Heat shrink (again) USB cable

You can get 4:1 heatshrink, might that be enogh?

... or you could just use normal self amalgamating tape couldn't you, that's pretty cheap.

Just spend a fiver on a new cable. I buy USBs in packs of 5 and discard ones that wear out

These days I buy the type with the fabric looking braiding as the outer covering. They seem to last a lot longer.

I’ve found you can stretch heat shrink when a room temperature - I use a pair of smooth, pointed, pliers in most cases. When you heat it later, you find it will shrink back to size as if it would have if you had not stretched it first- at least if it can.

Ideal for fitting over a connector etc already on a cable or accommodating a wide range of diameters.

Obviously there are limits, if you stretch it too far it will split - either during the stretching or when you try to shrink it. Also, while you can gain on the range of diameters, there are limits.

I wouldn't try to mend a broken wire at this point, but if the cable works OK, I add a dab of hot melt glue, tapering it down along the wire. It's somewhat flexible, so it works as a strain relief.

Thanks. Very useful!

Cheers

Dave R

Tried that. This is a fast charging cable for my phone which uses an obscure protocol. Realme Pro 6. The cable I bought claimed to be fast charging but wasn't.

This is why I am contemplating repairing the original to hopefully make it last longer.

Normal USB cables aren't worth the hassle.

Cheers

Dave R

Ah yes. I am not sure that any *full* USB cable would not work, only 'charging' cables that carry only power and no data, will not

AFAIK there are no electronics *inside* the cable...

I've got a pair of Hellermann fanny-stretchers somewhere ...

Wedding pliers, our wireman called them...

nib

Sugru is good for that too ... but not cheap, I usually only use it when applying extra (tapered) strain relief to Power Supply cables and the like.

FWIW: 'Active' USB cables - with serious electronics inside the cable - are a thing, but not something the average consumer would be likely to come across.

I got interested and dug a little deeper. Active cables are usually to boost bandwidth. Adaptive charging is a process engaged in by charger and device and therefore must be independent of the cable except in respect of there being enough pins connected..

. BUT th

If the cable is for high power charging, I'm not sure ant kind of repair is a good idea. If one of the cores is broken, a connection made by holding the two broken ends together will not carry current as well as it should - probably create a local hot spot.

Just spent £2.99 on three 3m length USB cables from Amazon

which is a bit of a bargain, but, yeah, not for your phone.

That protocol is Dart / VOOC / SuperDart

ChatGPT tells me it uses extra pins, and thicker wire.

What Are Dart / VOOC / SuperDart? Protocol Brand Usage Max Power Voltage & Current VOOC OPPO ~20W 5V / 4A Dart Charge Realme (VOOC clone) ~30W 5V / 6A SuperVOOC OPPO ~65W+ 10V / 6.5A (or similar) SuperDart Realme ~65W+ Similar to SuperVOOC All of these protocols are based on low-voltage, high-current charging, which keeps the phone cooler compared to USB Power Delivery (PD) or Qualcomm Quick Charge (QC), which typically use higher voltages (e.g.,

man oogoo

... the diy open-source sugru substitute: silicone sealant and starch.

Thomas Prufer

I was in Halfords yesterday and they seem to sell this type of USB cable with a variety of fittings (USB-A to USB-C and others.

Not stupidly expensive either.

I am aware of this, and normally would be quite keen ... but I am a bit nervous about the evolving of acetic acid next to electronics.

Hot snot