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DPA DAO4010 or Belden 1804A as internal boom cable?


DanieldH

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I want to refit my straight cabled QX5100. The plan is to mount some reel system on the bottom end, so a slim cable is desired. 

As I don't have any of the mentioned around I wonder, what to buy.

What are your experiences with these cables

or with DPAs slim XLR?

What is the outer diameter, RF performance, bending radius of the DAO4010?

Would the PVC coating of the 1804A produce significantly more cable noise compared to the cable Ambient sells?

Thnx 

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I think you’ll just have to buy a few feet of a few different kinds and try it out yourself. I like the matte durable jacket of 1804a but the shielding is not the best. But it is quad so kind of a trade off. 
 

Reel system? Now that’s interesting. Will it be spring loaded/self winding or more like a fishing rod?

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58 minutes ago, Derek H said:

Reel system? Now that’s interesting. Will it be spring loaded/self winding or more like a fishing rod?

I look out for fly reels, mainly on aliexpress. Quite a few offer some room for a mainspring upgrade in the future. Currently I need to choose a cable that works even without reels and springs, so I have some specs to decide on reel dimensions. There are various drag systems for fly/ice reels. Most reels produce a clicking sound, either as an essential part of the system, or they just imitate it as an audible user interface. The latter can be removed.

Springs introduce a hell of issues that may be trivial for seat belt, dog leash and vacuum cleaner designers but not for someone with my resources or what a wireless microphone boom demands. The first is, these springs love water since they want to turn into rust, so a protective housing is necessary. A water protective housing with two moving parts is nothing I can just 3d print or buy in the right dimensions. I am open for ideas though. Another issue is, you'd need a backstop and release mechanism like a vacuum cleaner or a measuring tape.

When I have a working reel, my next step would probably be to design some anchors to fit an unprotected spring and service it with WD40 regularly.

In the 1960s and 70s, there used to be retractable "automatic reels", but they did not prevail. You can buy collectors items here and there, but they usually don't fit my specs and are old (as in, they break and are not easily replaceable) heavy, expensive and are designed for a lot more length than a boom cable needs. On top of that, I don't like the idea of modifying some collectors item.

The reel will be mounted with its axis crossing the boom, opposed to usual fly reels:

Outdoor Fishing Reels To Choose Rod Combo Pen Pole Lures Tackle Spinning Casting Hard Rod Winter Fishing Rods Ice Fishing Rodsvs 3/4 5/6 7/8 Aluminum Alloy 2+1BB Bearing Fly outdoor fishing flywheel front wheel ice fishing reel large fishing Accessories

 

If I had the 3d modelling, printing and crafting skills, I'd go for a reel that spins around the boom.

 

Whoever reads this, note this warning:

Mainsprings are dangerous, protect at least your eyes and hands!

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My experiences with those are not that great (though old). These where not much, once a Ktech once an Ambient. Both produced inverted loops, that required constant maintainance, got stuck and were a pain especially in length>ceiling height stiuations. 

Another thing is, that I sometimes like to quickly slide the quickpole through the sustaining hand with soft gloves. That would produces movement in the cable and even a center of gravity shift.

On top of that, a straight cable has a lot better ratio of overall weight vs center oft gravity, espacially with whatever cable foo on the bottom end.

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  • 1 year later...

I am experimenting with some mods on my QX5100. I've replaced the velours and I am rewiring with 1804A. A friend printed me these disks that perfectly snap in on the end of the pipe and glued them with B7000. I'll see, how they hold. In first tests, it seems, that there is less cable noise with 1804A and the disks, but not as much as expected. However, the disks seem to help a lot in pushing out the cable keeping it straight. The 1804A is a lot less stiff than the original cable Ambient used, which is not a wanted feature for pushing out the cable. I am waiting for some spring loaded reels to arrive that I can hopefully fit the 1804A with.
I'll continue in a new DIY thread.

 

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Well, it glues. I bought it for a phone repair project and I like the small tip that allows for precise application. I have never removed it, as of yet, but as I believe it comes soft with heat application. Cleaning petrol, Isopropyl, spirit, orange oil based cleaners would be my first approach.

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  • 2 weeks later...

What about the option of mogami w2697 - I use this cable for everything where I need thin flexible balanced cable and it solders really well

https://mogamicable.com/category/bulk/microphone/lavalier/
 

my dad and my sons and I all went fishing recently and my dad brought his fly fishing rod and I could see how this concept would work as this cable is very thin and flexible very similar to fly line. I will for sure share this thread with him as he is not a sound mixer but does have an appreciation for our craft nonetheless and will get a kick out of it

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Thanks for the input.

I did ask DPA some time ago what they used for the DAO4000. After some back and forth they said it is "3031-40 black" and seems to be the big brother of the 2697. When I did some spool tests, I was surprised, what difference 0.192mm in nominal diameter makes.

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