For the love of God, why can't I repair this instrument cable?

[Randall]

Wading thru a pile of damaged cables for a customer, cut a busted 1/4" male off and solder on a new one. Rats, it measures partially shorted, so I cut the other wonky looking end off. It still measures partially shorted, so I cut it off and do it again. Same thing, partially shorted. Now, I have repaired and made hundres of cables in my time, but this one is testing me. So I cut it off and do it again, verrry carefully. Quess what? partially shorted. I get no changes when I flex every inch of the cable, so I am really wondering here, wtf?

It turns out, the spot on my wooden top bench where I was measuring, was the only spot it measured partially open. I discovered that front and center area of my wooden bench is conductive! If I put a piece of paper under the jack in that spot it reads open, as does it in other spots on the bench. It must have absorbed enough DeOxit and such over time that the wood is actually conductive. I can stick my probes in it and see it.

Wow, that really had me going! Probably the first time around the connector was just fine,

[Justin Thomas]

I don't have a conductive bemch, but I have had my share of run-ins with that @$#%ing conductive foil they put in so much of the instrument cable nowadays... Causes the same symptoms - a few 10s of Kohms resistance between hot & shield, & a pretty bad drop in signal...

Justin

[drewl]

Or sometimes there are multiple kinks in the cable causing shorts or opens.

[Chuck H]

I didn't go with the classic wood bench. Mine is covered in formica The stuff is like teflon in many ways. You can pop solder and cooled flux, etc. right off of it. Utterly non conductive and water (ok, beer) proof.

[J M Fahey]

I didn't go with the classic wood bench. Mine is covered in formica

Oh, I also work on the kitchen table

[Chuck H]

Oh, I also work on the kitchen table

Well, I do too. And this IS a kitchen table, sort of, but not MY kitchen table. When the wife and I ran a food service I made a 4'x8' center island for the work space. After we closed shop I sawed it in half longitudinally, mounted it on corbels against two walls in a corner of the "spare room" and it's now my work bench. Waste not.

[Helmholtz]

It must have absorbed enough DeOxit

Deoxit is non-conductive.

I would suspect absorbed salts and moisture. (Or your body resistance if you touched the probe tips with your fingers while measuring )

[Randall]

"Deoxit is non-conductive."

So is water, until it is introduced to contaminates.

"(Or your body resistance if you touched the probe tips with your fingers while measuring )"

Come on now. Give me some credit?

[Helmholtz]

So is water, until it is introduced to contaminates.

That's why I mentioned the salts. BTW, a piece of paper wetted with tap water measures in the 100k range. Same piece of paper soaked with Deoxit has a resistance >200M at 10mm distance.

[Bill Moore]

Years ago, I was tracing a current draw in a Cadillac, and had exhausted all my options dropping circuits one at a time. I asked my partner to tell me why I still had a draw, when everything was lifted from the battery. He looked and said, "you still have the alternator connected". I moved the heater hose that was touching the battery terminal on the alternator, and lost my draw!
The rubber hose was conductive! I changed both heater hoses, and fixed the guys problem.

[xtian]

Electricity does what it WANTS, man. *mic drop*

[Helmholtz]

Electricity does what it WANTS, man. *mic drop*

Well, it acts according to the laws of physics. And that makes its actions explainable and predictable if conditions are known.

[J M Fahey]

Well, it acts according to the laws of physics. And that makes its actions explainable and predictable if conditions are known.

You don´t catch many "this is a joke" clues, do you?

Such as :

*mic drop*

Oh well, maybe this was also "lost in translation".

Although I half expected you would lecture us on Gravitational Fields and Acceleration under a constant force.

Just sayin´

[J M Fahey]

Well, I do too. And this IS a kitchen table, sort of, but not MY kitchen table. When the wife and I ran a food service I made a 4'x8' center island for the work space. After we closed shop I sawed it in half longitudinally, mounted it on corbels against two walls in a corner of the "spare room" and it's now my work bench. Waste not.

Oh, now I understand why you quickly sold it.
It must have been very hard when customers ordered fries, hash browns, shepherd´s pie or , worst of all, baked potatoes



Just sayin´

[Helmholtz]

You don´t catch many "this is a joke" clues, do you?

Obviously not. Maybe you could help a foreigner/ non-native speaker to understand?