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JawesomeArt
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Why do cables go bad so easily

Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:32 pm

Generally, Why do monitor cables crap out SO easily? Same with Cell phone usb charger cables? Even the “fancy” expensive ones. Why, just why? This isn't just a vent post – I'm really wanting to know, because things like vacuum cleaner cables and other power cables last nearly forever.
 
The Egg
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Mon Dec 30, 2013 5:06 pm

I've probably used many hundreds of monitor cables over the past nearly 20 years, and never remember this being a problem. What type of monitor cables are you using? DVI, HDMI, Displayport, DE-15 Analog VGA? What exactly is happening when they go bad?
 
Deanjo
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Mon Dec 30, 2013 5:20 pm

The Egg wrote:
I've probably used many hundreds of monitor cables over the past nearly 20 years, and never remember this being a problem. What type of monitor cables are you using? DVI, HDMI, Displayport, DE-15 Analog VGA? What exactly is happening when they go bad?


Same here, over the last 3 decades the only time a monitor cable has failed me is when some dork tried plugging in a VGA cable into the serial port. I've also never had a cell cable or charger fail me.
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Mon Dec 30, 2013 5:22 pm

Either you are buying some really crappy cables, or they are being abused in some way. High price is not a reliable indicator of cable quality; some of the worst cables can be purchased for a lot of money at places like Best Buy and Radio Shack. OTOH, some of the cheapest cables you can buy (monoprice.com) actually tend to be quite good.
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keltor
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Tue Dec 31, 2013 12:37 pm

Short of the obviously cut or sliced cables, the only bad cables I've had were USB and maybe 1-3 VGA cables since oh 1984 - all of the VGA cables have been one of the pins going bad - green pins too if I recall.
 
Kougar
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:01 pm

I've had some questionable SATA cables, but otherwise I've not had any graphics or USB cables go bad so I don't know what ya mean?

The only thing I can really comment about is the screw port on the graphics card that one screws the cable into, for whatever reason I constantly have those coming loose and occasionally even lose them. One can count the age of my GPUs by how many are missing... :P
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:09 pm

I've had a couple VGA cables with bent pins that made for funny colors, and this cheapie micro-USB cable from Monoprice is undersized and slips out easily[1], but otherwise I can't think of cables that have failed me. My guess is that someone's abusing yours somehow.

[1] come to think of it, I had the exact same problem with a TOSLINK cable from Monoprice.
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:19 pm

This is a troll post, people... Look at the poster's history, then copy his first sentence and paste it into Google, see results from other forums.

The lack of common sense in so many people is really amusing :lol:
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BIF
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:24 pm

Troll post or not, the question is still valid and deserves contribution.

The only cables I've ever had go bad are those I've messed with by soldering a new end on. Luckily for me I've never sliced through one with a weedwacker or edger. :lol:

I did have one guitar line cable go bad and a couple of sporadically-dodgy USB cables. Eventually I will pick up a universal cable tester of some sort. :)
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:11 am

JawesomeArt wrote:
Generally, Why do monitor cables crap out SO easily? Same with Cell phone usb charger cables?


over the past 15 years, 6 or 7 monitors, and 4 cellphones... i've never had a single cable crap out on me. are you sure it's the cable?
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:33 am

Whatever cable failures I've had have been user-induced. Back in the roadie days, the lifetime of a standard 1/4" guitar cord could sometimes be less than a single set. Nothing like trying to solder on the jack yet again with no light and no real spot where to work. Even taping them ala Roger Daltrey didn't work (I'd have gone mental if I were his cable tender), though mike cables are XLR and a bit tougher.
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Flatland_Spider
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:32 am

just brew it! wrote:
they are being abused in some way.


This.

I can't remember the last time I saw a bad video cable. My wife killed a micro USB cable recently because she was forcing it into angle less then 90 degrees.
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 9:33 am

I've bought all kinds of cables from Monoprice and have never had anything go bad from them. Plenty of other cables down the tubes, though. HDMI, micro USB, XLR, TS instrument cables, and so on.
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just brew it!
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 9:54 am

Kougar wrote:
The only thing I can really comment about is the screw port on the graphics card that one screws the cable into, for whatever reason I constantly have those coming loose and occasionally even lose them. One can count the age of my GPUs by how many are missing... :P

Put some Loctite thread locker on them. The stuff is also great for eyeglass frames that keep coming loose.
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tanker27
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:08 am

Cables: Low cost high return. Its simple math, math that keeps Monster in business.
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Deanjo
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:22 am

tanker27 wrote:
Cables: Low cost high return. Its simple math, math that keeps Monster in business.


No, gullible idiots keep them in business.


On topic but not, I'm surprised that nobody has come out with Redmere DVI cables. If I could get a few 10 foot DVI-D cables that used Redmere, wiring up a 3 display or more system would be so much neater and easier to have the wires concealed.
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:26 am

derFunkenstein wrote:
I've bought all kinds of cables from Monoprice and have never had anything go bad from them. Plenty of other cables down the tubes, though. HDMI, micro USB, XLR, TS instrument cables, and so on.

Monoprice's Ethernet and SATA cables are dirt cheap, and as good as anything else on the market, including stuff that costs 10x as much or more. Don't buy their snap-in RJ-45 keystone jacks though, they suck. But they are an absolutely fantastic source for cables.

tanker27 wrote:
Cables: Low cost high return. Its simple math, math that keeps Monster in business.

If more people knew about Monoprice, Monster would've been out of business years ago!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:28 am

just brew it! wrote:
If more people knew about Monoprice, Monster would've been out of business years ago!
This! :D
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Deanjo
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:37 am

just brew it! wrote:
If more people knew about Monoprice, Monster would've been out of business years ago!


If monoprice had better distribution it would help as well. It's one of the few companies for example that when I order from directly I still find that I have to pay duty and stupidly high UPS brokerage fees in Canada. Fortunately the local mom and pop shops order from Monoprice in quantity and I can pick them up for just a buck or two over Monoprice's price.
 
keltor
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:17 am

just brew it! wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
I've bought all kinds of cables from Monoprice and have never had anything go bad from them. Plenty of other cables down the tubes, though. HDMI, micro USB, XLR, TS instrument cables, and so on.

Monoprice's Ethernet and SATA cables are dirt cheap, and as good as anything else on the market, including stuff that costs 10x as much or more. Don't buy their snap-in RJ-45 keystone jacks though, they suck. But they are an absolutely fantastic source for cables.

tanker27 wrote:
Cables: Low cost high return. Its simple math, math that keeps Monster in business.

If more people knew about Monoprice, Monster would've been out of business years ago!


I've never had any issues with their RJ-45 keystones - I used to use #5371 and now I use #5379. I also use the solder banana jacks, hdmi couplers, RCA couplers, F-type coupler, USB and fiber couplers. I've probably used maybe 30-40 of each except the network which I've probably used a couple hundred. Don't think I could make any complaints about them. The plates sometime break, but honestly so do EVERY brand of keystone plate, specially when you have the 8 and 12 hole plates.
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:49 am

Maybe they had a bad batch or something. At least 10% of the keystones we installed when we redid our network about a year ago were either defective out of the box, or failed after being plugged and unplugged a couple of times. All of the failed ones had bent contacts inside the connector.
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Krogoth
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:55 am

The only time cables go bad on me is when they have been abused or endured years of physical stress. UTP cabling is more prone to this because the tiny cables inside of the main wire tend to be a bit fragile to physical stress.
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Deanjo
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:59 am

just brew it! wrote:
Maybe they had a bad batch or something. At least 10% of the keystones we installed when we redid our network about a year ago were either defective out of the box, or failed after being plugged and unplugged a couple of times. All of the failed ones had bent contacts inside the connector.


Must of been a bad batch. Can't say I've ever had bad luck like that with their keystones.
 
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:00 pm

Krogoth wrote:
The only time cables go bad on me is when they have been abused or endured years of physical stress. UTP cabling is more prone to this because the tiny cables inside of the main wire tend to be a bit fragile to physical stress.

There's a tradeoff here too. If you get the ones with the plastic spacer inside the cable they are a bit more durable, but also stiffer and more difficult to work with.
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keltor
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:11 pm

I've had so many Cat6 cables that we got from Frys during a slight emergency and tada we can barely get any of them to unplug.
 
tanker27
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:43 pm

Deanjo wrote:
On topic but not, I'm surprised that nobody has come out with Redmere DVI cables.


Wasnt Redmere created specifically for HDMI?

JustAnEngineer wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
If more people knew about Monoprice, Monster would've been out of business years ago!
This! :D


Thirded!

I got a 10' DVI cable and its a beast. The construction of it is so good ii'll never buy anywhere else unless it's an emergency. Their Flat HDMIs are great too.
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Archer
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:38 am

JohnC wrote:
This is a troll post, people... Look at the poster's history, then copy his first sentence and paste it into Google, see results from other forums.

The lack of common sense in so many people is really amusing :lol:


Yes, because it's normal to vet each poster by Googling all their posts. :roll:
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:41 am

I've had cheap In The Box SATA cables go bad, as well as some ethernet cables that are a PITA to unplug. That's it.
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:22 pm

Monoprice does rock!

When I got my 55" vt30 Panasonic 3D tv the salesman was adamant saying the Monster cable would give me better sound and picture for something like 100 or 150$.

I laughed and asked him how a DIGITAL signal cable can make picture and sound better even if it was made from solid gold ? Does it make better digital 1's and 0's ? I proceeded to tell him a HDMI cable is either going to work or not and the price of the cable has no effect on picture and sound. I realize he works off commission but he still insisted it would give me a better picture and sound.
made me laugh.
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Deanjo
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Re: Why do cables go bad so easily

Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:14 am

tanker27 wrote:
Wasnt Redmere created specifically for HDMI?


I can assure you redmere can be utilized for hdmi and dvi (I happen to have one of my Asus PB278Q hooked up with a pair of dual link DVI to HDMI adapters). Since HDMI is backwards compatible in signaling and electrical, there is no reason why they can't use redmere for DVI.

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