[sdiy] Cable Label choices and Preparation Methods

[Jay Schwichtenberg]

A Sharpie and those plastic bread bag tags work for me.

Jay S.

On 5/24/2021 11:33 PM, Tom Farrand via Synth-diy wrote:
> I finally have the makings for a smaller-studio in my basement.  
> Recently I received a batch of cables of assorted descriptions such as 
> "guitar cables", MIDI cables, various other audio cables, and cables 
> dedicated to a Mackie mixer from assorted gizmos as well as dedicated 
> wiring to things like equalizers, reverbs, vocoder, etc.
>
> How does one identify cable ends such that the device connection is 
> uniquely identified as "*AF OUT BassStation*" or other identity.  I 
> was planning to mark each cable end using Panduit LJSL11-Y3 labels.  
> These work a treat, are printed on a laser printer exactly as one 
> would want, and I have used these commercially in the control panel 
> business for labeling "inside" wiring on various control systems.  My 
> issue is that these label blanks are rather expensive and are only 
> sold in quantities of 1,000 labels at the minimum.  There are 28 label 
> blanks on each 8.5" x 11" sheet.  (You can print only one label per 
> pass or the whole sheet of 28.  Your choice.)  A thousand labels cost 
> about $350.00.  That's a lot of money for labeling cables.  Sure, 
> these Panduit labels work a treat but damn, $350 is a lot of dough for 
> labeling.  But I do want something that is bullet-proof in 
> readability, and won't discolor over long periods of time.  And I sure 
> don't want any gooey adhesive that will migrate over time due to heat, 
> humidity, or other environmental issues.
>
> As a very late-comer to the party, I have no idea what others do for 
> labeling that does not cost a fortune, does not take 20 minutes to 
> label one end of a cable, and won't destroy itself over time.  Since I 
> bought commercially made cables and snakes, there is no opportunity to 
> affix a label on a cable end unless the label can be applied 
> circumferentially to a cable near the connector.  Using a heat-shrink 
> gun and some shrink tubing won't cut it unless there is a secret I 
> don't know about!
>
> Any ideas are welcome!  Sometimes a couple of ideas might be merged to 
> devise something new as a solution.
>
> I would have made my own cables and this problem would not exist.  
> Trouble is, I now have arthritis that is quite painful and I have a 
> "trigger finger" on each hand.  This is rather debilitating but I 
> figure I can fix my musical mistakes, more or less in post.  (Wishful 
> thinking?  Probably.)  I am now an old guy with white hair.  This 
> whole bit of nonsense is the fault of Robert Moog.  After he gave a 
> lecture at NIU back in 1973, I had the privilege of discussing the 
> future of synthesizers with Dr. Moog for about an hour, post-lecture. 
> Wow! We chatted uninterrupted for an hour!  What a very generous and 
> kind person he was.  I was shocked to notice that none of the 
> attendees of Dr. Moog's lecture had a clue of just *who was Robert 
> Moog! * My chat with the good doctor was surprisingly one-on-one!  The 
> lecture hall was devoid of attendees except for myself, and the head 
> of the physics department in a local college near Motorola (where I 
> was supposed to be working that day!)
>
> Many thanks for any suggestions that might be offered. Appreciated!
>
> Tom Farrand - now retired in rural Indiana
>
>
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