How to wind cable controllers with minimal damage

Question

In the past at my place when a PS2 Controller was away (ones which came with the PS2) the cable would be wound around the controller vertically in the center so it sits between the 2 analog sticks, however after a while the outer layer of the cable would get twisted and start to tear exposing internal wires.

This was back when i was a kid so i had no control over who did what on a shared PS2, Now that i own 2 of my own (PAL and NTSC) I'm kinda self consonance that when i put the controllers away in the same way i might end up damaging the wires and be unable to find replacements so at the moment i just very slowly and loosely wind the cable around.

So i am wondering, how can i wind up cable controllers (particular PS2) so that i do as little damage to them to ensure longevity.

Answer 1

My guitar teacher taught me the best way to coil the cables for electric guitar and amplifier cables (any tear in the inner copper wiring can create artifacts in the sound) so i use it all the time now, on any type of cable.

For starters I need to point out that any wire has a natural resting position, colied at a specific arc. That's because the materials used in them have a resistance against being bent (kind of like a spring, or car tire if pressed while sitting upwards). Your goal is to wind the wire so that the actual coil is not too tight and strain the isolation or the inside conductor wire.

The PS2 has a really small radius around the middle and most probably, you force it to that radius and bend it to an arc that is smaller than optimal until the rubber gets old and eventually gets cut via strain.

Also you need to be careful not to twist the cable around it's axis. Inside, the conductive wiring is fairly sensitive even if the material is flexible.

That being said, let's wind the cable:

1. Cable wire in one hand (preferably close to one end) and wire (at a resonable distance from hand A, you'll see why) in the other hand (let's call them hand A and B)
2. Start twisting the cable gently with the tips of your fingers in hand B while holding the other end in hand A. Notice the cable producing a slight coil according to your twisting motion and that the cable "wants" to get closer to the point you hold the cable in hand A. Don't force the cable into the hand A. You need to find it's natural resting arc.
3. The wire will coil itself and produce a round circle, the coil, that you can hold with hand A. Now you have one coil that is held by hand A while hand B has more wire to wind. The size of the coils should vary depending on the thickness of the cables.
4. Keep doing it until you have a neat bundle of coils that you hold in hand A.
5. Provided you've wound it nicely, you should not feel a big resistance at the middle of the coil bundle if you'd be to tie them together with a piece of wire right in the middle part, so that you flatten the coils into a ribbon like bundle. Alternately, only tie one side of the coil bundle, but the coils might fall apart and unwind and you'd have to do it again.

As far as controllers go, never coil the wire on the controller, it's too tight and it's always straining them, hence the problems. Also, don't coil the wires on the analog sticks. Their springs aren't supposed to resist a wire wound around them.

You can coil it this way that I just explained "around" the PS2 controller, just keep in mind, you can't wind the part that goes into the controller, it may break because of the way the wire is inserted into the plastic case.

In my experience, the controller cables are annoying, but coiling them ON the actual device is always problematic. I'd say keep them under the actual controller with the tying knot on only one coil side.

Keep in mind, never strain the wires, they know what they want.

I am sorry, I cannot provide any photos at this time and I hope this was descriptive enough.

Answer 2

One of the best ways, and one which i personally use is to tie the wires with a bendable wire, the ones you get with your ear/headphones. They keep the wires in check and help reduce wear and tear of the same. Hope this helped!

Answer 3

I developed my own method of coiling any cable with minimal effect on the cables integrity, this is from experience as in IT Technician.

I used to leave a small loop of the wire at the start where it meets the controller inside this would stop any tugging on the plastic of the controller I then rapped it round the pad alternating between each of the analogue sticks every wrap of the wire around the controller (sort of in a left, right, left, right motion). I then tucked the connector into the loop I made at the start.

The method I got from work as technician was to wrap the wire loosely around your hand starting by holding the wire as close to the controller end as possible after numerous coils around your hand you need to leave at least good 6 or 7 inches of wire towards the connector end. Then tuck the wire inside the loose loop from underneath the wire and weave it round the loop to hold it in place till you have no wire left to coil.

I used a Cable for a laptop charger for this example but here are some pictures:

Here is the loose Loop:

Here is the first tuck under the wire:

And Finally here is the finished wrap: