goingdownslow Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 How long should we expect cable to last. I had some crackle/intermittent sound and traced it to around the jack plug. Thinking one of the solder joints may have failed I checked it and all was good, but knowing there was a problem in that area I cut the lead back about 6 inches and stripped the sheath and found this.... The copper screen was gooey and discoloured just in that area. It was not even where the compression grip is, that is more in the body of the plug casing. Any ideas what would cause this. Does cable just deteriorate. Possibly about 12 years old, not abused, always neatly coiled and stored, can still see the make all along the cable, Lynx Audio. I made the leads myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slojo Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 (edited) Probably a chemical reaction between the outer sheath and the screen happening over time. Time to cut your losses and splash the cash on a new one by the looks of it. EDIT: Just checked the price of what I use, they’ve really shot up 😵 https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/12022310584839--planet-waves-pw-amsg-20-american-stage-instrument-cable-20ft Edited January 4, 2023 by slojo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 (edited) Looks like it has been used as a speaker cable. Coaxial cables do not usually have enough copper to deliver watts. The plug looks like it would work on a fx board staying still but not in instrument use. Buy Neutrik plugs, some decent silicone cable, and you can rely on your cables for the next decades. If you need cables for speakers, try 2 x 1.5 mm2 or 2 x 2.5 mm2, and decent connectors i.e. Neutrik. Mark speaker cables well, if you still use plugs in stead of Speakons. Edited January 4, 2023 by itu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 1 hour ago, itu said: Looks like it has been used as a speaker cable. Coaxial cables do not usually have enough copper to deliver watts. The plug looks like it would work on a fx board staying still but not in instrument use. Buy Neutrik plugs, some decent silicone cable, and you can rely on your cables for the next decades. If you need cables for speakers, try 2 x 1.5 mm2 or 2 x 2.5 mm2, and decent connectors i.e. Neutrik. Mark speaker cables well, if you still use plugs in stead of Speakons. It's never been used as a speaker cable. I am using Neutrik (not REAN) jack plugs. My speaker cables are 2x2.5 mm² with Speakons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilebodgers Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Good cable lasts effectively forever. I have a Klotz cable with Neutrik jacks that is over 30 years old. My other Van Damme + Neutrik cables are over 20 years old. If they don’t get mechanically damaged I expect them to see me out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigguy2017 Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 That is a classic example of 'green goo'. It happens when the plasticiser in the insulation reacts with the copper wire and corrodes it. It's a manufacturing defect in the cable and was (is?) reasonably common in mains (and other) cables of a certain age of manufacture. Google 'green goo in cables' What To Do About Green Goo | No Shock Electrical Only fix is to bin the cable and replace. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 On 04/01/2023 at 14:17, goingdownslow said: How long should we expect cable to last. I had some crackle/intermittent sound and traced it to around the jack plug. Thinking one of the solder joints may have failed I checked it and all was good, but knowing there was a problem in that area I cut the lead back about 6 inches and stripped the sheath and found this.... The copper screen was gooey and discoloured just in that area. It was not even where the compression grip is, that is more in the body of the plug casing. Any ideas what would cause this. Does cable just deteriorate. Possibly about 12 years old, not abused, always neatly coiled and stored, can still see the make all along the cable, Lynx Audio. I made the leads myself. I cannot be sure, but I think Lynx branded cable is Chinese. That does not mean that it is not good, rather that the quality may be variable. It looks like you have some verdigris (copper rust) at the break point that suggests that the braid was in contact with air/oxygen. That means there was a breakdown of insulation at some point. This could have been where the cable was looped over the strap? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 (edited) On 04/01/2023 at 14:44, slojo said: Probably a chemical reaction between the outer sheath and the screen happening over time. Time to cut your losses and splash the cash on a new one by the looks of it. EDIT: Just checked the price of what I use, they’ve really shot up 😵 https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/12022310584839--planet-waves-pw-amsg-20-american-stage-instrument-cable-20ft I hate to be a party pooper, but 28pF per foot is not low capacitance, it is higher than most decent cables. That being said, they have a great reputation for reliability. If you are happy with them, great. However, I think they are vastly overpriced. 28pF per foot is 91pF per metre, similar to Van Damme XKE (90pF) but Sommer Tricone series are 80pF and the Classique braided is 75pF. Sommer and Klotz also do much lower capacitance cables. Edited January 18, 2023 by Chienmortbb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 I've always used Whirlwind cables. Someone gave me a 10m and 2x 5m over 25 years ago. They're still going strong. I've bought some shorter ones now recently, and they're fine, too. I've only seen the green goo in mains cables myself, never co-axial signal cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I expect my obbm cables will outlive me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 On 13/01/2023 at 03:46, Lfalex v1.1 said: I've only seen the green goo in mains cables myself, never co-axial signal cables. It was quite common in the coiled cables in the 60s/70s. The green goo will be to do with the formation of Copper Oxide (Verdigris). Any uncoated/untreated copper will go a green/blue colour, but why it turns gooey is beyond me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I used to own a cable manufacturing company and still have some cables that are over 20 years old. Instrument cables in particular have relatively thin central conductors that are constantly flexing. So you can't expect them to last forever. I did have one cable fail (it became noisy) at about 20 years. I certainly wouldn't want to rely on a cable that old. How long they last obviously depends on how much they are used, but I'd suggest you've had your money's worth after ten years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) I have been using quality silicone cable (similar to Sommer, but from Gotham) since early 1990's. I rely on it, and Neutrik plugs. No need to change, but they require some washing every now and then. Edited January 18, 2023 by itu a s e s grammar keybpqrd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 On 04/01/2023 at 17:32, nilebodgers said: Good cable lasts effectively forever. I have a Klotz cable with Neutrik jacks that is over 30 years old. My other Van Damme + Neutrik cables are over 20 years old. If they don’t get mechanically damaged I expect them to see me out. I had some Van Damme some years ago. No matter what connector I used, the inner broke about 4 cm from the end of the plug on a regular basis. In the end I used it for pedal board patch cables as they did not move. Since then, I have only used Sommer and Klotz. I recently had to repair a cable with Van Damme XKE cable, and it certainly did not persuade me that it was worth changing to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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