Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

Re:Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you re... by somehnguy on Monday January 30, 2023 @11:23AM (#34581922)

I'm also a cable hoarder - lots of electronic related hobbies and you never know what you might need. My solution was buying a big pack of velcro cable ties and clear storage bins. One evening I sat down and cable wrapped every single one, then sorted into bins by the type of cable - power, audio/video, USB, networking, etc. Slap a label onto the front of each bin.

The bins sit neatly on a shelf and I know exactly where to find any type of cable I need. The cable wraps prevent them from turning into giant tangled messes.

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Re:Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you re... by filoleg on Monday January 30, 2023 @12:38PM (#34583386)

This is going to sound really dumb, but how exactly do you wrap your cables using zipties? I tried the intuitive "roll it in a 5-6in circle, then maybe fold, squish, and then secure by a ziptie in the middle", but i am not sure if there is a better way. That one feels somewhat messy.

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Re:Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you re... by agilob on Monday January 30, 2023 @12:48PM (#34583559)

>velcro cable ties

Not zip ties.

I'm not the person you're asking.

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Re:Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you re... by frosted-flakes on Monday January 30, 2023 @02:09PM (#34584873)

I like the velcro cables ties that stay attached to the cable, like [1]. Wrap the cable in a loop, then secure the loop with the velcro. Larger cables get two ties on opposing sides. Do not squish the cable because it will get all kinked; just keep it in a loop, and stack all your wrapped cables as a cylinder.

The diameter of the circle depends on the cable length and thickness. 2m USB cable should be 10cm, 3m power cord should be 20cm, and 10m Ethernet cable should be 30cm.

[1] https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/8-x-1-2-Black-and-Gray-Cable-Ti...

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Re:Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you re... by theshrike79 on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @02:37AM (#34592399)

I used to hoard cables, but then I figured out 90% of them were really bad quality.

I actually tested all my microUSB cables and found out majority of them had trouble delivering over 1A of power through them -> bin.

For the rarer ones I kept one of each (usb-a->usb-b, mini-usb etc), the ones that were the best quality.

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