Wiring equipment racks is always a pain and inSync reader Justin P has hit upon one of the more aggravating aspects with his question:
“When wiring a system using pre-manufactured cables, your cables are always a bit too long. What’s the best way to handle the extra cabling so that it looks neat but does not introduce electro-magnetic anomalies?”
Electro-magnetic anomalies? Isn’t that the new buzzword for industrial music? Just kidding. Depending upon how much space is available in the back of your rack there is only so much you can do. The real answer is to build cables to length where possible, but that sort of defeats the plug and play ease of modern equipment.
None of the techs I interviewed had any new earth-shattering tricks up their sleeves. The advice pretty much all boiled down to, “get some cable ties and do the best you can.” There are a variety of products available for tying cables together and for tying them to fixed surfaces. Liberal use of these organization tools can make things look much better. For lower noise avoid tying power cables with signal cables. They should only cross at 90-degree angles. Don’t coil or loop cables. An open loop is the worst thing to do as it becomes a transformer and multiplies any induced noise. A tight “Bow Tie” loop, that’s a loop that has been collapsed by tie wraps, is acceptable. Finally, label EVERYTHING clearly. When you’re trouble-shooting the rig you’ll be glad you made this extra effort.