Crack / split on HD800 cable above Y-spilt and possible fixes?

[eLicky]

 

 

Tonight I looked down at my HD800 and found a crack or spilt on the cable above the y-split.

 

 

 

 

 

First thing I did was google HD800 cables, I knew they were expensive but $350 AUD for the original ain't an instant decision.


I've seen people tape them up, while that's great its pretty ghetto and would annoy me. I looked around online at heatshrink options and found some 3.1 ratio marine heatshrink, this means it shrinks to 1/3 its size,.The cable I need to cover is 3mm but the  cable connection is 6.4mm at its widest (measured with digital calipers) and the gottcha is the heatshrink is also 6.4mm before its been shrunk (hopefully we can stretch it over)






I've opened this thread so people can share their thoughts or what they did and I'll update the thread with the outcome.

 

 

 

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Edited December 8, 2020 by Ewok209

[Bengineer]

You can also get 4:1 single wall (no glue) which is great. Would do the job.

 

I have various sizes of various types. Might have a suitable bit I could send you.

[eLicky]

1 minute ago, Bengineer said:

You can also get 4:1 single wall (no glue) which is great. Would do the job.

 

I have various sizes of various types. Might have a suitable bit I could send you.

Do you have any 4.1 single wall in black?

I've not found any online yet but haven't looked extremely hard.

[Bengineer]

I'll check tomorrow. I might do. Or a better sized 3:1. It's a good brand stuff, not eBay/Chinese stuff.

[eLicky]

12 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

I'll check tomorrow. I might do. Or a better sized 3:1. It's a good brand stuff, not eBay/Chinese stuff.

I found some 4.1 - 8mm in Australia that will shrink to 2mm but there's a downside of it being quite bulky once its shrunk.

I have ordered some 3.1 as shown above in Australia, I'm hoping I can stretch it that tiny amount to get it over the connection.

Here it is.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Heat-Shrink-Tubing-3-1-Glue-Inside-Tightness-Connector-Solder-Joint-Protection/402310541161?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=672282780565&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

See what you can find though, thanks heaps.

[Bengineer]

The dual wall shrinks down thick, plus the glue. Why I prefer single wall 3:1 or 4:1. Let ya know what I find.

 

It's Raychem brand I think.

[eLicky]

I have an update on the HD800 connection, last night I measured it wrong.

The connection we need to slide over is 7.5mm

So we're going to need a 3.1 or 4.1 heatshrink.

Jaycar have 4.1, might head over there today so I can just use the headphones again.

[eLicky]

I went to Jaycar and picked up both 6mm and 8mm 4.1 heat shrink.

You could mess around stretching the 6mm to fit over the headphone connection but after running some tests on a 3mm piece of rodding (size of the HD800 cable above the y-spilt) the differences were minimal in shrinkage, so I used 8mm for the job. (don't forget both these dual wall heat shrinks have glue as well)

The main problem you'll run into is the rubber HD800 cable is softer than the heat shrink so its very susceptible to melting if you don't be careful.

I could feel the cable getting a little tacky so I didn't shrink it too far and took advantage of the glue on the heat shrink.

its not perfect but it gets the job done without buying a new cable for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Ewok209

[TDX]

Another option is looking at classifieds or post WTB, someone will sell you after market cable as an upgrade and cheaper. 

[bob_m_54]

Probably a bit late for you now, but with the single wall heat shrink, you can expand it a bit by gently stretching with a pair of needle nose pliers, inserted inside the heat shrink.

 

Cut the length you require, insert needle nose pliers, gently spread the jaws, and rotate the heat shrink. Do the same from the other end of the piece of heat shrink. Repeat a couple of times, spreading the "stretch" evenly.

 

Slip it over the cable, give it a minute or two to relax, then shrink it down.

 

Edit: It may also work for the dual wall heat shrink too, I just haven't tried it myself.

Edited December 9, 2020 by bob_m_54
more info

[eLicky]

29 minutes ago, bob_m_54 said:

Probably a bit late for you now, but with the single wall heat shrink, you can expand it a bit by gently stretching with a pair of needle nose pliers, inserted inside the heat shrink.

 

Cut the length you require, insert needle nose pliers, gently spread the jaws, and rotate the heat shrink. Do the same from the other end of the piece of heat shrink. Repeat a couple of times, spreading the "stretch" evenly.

 

Slip it over the cable, give it a minute or two to relax, then shrink it down.

 

Edit: It may also work for the dual wall heat shrink too, I just haven't tried it myself.

Yes, you can stretch it open using pointy nose pliers, both single wall and dual wall, I read dual wall won't stretch but it was quite easy to do.

At the end of the day when I ran tests on both 6mm and 8mm dual wall the final size when shrunk really wasn't that different.

I would have been interested in some single wall 4.1 tubing but I have not been able to find that anywhere. Everytime I search online once you reach 3.1 - 4.1 ratio I can only find dual wall shrink. Maybe it does exsist though.

[Batty]

You could always shrink another piece on the other side if you want to balance the looks.

[eLicky]

2 minutes ago, Batty said:

You could always shrink another piece on the other side if you want to balance the looks.

I thought about that as well lol. 

 

[bruc3]

17 minutes ago, Batty said:

You could always shrink another piece on the other side if you want to balance the looks.

 

Because of my OCD, I would definitely do that.