What do you use as a USB cable strain relief?
I have been recently wrapping the ends with the tie wire that comes with the cable but I would like to know what you use as a USB cable strain relief that works better.
Terry Schwartz wrote in :
I hear you. I wish it were true that the cables don't break on the small end. I really do.
But I can't count the number of broken microUSB & AppleUSB cables I have. Maybe twenty? Thirty?
They all break at the same point because they go slowly so you know it by the wiggle test.
The wiggle test proves it is the thin microUSB or AppleUSB end that plugs into the mobile device.
It's never the fat rectangular USB end that plugs into the computer or power supply.
I just want to know what you use as a strain relief? Some people tell me heat shrink tubing works.
What do you use?
When I have one that's getting loose, I use silicone gasket compound on it and let it dry for a couple of days. Cover it good to a couple of inches down the cable.
It might not look real pretty, but it works.
Heat shrink works very well, you may want to use a couple of different diameters of HS so you get a stepped strain relief on the cable/plug.
John :-#)#
I have yet to have a USB cable break. I have seen folks with Apple's lightning cables that deteriorate badly at both ends, with the covering breaking apart. I've had 3 Android phones that use USB and none failed.
It's amazing how Apple screws it's customers with crap and gets away with it. That lightning cable, they put a chip in it, to screw you. It's there to identify it, so if you want to make an aftermarket one, you have to pay Apple a licensing fee. That way Apple can charge $20 for a $2 cable. But one of the aftermarket ones that's not licensed and after awhile, it stops working, not because of electrical problems, but because the phone figures out it's not Apple or authorized, so the phone rejects it. Crappy Apple cables for $20and locking you in, perfect combo. Oh and did those $20 cables and $20 chargers get you anything? No, the charger they ship with the expensive phone is 5W and Apple was just about the last to offer fast charging. And then, as expected, instead of using what the rest of the phone industry is mostly going with, Qualcomm QuickCharge, they again went proprietary for another right proper screwing.
I think that would be excellent. The only issue is, how do you get it over a cable that has big connectors on each end?
There's only little problem with that. How do you get the shrink tubing over the connector?
Cut the cable in the middle? Use super duper miracle shrink tubing that shrinks 95% so that it goes over the connector?
;)
I raised the same point a few mins ago. Typical USB cable you can get on Ebay for $2 so I don't see it being a problem for most folks. Plus I haven't had one fail like that. But if you have an iPhone with their $20 cables I can see it being a problem.
you've never used shrink tubing, have you?
Eye roll.....
There is a ratio concerning original vs shrink size. If the tubing is large enough to fit over the connector it may not shrink down full around the cable.
It depends on what's on the other end. We know one end is USB. If the other end is micro-USB for a cell phone, for example, then it could work.
since the micro usb connector is only slightly wider than the cable, that's not an issue.
better yet, buy quality cables that don't fall apart and don't need aftermarket reinforcements.
Would flexible/stretchable tape work?
My friend uses that expensive clay-like stuff and is happy with it. She gave us a small lump of it, but it's too good to use :-)
We still have paper towels used to wipe car windows without smearing that a gas station gave my mother in 1962, They are too good to use.
On Mon, 26 Mar 2018 23:27:35 +0000 (UTC), Erholt Rhein wrote as underneath :
Hot glue, the very flexible type is best, sticks to anything and you can taper it away from the plug so it provides progressive relief. C+
Yes, well specify 3:1 or 4:1 heatshrink then, 3:1 is very easy to find and 4:1 is certainly available.
Nothing. I simply handle them with care.
None of my cables broke in that part. Two failed at the pins.
I'd rather the cable broke than yanked the port out of a laptop or phone.
+1
the most important thing is to avoid stressing the micro connector in the device. The cable is easy to replace. mark
Anything you add to the cord will stiffen it. This added rigidity will transmit increased cord bending forces into the device connector causing the device's connector to fail prematurely. Personally, I'd rather replace cables than try to solder in new device connectors.
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