that annoying coiled cable boom thing

When my K-Tek gets that way I just unsrcew the bottom and twist the
coil cable in the direction to tighten the coils and that usually
allows it to collapse completely.

Andy
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

On May 30, 3:39 pm, earsareg... DeleteThis @gmail.com wrote:
> OK, you know when the coiled cable in the booms gets to where it will
> not let the boom completely collapse?  Over the years I have usually
> just had this "fix itself" with some twisting and push/pulling, but my
> new Avalon has been giving me fits for a week.  It is not really
> interfering so much with the work, but it is driving me mad that I
> can't get the pole to collapse fully......OK I'm a bit anal, whatever.
>
> Should I try to undo the bottom xlr connector and pull the cable out
> to straighten it? Any other magic tricks for this?

As I recall the K-tek "avalon" won't let you remove the top or bottom
ends, necessary feature to be able to untangle the cable inside the
pole and eventually causing all sorts of problems, leading to
inevitably having to send back the "avalon" to the shop for a
replacement internal cable...

~
SS
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

With my K-tek which is not the avalon the coils don't get tangled but
become loose over time. So you are not untangling the coils but just
tightening them. Maybe you could just loosen the bottom tube and turn
just that section to tighten the coils.

Andy
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

On May 30, 4:39 pm, earsareg....RemoveThis@gmail.com wrote:
> OK, you know when the coiled cable in the booms gets to where it will
> not let the boom completely collapse?  Over the years I have usually
> just had this "fix itself" with some twisting and push/pulling, but my
> new Avalon has been giving me fits for a week.  It is not really
> interfering so much with the work, but it is driving me mad that I
> can't get the pole to collapse fully......OK I'm a bit anal, whatever.
>
> Should I try to undo the bottom xlr connector and pull the cable out
> to straighten it? Any other magic tricks for this?

I opened my k-tek avalon once, but that was to repair the cable at the
bottom plug. I honestly don't remember if it required unthreading. I'm
pretty sure i unscrewed the plug in the bottom of the pole. I guess if
you undo the last collar, and the plug on the bottom, you can let the
cable go back to its happy state. Some boom poles suggest you let the
cable settle like that every so often. if you had it fully extended
for a long time, and it's hot out, i could see the cable getting
stretched out a little.
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

The best practice is to collaps the small element last, turning it
upside down so that the cable falls into the smallest element.
Assuming the cable is not kinked or damaged from prior bunching, this
will always work and will help prevent damage to the cable.

Glen Trew
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

On May 31, 3:15 pm, Gtrew <g....TakeThisOut@trewaudio.com> wrote:
> The best practice is to collaps the small element last, turning it
> upside down so that the cable falls into the smallest element.
> Assuming the cable is not kinked or damaged from prior bunching, this
> will always work and will help prevent damage to the cable.
>
> Glen Trew

The 8 foot and the 18 foot loon poles I have still bunch the cable
very occasionally but a shake of the pole has always resolved it. I
guess if the shake didn't work the loon poles are very easily
disassembled so as to "nicen up" the cable.
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

On May 31, 8:19 pm, Hightower <pjsla... RemoveThis @bigpond.net.au> wrote:
> On May 31, 3:15 pm, Gtrew <g... RemoveThis @trewaudio.com> wrote:
>
> > The best practice is to collaps the small element last, turning it
> > upside down so that the cable falls into the smallest element.
> > Assuming the cable is not kinked or damaged from prior bunching, this
> > will always work and will help prevent damage to the cable.
>
> > Glen Trew
>
> The 8 foot and the 18 foot loon poles I have still bunch the cable
> very occasionally but a shake of the pole has always resolved it. I
> guess if the shake didn't work the loon poles are very easily
> disassembled so as to "nicen up" the cable.

Another hint, if you travel down here to Australia you have to coil
the cable in the opposite direction, like our water goes counter
northern hemisphere.
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

> > The 8 foot and the 18 foot loon poles I have still bunch the
cable
> > very occasionally but a shake of the pole has always resolved it. I
> > guess if the shake didn't work the loon poles are very easily
> > disassembled so as to "nicen up" the cable.
>
> Another hint, if you travel down here to Australia you have to coil
> the cable in the opposite direction, like our water goes counter
> northern hemisphere.

That is true, when I have had to decompress & compress my coils in
Australia,
I do it in the opposite direction... but with a pint of Matilda bay
(or Fosters) in
the non-coiling hand!! Helps with the decompression.
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

On Fri, 30 May 2008 21:50:03 -0400, johnpaul215 wrote
(in article
<80c6c6c9-d1a4-4782-a674-477139b521cc DeleteThis @z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>):

> On May 30, 4:39 pm, earsareg... DeleteThis @gmail.com wrote:
>> OK, you know when the coiled cable in the booms gets to where it will
>> not let the boom completely collapse?  Over the years I have usually
>> just had this "fix itself" with some twisting and push/pulling, but my
>> new Avalon has been giving me fits for a week.  It is not really
>> interfering so much with the work, but it is driving me mad that I
>> can't get the pole to collapse fully......OK I'm a bit anal, whatever.
>>
>> Should I try to undo the bottom xlr connector and pull the cable out
>> to straighten it? Any other magic tricks for this?
>
> I opened my k-tek avalon once, but that was to repair the cable at the
> bottom plug. I honestly don't remember if it required unthreading. I'm
> pretty sure i unscrewed the plug in the bottom of the pole. I guess if
> you undo the last collar, and the plug on the bottom, you can let the
> cable go back to its happy state. Some boom poles suggest you let the
> cable settle like that every so often. if you had it fully extended
> for a long time, and it's hot out, i could see the cable getting
> stretched out a little.


Over time, yes. I have a wall rack I use to store my boom. The two hooks are
about 5 feet apart. I tried extending a coiled cord boom so I could hang it
on the rack, but after it being up there a week or so, the cord stretched out
and I couldn't close it all the way. Some fiddling fixed it. Now I store that
boom collapsed.

Regards,

Ty Ford


--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

On May 31, 9:32 am, Ty Ford <tyreef... DeleteThis @comcast.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 30 May 2008 21:50:03 -0400, johnpaul215 wrote
> (in article
> <80c6c6c9-d1a4-4782-a674-477139b52... DeleteThis @z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>):
>
>
>
> > On May 30, 4:39 pm, earsareg... DeleteThis @gmail.com wrote:
> >> OK, you know when the coiled cable in the booms gets to where it will
> >> not let the boom completely collapse? Over the years I have usually
> >> just had this "fix itself" with some twisting and push/pulling, but my
> >> new Avalon has been giving me fits for a week. It is not really
> >> interfering so much with the work, but it is driving me mad that I
> >> can't get the pole to collapse fully......OK I'm a bit anal, whatever.
>
> >> Should I try to undo the bottom xlr connector and pull the cable out
> >> to straighten it? Any other magic tricks for this?
>
> > I opened my k-tek avalon once, but that was to repair the cable at the
> > bottom plug. I honestly don't remember if it required unthreading. I'm
> > pretty sure i unscrewed the plug in the bottom of the pole. I guess if
> > you undo the last collar, and the plug on the bottom, you can let the
> > cable go back to its happy state. Some boom poles suggest you let the
> > cable settle like that every so often. if you had it fully extended
> > for a long time, and it's hot out, i could see the cable getting
> > stretched out a little.
>
> Over time, yes. I have a wall rack I use to store my boom. The two hooks are
> about 5 feet apart. I tried extending a coiled cord boom so I could hang it
> on the rack, but after it being up there a week or so, the cord stretched out
> and I couldn't close it all the way. Some fiddling fixed it. Now I store that
> boom collapsed.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ty Ford
>
> --Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
> Acting and Voiceover Demoshttp://www.tyford.com
> Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU

Ty, that sounds very kinky.

Don
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing 

Actually, you may be able to remove the cable from an Avalon. If the
pole was cabled by your retailer, glue was probably not used. K-tek
may use a spot of glue, but it can be done. It takes some elbow
grease. Use a right angle female XLR as a wrench and the Switchcraft
male XLR will unscrew from the bottom of the pole. Your other option
is to pull some excess cable out of the top of the pole.

Skylor
 >> Stay informed about: that annoying coiled cable boom thing