Dealing with long cables 5

[Nelviticus]

I have a whole heap of electrical spaghetti coming out the back of my PC and I was just wondering whether there are any rules for which cables you can and can't coil or fold up.

I have network cables, A/V cables, power cables and USB cables. I know that network cables should always be coiled and never folded but I'm not so sure about the other kinds. I suspect that it doesn't matter too much for USB cables but I'm a bit worried about what will happen if I coil up the long A/V and power cables - I don't want the latter creating some sort of nasty electromagnetic effect! I know I CAN just coil them all up and nothing catastrophic will happen but signal quality is pretty important for the A/V cables so I wondered if anyone knew what "best practice" is.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[edfair]

There are shorter power cables. They are available from 1 to 4 feet at reasonable costs. That helps.

I use a slotted cable duct, 2 pieces side to side to put some order in my nest of stuff. Fortunately there are KVMs to help.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[jlockley]

Late to this, but a few suggestions.
1) (Obvious). Shorter cables.
2) Already mentioned, but move multiple power strips up and close to computer. Draping down behind a cabinet is better than coiling on the floor.
3) Ties. Put power with power and other other cables separate.
4) If coils desired, you can use velcro to brind several coils together.

Know the feeling very well.