it in the middle, takes even less time to solder. Also there is a large variety of plugs you can use for the middle part, not just the fatass aviator connectors. de.aliexpress.com/item/4000971475272.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7e514c4dEhZyUv cable
@@TheHabadababa or just get an ul2464, 4 core cable in any size ... 28awg version and that's it
Dude you helped me out big time with this cable and fantastic work. Lovely camera work and very detailed! Thanks so much for the great vid man!
No problem! I'm glad it was helpful!
remember bois, tin your wire leads before soldering!
Great advice Tato.! Learned a lot from the viewers!
And don't drop dry tin on the tabs. The flux isn't just there for making hypnotic puffs.
I don’t know why, but i’ve watched this video so many times. it’s so relaxing
:) glad it's helpful!
1:14 starts
not sure how this came across my feed but it was a great video with everything being broken down very well for anyone to follow.
Thank you for the comments Daniel! I hope the content was helpful!
I just paid like $70 for one on Etsy 😅
Damn what, they're only $25-35 on Tez Cables, free shipping. I need to become an Etsy seller lol
such a good tutorial. way better than paying a premium and waiting a month or so for one. also, you learn a nice skill.
Glad it was helpful! I appreciate the comments!
you forgot the part that you need to invest into equipments you'll never really use if you're not into building mech:
soldering equipment, soldering iron, and many other tools to cut wire
if you build custom keebs having a solder station is pretty essential unless you only do PCBs with preinstalled hot swap sockets
this is one of the best follow along tutorials for coiled cables
Thank you so much Nyssa!
You didn't crimp the a and c sides nearly enough when you put the housings on
Thank you for thr advice 9mmsword! I received a lot of good advice from the viewers and it'll definitely help me improve my cables in the future!
At my job we build hoses and cables a lot, if you cut down the middle of the tape it helps control the fraying that you see happen from just cutting it normally.
Hi Korey! Thank you for the advice! Thank you for watching!
those metal usb connectors and aviator connectors should be grounded
The depth of field changing on the camera constantly, screws with my eyes.
good tutorial.
That is such a beautiful work! I wish I have the patience to do such a thing! Or the skills lol, you are amazing.
Thank you so much Mathias! I appreciate it!
Great video! Here in Perú high prices make custom keyboards really a luxury, but videos like this helps to solve that :D
Thank you so much Anibal! I'm glad the video could be helpful!
I'm probably never going to make my own cable still, but this seems super helpful for those who want to. I assume you can also use the heat gun + dowel step to retighten old coils that have loosened over time?
Hi Sin! Thank you for your comments! For sure! I do use the heatgun to retighten coils on some of my older cables. Perfect tool for maintenance!
this video came at a good time for me as I am trying to design keycaps and is like hmm I should also try my hands at cables.
At around 17:30 I noticed you struggled a bit putting the solder into the channels, though not needed in this specific situation, adding some flux to them would make the solder easier to work with (it increases the "wetting ability", basically makes the solder flow more evenly and not ballup). The only thing is, is that you would need to wash off the flux as it can cause corrosion over time. This is super easy to do with some isopropyl alcohol so def worth it if you solder small pads/wires/etc. often. This might actually be more helpful for soldering switches for a cleaner and easier application.
btw you're supposed to twist/coil the wire in the opposite direction after it's cooled down to get a really tight coil with stiffness, I hope this helps!
Thanks for the advice Tony!
Amazing and comprehensive, I had question about hair dryer, but you answered it as well. :3
I've never seen anyone drop a glob of solder on purpose. And you didn't tin your wires. But that was an interesting technique. Good job.
If you don't have a heatgun or good hairdryer, you culd also put the cable in boiling water for some minutes (water can not burn plastic so no worries if you have it in a longer time) if you have large enough pot :)
This is one of the rare videos i would like twice if i could
I really appreciate the comment! :)
Nice video! I would like to ask you what diameter are the paracord and the sleeving? 🙂
You have done it beautifully man, thank you for your tutorial.
You're absolutely welcome!
sweet, definitely gonna make a custom cable when I get the chance; probably non-coiled or with an aviator/yc8 connector inbetween either, but I still like the look of these.
:) Glad to hear that!
Just want to say, very clean shots love it!
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
i’m going to try and make a coiled guitar cable now! the cute ones are so pricey this is so cool :)
:) Good luck!
always tin the end of the wire before soldering you will have a much better connection and also prevent cold soldering joints.
:) Thank you for the feedback! Still a lot to learn about soldering!
Fantastic video! I have a question: what is the purpose of the aviation connectors? Why would you need to disconnect the cable at that location? Why not just make it one continuous cable?
It's mostly for anesthetics :)
@@Keybored It does look pretty damn cool, but still... that's a lotta work, for purely aesthetic results. I'm not sure I'd have the courage! (But this is probably due to the fact that my soldering skills are utterly horrendous.)
One thing to watch out for it seems like you have cold solder joints. although they will work they're more likely to break or not even make a connection, when soldering make sure to heat up both your wire and whatever you're attaching it to (connector, wire, circuit, etc) until the solder flows smooth, you shouldn't have to wipe it off the iron
Great vid! Very informative. Just a tip, it will be more easier and stable if you tin all the wire first before soldering it.
Thank you for the advice justice league! Learned a lot from the viewers about best practices and they sure will help me in the future!
You can soldering some points of the connector chassis, in the points of clip, making a stronger finish
Another good tip is after coiling the cable, reverse the coil... it makes it tighter and springier...
Thank you Joan! The suggestions have been great and really helped me to make better cables!
Just another piece of advice, when you are dealing with that USBC connector, use some flux to make it easier for soldering the wires.
Thank you for the feedback! I have a long way to go to perfect my soldering skills :)
Great video. Get a sand paper sheet 200-300 grit and shred every single bit of if with your scissor.
Oooh, does that work to sharpen it?
When i made my speaker cables i stopped at paracord only. They felt premium at the time since sleeving was pretty new. Im totally excited to make new ones with expandable sleeving on top of the paracord for that extra premium-ness.
Always good to add that extra layer of premium! Can never get too much premium lol 🙂
Beautifully done & instructed! This vid is saved for my DIY project. Thanks 🤗
:) You're welcome!
an idea for the heat gun part, set one end of rod onto a raised surface and hold the other end. you can then spin the whole rod and cable while heating instead of heating one side then the other :)
Great idea! Will have to try that out!
Idk why I watched this I don’t even have a pc or keyboard 😂. Great vid tho very professional for a small TH-camr. A1 brother!
Thank you so much brother! I appreciate and will keep on the grind!