Sleeving/Braiding

[AcIdC0R3]

Has anybody sleeved or braided there A40 or A30's cables? Just wondering, because I'm considering doing it. I had done this for a lot of my computer builds. I would unpin all my cables and sleeve and heatshrink them then repin them. Of course with audio cables you really don't have any strange or weird shaped connectors so you wouldn't need to remove the plugs. Sleeving expands so it would just slip right over the plug. Gold Mylar would look really nice on the Astro's cables. I've seen a lot of high end audio cables that come sleeved or braided already and they look really nice. Of course they cost a bunch but I guess that's what you're paying for. I've done plenty of business HERE (http://www.cabletiesandmore.com/BraidedSleeving.php) and they haven't done me wrong.

Here are two pictures of some audio cables that come sleeved...
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/dfg1.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/vpxps3.jpg

Here are some pictures of a job I did on computer for someone. The sleeving came out really good...
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/27-10-20090017.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/27-10-20090015.jpg

Another job I did on someone else computer...
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/black046.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/night-026.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/blackneardone010.jpg

Behind the right panel on my computer...
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/p2020232custom.jpg

I'm just giving some examples of what it could look like if you were to sleeve or braid the Astro headset.
I think I'll give this a try. I just have to get the money as I'm broke now because of my home theater upgrade.

Cheers...

[AcIdC0R3]

I found a place (http://www.av-outlet.com/en-us/dept_442.html) that provides sleeving for A/V cables. Here are some of the designs they have...

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/FZ100BS-L.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/redline_sleeve-L.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/neon_sleeve-L.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/AcIdC0R3/Sleeving/army_sleeve-L.jpg

There is even one with army green camo design.

[Alpha I Omega]

you make some nice systems, i love your epic wire management skills.

[AcIdC0R3]

Thank you. It's very time consuming and tedious work, but the end result pays off. I'm really kind of looking forward to doing some sleeving work on my new A40's. So far I've only sleeved computer cables.

Cheers...

[Alpha I Omega]

Thank you. It's very time consuming and tedious work, but the end result pays off. I'm really kind of looking forward to doing some sleeving work on my new A40's. So far I've only sleeved computer cables.

Cheers...
it looks like you do a pretty good job at it, so i dont think you should be worried about the quality of it.

[ASTRO Warblade]

Nice, some if these designs look great (the black and red one is very ASTRO like). I've only done some cheap spiral cord stuff from Radio shack for the USB & Optical cable.

[AcIdC0R3]

Maybe black sleeving with an orange tracer going through it. Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks Warblade.

[SocksWthSandals]

let me know how that works for you. maybe ill ship you my cables and you can do mine haha.

[AcIdC0R3]

let me know how that works for you. maybe ill ship you my cables and you can do mine haha.

Well, I get both my A40's and my Gunnars today. I'll assess how much cabling there actually is and determine how much sleeving I'll need. Then I have to get shrink tubing for the ends. I think Warblade was right about that black and red idea. I think I'll cap them off with some white shrink tubing at the end of the sleeve and overlap it onto the plug instead of before the plug. That way it will actually give the stress releaf part of the cable some extra support. When I do start my project, I'll make sure to take lot's of pictures of the work process to give everyone an idea of what all it entails.

Cheers...

[SocksWthSandals]

i think you should do some black and orange :) show some forum pride. excited for those gunnars? i get to go to frys electronics today :) its like 45 minutes away. but imagine a costco size electronics store :) im about to post some pics of my pc and setup, not too great of pics but its something for you guys to see :)

[ASTRO stanimal]

Used to sleeve just about everything back when I worked at FrozenCPU.com (http://www.frozencpu.com) back in the day, also a great place to pick up sleeving materials and equipment. Miss the tidiness and awesome look it gave everything I sleeved up but man, it was a pain in the ass to do.

Definitely a labor of love.

- ASTRO stanimal

[AcIdC0R3]

Used to sleeve just about everything back when I worked at FrozenCPU.com (http://www.frozencpu.com) back in the day, also a great place to pick up sleeving materials and equipment. Miss the tidiness and awesome look it gave everything I sleeved up but man, it was a pain in the ass to do.

Definitely a labor of love.

- ASTRO stanimal

Oh you worked at Frozen? They have gotten a ton of my business. Yes, I have bought some of their sleeving materials. I always like shopping there. They have a ton of good stuff. You're right, sleeving is very tedious work. It should be a lot easier with audio cables as the plugs are not squared like computer cables. But, that's kewl you worked there.

Cheers...

[ASTRO stanimal]

Oh you worked at Frozen? They have gotten a ton of my business. Yes, I have bought some of their sleeving materials. I always like shopping there. They have a ton of good stuff. You're right, sleeving is very tedious work. It should be a lot easier with audio cables as the plugs are not squared like computer cables. But, that's kewl you worked there.

Cheers...

Yep! From '02 to 04'. Decided to go back to school so I had to leave. Definitely miss the good ol' days.

- ASTRO stanimal

[AcIdC0R3]

Well, I have determined that it will cost about $90 to sleeve all the cables that came with the A40 AS. That includes PET Expandable Braided Sleeving and Heatshrink Tubing to taper the ends off. I'm creating an excel template explaining what is needed for each cable and when I'm done I'll post it here in case anybody else is interested in sleeving their cables. Incidentally, I'm going to make my purchase at CableOrganizer (http://cableorganizer.com/) to get the materials. They seem to have an extensive supply at a reasonably affordable price on all their materials. Also, if you're going to sleeve your cables, they have some really nice heat guns at affordable prices at Amazon so as to heat your heat shrink tubing. I think I'm going to go with either white sleeving with orange heat shrink or orange sleeving with with white heat shrink.

Cheers...

[SocksWthSandals]

can i ship mine to you and have you sleave them? :) ill buy the materials of course, just have them shipped to your house, that is... if yours works out nicely *crosses fingers*

[AcIdC0R3]

Sure, but let's first see how mine turn out. Then we can go from there. Sound good?

Cheers....

[SocksWthSandals]

sounds tits to me man. good luck with that! cant wait to see how it turns out.

[AcIdC0R3]

I forgot to mention that I'm not including my toslink cable in the figures above because i bought the premium one from Monoprice and it has metal sleeving already.

[AcIdC0R3]

Here is the excel sheet with what's needed for sleeving.

Cheers...

EDIT: You probably won't need that much heatshrink tubing. I have that much because I have another project I'm going to start that requires it. You'll probably only need maybe 2ft of each. That will give you room for mistakes if you have any.

[SocksWthSandals]

all id probably want sleaved is the cable on the headset itself :) something small and simple

[AcIdC0R3]

Really? You wouldn't want your controller cable, Quick Disconnect and USB cables sleeved?

Cheers...

[SocksWthSandals]

nah, just the important cable connected to the headset :) it will make my headset unique

[SocksWthSandals]

i really like the redline material :) too bad its not astro orange.

[AcIdC0R3]

Yeah, I like it too but .80 per foot for the redline compared to .35 per foot for the PET colored.

[SocksWthSandals]

its only 45 cents more for a color that is pretty awesome :)

[AcIdC0R3]

Yeah maybe, $28 compared to $55.

EDIT: I just checked and the Redline is actually discounted to $44 because it's over 50ft.

[SocksWthSandals]

how many feet are you getting?!?!

[AcIdC0R3]

The diameter measurements on that sleeve is..
• Minimum Obtainable ID 5mm / 0.197"

• Maximum Recommended Expanded ID 17mm / 0.669"

What is the diameter of the controller cable because it is the smallest cable in the set? I can't check because I'm at work.

Cheers...

[SocksWthSandals]

i am not too sure, i will check tmorrow and let ya know

[AcIdC0R3]

Okay, thanks

[Alpha I Omega]

Okay, thanks

lol that is the first time i have seen a post from you not ending in "Cheers..."

[AcIdC0R3]

Yeah, I was in a hurry. I had to go do something.

Cheers...

[AcIdC0R3]

If you were to make your purchases at AV Outlet this is a spreadsheet with the lengths of each cable and necessary length you need to purchase to make it all work. Prices are in there too. $51 compared to the previous $80. Big difference.

Cheers...

[AcIdC0R3]

Well, that Redline sleeving can be stretched out until the smallest ID is 5mm and the controller cable has a diameter of 3mm. I guess I will have to find different sleeving for it. bummer...

Cheers...

EDIT: Actually, the sleeving will have to be 1/8" in order to fit that cable. 1/8" sleeving can be stretched down to an ID of 3/32".

[AcIdC0R3]

Well, that Redline sleeving can be stretched out until the smallest ID is 5mm and the controller cable has a diameter of 3mm. I guess I will have to find different sleeving for it. bummer...

Cheers...

EDIT: Actually, the sleeving will have to be 1/8" in order to fit that cable. 1/8" sleeving can be stretched down to an ID of 3/32".

Actually, I measured the diameter of all the cables yesterday and determined that they are all either 3mm or 4mm in diameter except for the USB cable that is 5mm. So what that means is that I won't be able to use that Redline sleeving as it can only be stretched to have a minimum of 5mm in diameter. That sux as I was really looking forward to sleeving them in the Redline. Oh well, I'll just have to use the PET Flexco sleeving instead. The smallest one can be stretched to have an ID of 3/32mm. That's pretty small.

Cheers...

[SocksWthSandals]

The smallest one can be stretched to have an ID of 3/32mm. That's pretty small.

Cheers...

thats what she said :)

[AcIdC0R3]

thats what she said :)

lol.............

[MaX uh MiiLiiAN]

How would you sleeve the 2.5mm cable, with the choke on it?

[ASTRO Warblade]

Either use two braiding pieces, one on each side of the choke, or just don't braid that cable. =P No other cables run parallel with it, so no real usage to braid it other than to change the look of it.

[AcIdC0R3]

How would you sleeve the 2.5mm cable, with the choke on it?

Warblade is right, I would use two pieces. One for each side of the choke.

Cheers...

[AcIdC0R3]

I'm pretty sure I'm going to sleeve the cables in white sleeving since my headset is white and use either orange or purple shrink wrap for the ends.

Cheers...

[AcIdC0R3]

Well, I ordered white sleeving but they didn't have orange or purple shrink wrap so I had to go with black. So when I get the materials in I'll start the project and I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures for everybody.

Cheers...

[Izzy]

interested in seeing what it looks like...

[AcIdC0R3]

I think white sleeving will look pretty nice considering my A40's are white. I wanted orange shrink wrap because orange is one of Astros colors but they didn't have it. Oh well. I think it will still look great though.

Cheers...

[ASTRO stanimal]

Final pics? :D

- ASTRO stanimal

[AcIdC0R3]

Final pics? :D

- ASTRO stanimal

I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures.

Cheers...

[KrewZ]

I wish i had the money or the know-how to do this. I spent all my money on getting the headset though lol.
jw the pics make the optic cable look braided, is it?

[AcIdC0R3]

I wish i had the money or the know-how to do this. I spent all my money on getting the headset though lol.
jw the pics make the optic cable look braided, is it?

That's why I keep referring people to Monoprice for the toslink because it's of heavy gauge and it's sleeved in stainless steel braiding and best of all it's cheap.

Cheers...

[AcIdC0R3]

Check this page HERE (http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229).


Cheers...

[AcIdC0R3]

Here is the sleeving finished...
http://www.imgcandy.com/images/87094023907758007679.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/44499907017443891073.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/30424706402723962573.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/74500864704501473332.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/37749702081589283201.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/27939778674565985237.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/17650042170406460921.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/15269295401947836926.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

Continued in next post...

[AcIdC0R3]

Continued...
http://www.imgcandy.com/images/31720031416157207399.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/22292217226208357330.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/98829828208589245524.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/25879479924405582240.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/62004903463776131974.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/35223116030717319336.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

http://www.imgcandy.com/images/93359199386721723070.jpg (http://www.imgcandy.com/)

I hope you all like them....

Cheers...

[KrewZ]

Very well done bro!
I wish i could do that

[AcIdC0R3]

Very well done bro!
I wish i could do that

Thanks. It took me about three hours. It is well worth it though. It gives it a high quality look. Another good thing that came out of this is it prevents cats that like chewing the cords till they don't work. I have a cat (Nickadimas) that likes to do that. lol

Cheers...

[XxiFeltxX]

Good job on sleeving...thats not a bad idea..

[SocksWthSandals]

lookin pretty cool!

[Grenerd88]

Nice job, I was thinking that it might be a little bit better as far as wire management that you would wrap your USB and whatever your using as audio in (Ex. Optical) together. I guess that may have been just what i was assuming you were going to do. All around it looks good though

[AcIdC0R3]

Nice job, I was thinking that it might be a little bit better as far as wire management that you would wrap your USB and whatever your using as audio in (Ex. Optical) together. I guess that may have been just what i was assuming you were going to do. All around it looks good though

I didn't want to do that because my other cables don't go in the same direction as my USB cable. The USB cable is coming out of the front of the MixAmp and the QD cable is coming out of the bottom of the MixAmp.

Cheers....

[Grenerd88]

Hey do you think the 1/4" PET would accommodate the USB and optical together well? Also, you just got the 3:1 shrink?

[AcIdC0R3]

Hey do you think the 1/4" PET would accommodate the USB and optical together well? Also, you just got the 3:1 shrink?

No, 1/4" is too small. What you have to take into consideration is the plugs. They are the largest thing on the cable. I just measured my optical plug that I got from Monoprice and it is 1/2" wide. The smallest plug on the USB cable is about 3/8". That is 7/8". The 3/4" PET sleeve is what you need. It's minimum and maximum size is 1/2" - 1-1/4". Sleeving is a lot like one of those Chinese finger traps. The ones where if your fingers are inside and you pull them it just tightens even harder around your finger. As for the heat shrink, yes I got the 3:1. I suggest you pick you up a heat gun too. Amazon has a whole lot of them. I seen some for like $11 to $14 dollars that were quiet good.

Cheers...

Update: HERE (http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Gun-1500W-Nozzles-700F/dp/B002J9N7M8/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1272001758&sr=8-25) is the heat gun I have and it only costs $15.

- A.

[AcIdC0R3]

Also, I forgot to mention this. If you have a cable that is 6ft. I would get the sleeve to fit it at 8ft.. The reason is that the sleeve expands and retracts so you will give and take footage from the sleeve depending on the diameter of your cable/plugs. This way if your sleeve messes up at the end just cut off a little and start again. Also you should singe your sleeving at the end just slightly so it won't fray real bad as you coaxing it onto the cable.

Cheers...