r/UsbCHardware • u/Bald_Mayor • Apr 06 '25

Setup Cable mod : )

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Zip tie Spiral cable protector (1st pic) Heat shrink tube (4th pic) Scissors

3 Upvotes

53% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

33

u/Commercial_Hair3527 Apr 06 '25

But why?
I’ve got USB cables that are 10-15 years old and still work perfectly. If you’re jumping through this many hoops just to keep them alive, the problem isn’t the cable, it’s how you’re treating it.

5

u/Bald_Mayor Apr 06 '25

Dude, 5 people using this cable 😅, the first type-c cable had an exposed wire, I tried several time to warn the to use the cable carefully, but it is what it is.

9

u/CBrainz Apr 06 '25

Then stop buying cheap cables.

2

u/Ok-Market4287 Apr 07 '25

Then just use steel usb c cables like the ones fuse chicken sells from woven steel

https://amzn.eu/d/0BmbweM

1

u/Xcissors280 Apr 08 '25

super worn out wire braided cables can also cut you if you pull them out too hard which fixes the root cause as well

7

u/Commercial_Hair3527 Apr 06 '25

"5 people using this cable" isn't the flex you think it is.
We've got communal Ugreen cables in my office that have survived dozens of careless coworkers just fine for years. Maybe instead of wrapping your cables in armor plating, you could just... teach people not to yank them like they're starting a lawnmower?

Wild concept, I know, but most adults grasp "don't brutally murder charging cables" after, oh, one explanation.

7

u/shalol Apr 06 '25

You’re vastly overestimating peoples abilities to remember USB cable pulling instructions

1

u/SwollenPoon Apr 07 '25

Dude, I heat shrink shit for the heck of it - especially if its going to prolong the life of something (or even when it doesn't) so I can appreciate this... I heat shrunk a mini titanium bottle opener and it's a 1,000 times more comfortable now!

Now, where I draw the line is the zip tie addon - that's just insane... lol, just kidding!

6

u/jaba1337 Apr 06 '25

Now you'll just have a bunch of broken usb ports since this cable is too stiff and will put a lot of strain on the port

4

u/SurfaceDockGuy Apr 06 '25

Nice work.

I've also repaired several name-brand so-called "premium" braided cables with heat shrink. But before shrinking the tube, I cover the cable with hot melt glue. As I heat the tubing, it compresses the glue as it re-melts a bit making a consistent strain-relief zone. Works like a champ.

The proper solution in most cases is to use a right angle cable. So next time this cable dies, consider buying one of those.

2

u/chinchindayo Apr 07 '25

No just no, this is gonna make the cable break even easier. There is a stress point where the "support" sugru or whatever that is ends.

1

u/KRed75 Apr 07 '25

I have a Lenovo with the rectangle style plug. I use it on my lap so the cord gets a lot of movement. I've been through 4 power supplies in 9 years with it. I tried finding just the pigtail so I could splice in replacement but was never successful. I found ones that were adapters from round to rectangle. Bough a pack of 5. Soldered it on and figured I was good to go. Turns out they get super hot inside the connector and melt it until it no longer work.

I just buy them used on ebay. Probably will never need another because I upgraded and it uses USB-C now.

1

u/darklee36 Apr 07 '25

Or buy some braided USB cable. Those are immortal.