Making your own custom USB cables

[shoostep]

This is a great thread and I have learned a lot here. Thank you guys    I have acquired all the materials to make a few cables but I've noticed that different cables have various charge speeds (I think due to various size AWG wires) and the donor cables I purchased for this project aren't very good.

Are there any particularly good but still affordable donor usb cables? (I will be working with paracord)
Is usb shielded cat5 cable?   Does anyone know of cable that can be purchased by the foot but will also fit inside paracord?

[blawb]

What cables to you recommend getting that are thin enough to fit through paracord? The only one's that I've found that worked were pretty short (3 to 5) feet. Do you guys know of any longer cables that I could harvest?

[dorkvader]

This is a great thread and I have learned a lot here. Thank you guys    I have acquired all the materials to make a few cables but I've noticed that different cables have various charge speeds (I think due to various size AWG wires) and the donor cables I purchased for this project aren't very good.

Are there any particularly good but still affordable donor usb cables? (I will be working with paracord)
Is usb shielded cat5 cable?   Does anyone know of cable that can be purchased by the foot but will also fit inside paracord?

USB is not l like shielded cat5cable at all I don't recommend using non shielded USB but y you can use one twisted pair for data and the rest for power and ground.  Good USB cable has thicker wire for power and ground. Remember best practice I usually to connect shield on one side but connecting on both is usually ok too. I connect both for metal case kbs and then make sure the case connects to shield.

The cable I use is ultraminiature double shielded quadmic cable but its a real pain to work with so I don't recommend it at all. If you search you can get USB cable bt the foot. Should be under $.30 or maybe a little more for really good stuff. Nowadays I harvest cherry kbs for parts and I always save the cable as cherry uses top spec cable but I don't think it'll work under paracord.

And for coiled I harvest cherry ps/2cables.

Sorry for typo on phone

[Booper]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for posting this! I've had this topic bookmarked for a while and finally got around to making some cables.

I had a terrible time with the friggen heat shrink... but the plastic clippy usb houses are wonderful.

[trizkut]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for posting this! I've had this topic bookmarked for a while and finally got around to making some cables.

I had a terrible time with the friggen heat shrink... but the plastic clippy usb houses are wonderful.

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I'm not a huge fan of coiled cables but that looks quite nice, especially with your new bros!  Hope you get a topre board soon 

[Booper]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for posting this! I've had this topic bookmarked for a while and finally got around to making some cables.

I had a terrible time with the friggen heat shrink... but the plastic clippy usb houses are wonderful.

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I'm not a huge fan of coiled cables that looks quite nice, especially with your new bros!  Hope you get a topre board soon 

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Thanks! IDK if coils are all that functional, but I do think they are pretty sometimes!

also, A topre board is on the list for next payday   woot!

[dorkvader]

the plastic clippy usb houses are wonderful.

For me the moulding for the fullsize-end always kept coming out whenever I unplugged it. I had to glue it in place. Now I just leave the bare-metal on there, but I am always a fan of the very simple look.

[unipsykal]

Nub you are awesome! Thanks for sharing! Gotta dig out my tools now...

[calmfries]

Thanks for the guide Nub

This is what I made today


Braided OFC USB cable

[Evo_Spec]

Thanks for the guide Nub

This is what I made today

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Braided OFC USB cable

DAYUM!!!!!!

[calmfries]

Thanks for the guide Nub

This is what I made today

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Braided OFC USB cable

  ;)

DAYUM!!!!!!

[quochung1989]

Wrong post.

[nobodyknowsmyname]

My ebay cart is full but I have 2 questions before I jump:

• What size heat shrink should I get? 1/2"? Does it need to be smaller for the USB MINI-B?

• Is 550 Paracord with 7 strand core a good fit? I know you said it's all different but what is the basic type to aim for?

Sorry if these have already been answered elsewhere I read the whole thread without seeing them.

[shoostep]

My ebay cart is full but I have 2 questions before I jump:

• What size heat shrink should I get? 1/2"? Does it need to be smaller for the USB MINI-B?

• Is 550 Paracord with 7 strand core a good fit? I know you said it's all different but what is the basic type to aim for?

Sorry if these have already been answered elsewhere I read the whole thread without seeing them.

I am not sure about heat shrink because I used hot glue and housings.
550 paracord works with thin usb cables.

[Hoffman]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for posting this! I've had this topic bookmarked for a while and finally got around to making some cables.

I had a terrible time with the friggen heat shrink... but the plastic clippy usb houses are wonderful.

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Your cables look neat. Do you mind sharing where did you get your connector supplies, what's it quality?
Oh and what technique did you use for that perfect coiling?

[Armstrong01]

Thanks for the guide Nub

This is what I made today

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Braided OFC USB cable

Nice, where did you get the heatshrink? I have trouble finding a good size and shrink ratio (3:1?) for the USB A male.

[ineph]

thanks, it will help me a lot!!

[Zophos]

I made 2 cables today following the guide. Now that I can make them myself I just can't stop .

[kolec94]

nice tutorial on how to do custom cables
and very useful specially since using a premade usb cable doesn't always mean u will have data connect and not just power

[Criterus]

Does anyone know where to get bulk USB cable. I've done a fair amount of searching and I just can't seem to find anything. Are you guys just clipping the ends on pre-made cables and then re-sleeving?

[shangrila500]

Does anyone know where to get bulk USB cable. I've done a fair amount of searching and I just can't seem to find anything. Are you guys just clipping the ends on pre-made cables and then re-sleeving?

Here is a 100" spool I have found:

http://www.l-com.com/usb-usb-rev-20-compliant-28-28awg-bulk-cable-100-ft-spool

 I am going to order some and see how good it is or how crappy it is and I will post back here once I find out. I don't know how long it will take to get it but I will be testing it as soon as it gets here!

[OfTheWild]

Does anyone know where to get bulk USB cable. I've done a fair amount of searching and I just can't seem to find anything. Are you guys just clipping the ends on pre-made cables and then re-sleeving?

Here is a 100" spool I have found:

http://www.l-com.com/usb-usb-rev-20-compliant-28-28awg-bulk-cable-100-ft-spool

 I am going to order some and see how good it is or how crappy it is and I will post back here once I find out. I don't know how long it will take to get it but I will be testing it as soon as it gets here!

I ended up at the same conclusion. It seems to be the only place that sells bulk usb cable which I found odd. Report back with your results. I'm curious to see if paracord will fit over it.

[tobsn]

Does anyone know where to get bulk USB cable. I've done a fair amount of searching and I just can't seem to find anything. Are you guys just clipping the ends on pre-made cables and then re-sleeving?

Here is a 100" spool I have found:

http://www.l-com.com/usb-usb-rev-20-compliant-28-28awg-bulk-cable-100-ft-spool

 I am going to order some and see how good it is or how crappy it is and I will post back here once I find out. I don't know how long it will take to get it but I will be testing it as soon as it gets here!

I ended up at the same conclusion. It seems to be the only place that sells bulk usb cable which I found odd. Report back with your results. I'm curious to see if paracord will fit over it.

trying to find some on alibaba... basically impossible... wtf?

btw. what's with already braided cables?

[ArchDill]

Didn't go through the whole thread but about how much does it cost to make your own? Is it more cost efficient to buy or make? Only looking at making a couple and I would need to buy all of the equipment to do it. Thanks for any help!

[SKD]

You shouldn't have too much trouble buying cable to make usb cables... Definitely don't need to go to alibaba. If you google something like 4 core 28 awg or 24 awg (I use 24 awg) cable you should have plenty of results. You also don't really need shielded cable unless you have a noticeable amount of EMI that affects your equipment, don't need that drain wire inside as well.

If you need to buy all the equipment then the initial cost will be high, but the cost per cable will be low when you divide the cost of the cable parts.

[tobsn]

You shouldn't have too much trouble buying cable to make usb cables... Definitely don't need to go to alibaba. If you google something like 4 core 28 awg or 24 awg (I use 24 awg) cable you should have plenty of results. You also don't really need shielded cable unless you have a noticeable amount of EMI that affects your equipment, don't need that drain wire inside as well.

If you need to buy all the equipment then the initial cost will be high, but the cost per cable will be low when you divide the cost of the cable parts.

Well I have a soldering station, I have a hot air blaster... I ordered some shrink cable and plugs but I really can't find by the meter 4 core cables with 26/28awg.
It's probably because I have to search on polish websites and I don't speak polish... so it kinda complicates it.

I already tried all kinds of combinations of 4 core 4 wire awg etc. and didn't find anything really. very annoying.

I'm also a little confused about the paracord. do people generally just buy a few meters of paracord and then sleeve it themselves or would one just buy already sleeved cable?

[tjcaustin]

Does anyone know where to get bulk USB cable. I've done a fair amount of searching and I just can't seem to find anything. Are you guys just clipping the ends on pre-made cables and then re-sleeving?

Here is a 100" spool I have found:

http://www.l-com.com/usb-usb-rev-20-compliant-28-28awg-bulk-cable-100-ft-spool

 I am going to order some and see how good it is or how crappy it is and I will post back here once I find out. I don't know how long it will take to get it but I will be testing it as soon as it gets here!

It's what I've been using for 4 years now with near 0 issues.  Fits paracord great, too.

[SKD]

You shouldn't have too much trouble buying cable to make usb cables... Definitely don't need to go to alibaba. If you google something like 4 core 28 awg or 24 awg (I use 24 awg) cable you should have plenty of results. You also don't really need shielded cable unless you have a noticeable amount of EMI that affects your equipment, don't need that drain wire inside as well.

If you need to buy all the equipment then the initial cost will be high, but the cost per cable will be low when you divide the cost of the cable parts.

Well I have a soldering station, I have a hot air blaster... I ordered some shrink cable and plugs but I really can't find by the meter 4 core cables with 26/28awg.
It's probably because I have to search on polish websites and I don't speak polish... so it kinda complicates it.

I already tried all kinds of combinations of 4 core 4 wire awg etc. and didn't find anything really. very annoying.

I'm also a little confused about the paracord. do people generally just buy a few meters of paracord and then sleeve it themselves or would one just buy already sleeved cable?

Where are you from??

And yes, you just buy the paracord, take out the 7 strands inside and sleeve it over the cable.

[tobsn]

Where are you from??
And yes, you just buy the paracord, take out the 7 strands inside and sleeve it over the cable.

Moved from SoCal to Poland... things are complicated here... I can literally not find any place that just sells cable and ali gives me 1000m MOQ...

[shangrila500]

Does anyone know where to get bulk USB cable. I've done a fair amount of searching and I just can't seem to find anything. Are you guys just clipping the ends on pre-made cables and then re-sleeving?

Here is a 100" spool I have found:

http://www.l-com.com/usb-usb-rev-20-compliant-28-28awg-bulk-cable-100-ft-spool

 I am going to order some and see how good it is or how crappy it is and I will post back here once I find out. I don't know how long it will take to get it but I will be testing it as soon as it gets here!

I ended up at the same conclusion. It seems to be the only place that sells bulk usb cable which I found odd. Report back with your results. I'm curious to see if paracord will fit over it.

Sorry it took me so long to report back but yes it is really nice cable and very nicely packaged. 28 gauge seems to be the absolute perfect gauge for paracord sleeving as well so that worked out purely on luck.

I can take some pics of the cable with the end stripped so you can see the quality if you want.

[shangrila500]

Where are you from??
And yes, you just buy the paracord, take out the 7 strands inside and sleeve it over the cable.

Moved from SoCal to Poland... things are complicated here... I can literally not find any place that just sells cable and ali gives me 1000m MOQ...

Can you not order from l-com? If not I will be buying another 100' of 28ga and 100' of 24ga next month. I could reship some to you next month if you're still unable to get just straight USB cable in Poland.

[shangrila500]

One thing that I have been meaning to ask everyone, what size heatshrink do you use? I have quite a bit of 3/8" 3:1 heatshrink (25' of black, purple, blue, orange, and clear) which seems to be almost the perfect size, any bigger and when it is shrunk it wouldn't fit the cable and any smaller and it wouldn't fit the USB-A connector. The only problem is that it has to be stretched a tiny amount to fit over the USB-A end. Once it is on there the sharp edges of the connector make the heatshrink look a little thin to me on the colored heatshrink, the black and clear are thicker and the sharp edges don't look bad on them but the colored shrink looks a little rough to me.

I am not sure if that is because I bought the heatshrink from CableOrganizer.com and their colored shrink is just thinner but I haven't been able to find that range of colors from any other place. I know MDPC-X has some of the colors but they definitely don't have them all (they're missing purple, orange, and clear) and since their heatshrink is so much more expensive I don't want to buy it without knowing it is thicker than the CableOrganizer shrink. Even if I do go with MDPC-X in the future I will still be missing some colors which I really want to go without (orange is my favorite color).


Also, what does everyone use to clamp the metal shield for the USB connectors to the cable? Right now I am using a pair of needle-nosed pliers but I feel like there is a tool, like there is for the modular power supply cable pins, that I could buy to make the clamp more uniform without having to spend so much time on it but I haven't been able to find it yet.

[YoshiCaps]

I'm a big fan of those braided cables logitech and raxer put on their high tech gaming gear. It gives them a premium feel despite they're yah know, cables 

[tobsn]

Where are you from??
And yes, you just buy the paracord, take out the 7 strands inside and sleeve it over the cable.

Moved from SoCal to Poland... things are complicated here... I can literally not find any place that just sells cable and ali gives me 1000m MOQ...

Can you not order from l-com? If not I will be buying another 100' of 28ga and 100' of 24ga next month. I could reship some to you next month if you're still unable to get just straight USB cable in Poland.

i-com or L-com? never heard of them - what's the diameter of the cables the cables you're ordering?

[SKD]

One thing that I have been meaning to ask everyone, what size heatshrink do you use? I have quite a bit of 3/8" 3:1 heatshrink (25' of black, purple, blue, orange, and clear) which seems to be almost the perfect size, any bigger and when it is shrunk it wouldn't fit the cable and any smaller and it wouldn't fit the USB-A connector. The only problem is that it has to be stretched a tiny amount to fit over the USB-A end. Once it is on there the sharp edges of the connector make the heatshrink look a little thin to me on the colored heatshrink, the black and clear are thicker and the sharp edges don't look bad on them but the colored shrink looks a little rough to me.

I am not sure if that is because I bought the heatshrink from CableOrganizer.com and their colored shrink is just thinner but I haven't been able to find that range of colors from any other place. I know MDPC-X has some of the colors but they definitely don't have them all (they're missing purple, orange, and clear) and since their heatshrink is so much more expensive I don't want to buy it without knowing it is thicker than the CableOrganizer shrink. Even if I do go with MDPC-X in the future I will still be missing some colors which I really want to go without (orange is my favorite color).

Also, what does everyone use to clamp the metal shield for the USB connectors to the cable? Right now I am using a pair of needle-nosed pliers but I feel like there is a tool, like there is for the modular power supply cable pins, that I could buy to make the clamp more uniform without having to spend so much time on it but I haven't been able to find it yet.

I use 10mm and 12mm 2:1 heatshrink. For clamping the shied I have a pair of hexagonal crimp tool that I've slightly modified to crimp round things.

[Stabilized]

Sorry for the necro, but if anyone is still wondering about where to get unterminated cable from: I couldn't find any supplies either, so I am using this from Aliexpress as a substitute: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/20M-15M-10M-5M-USB2-0-Male-to-Female-Active-Repeater-Extension-Extender-Cable-Cord-M/32667153074.html
It's a 20m usb 2.0 extension cable that you can just use to cut off as much as you need. I didn't buy this one exactly, I bought one from eBay.co.uk but I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff, and it's pretty substantial at around 5-6mm in diameter (don't have a set of precision measure tools).

[SKD]

Sorry for the necro, but if anyone is still wondering about where to get unterminated cable from: I couldn't find any supplies either, so I am using this from Aliexpress as a substitute: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/20M-15M-10M-5M-USB2-0-Male-to-Female-Active-Repeater-Extension-Extender-Cable-Cord-M/32667153074.html
It's a 20m usb 2.0 extension cable that you can just use to cut off as much as you need. I didn't buy this one exactly, I bought one from eBay.co.uk but I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff, and it's pretty substantial at around 5-6mm in diameter (don't have a set of precision measure tools).

No need to import from abroad.

I'm in UK as well and I get my cables from CPC and Farnell. You need to search for something like 4 core 24 or 28 awg cable (I use 24awg). You can get them for about £10 for a reel of 100m of unshielded cable, which are perfectly fine for making USB cables.

[tobsn]

@SKD I used to order some and they're all too stiff - any specific product you'd recommend?

[SKD]

The product code for the cable I use is CB11474 on CPC. This is unshielded. I only use these for non-coiled cables, they do not coil well at all. For coiled cables I use a different cable but it's 4x the price.

[Urbi]

Very nice pictures. As soon as I have a keyboard with detachable USB cable I will have to make my brother make one for me.

[tobsn]

Whats the one for coiled? I always wanted to try coiling and it never really worked...

[breusch91]

Saw this thread a month or so ago when I got into mechs and immediately ordered everything i needed to make cables, finally got everything in yesterday and have made 3 so far, I love it! I have a few questions... (based in the U.S., just fyi for order questions, and yes I searched google but its hard to find solid recommendations)

1. Anyone know where to get lightning adapters? I would love to make some charging cables for friends/family but can't seem to find them anywhere.

2. What spots do you like to order MDXPC sleeving from?

3. Another sleeving questions. saw a cool cable consisting of Braided OFC USB cable that was shown on this thread, where do any of you recommend ordering that from?

[Stabilized]

The product code for the cable I use is CB11474 on CPC. This is unshielded. I only use these for non-coiled cables, they do not coil well at all. For coiled cables I use a different cable but it's 4x the price.

I thought that to meet usb specification the wire had to be shielded and have twisted data pairs? How many cables have you used this for and has it held up well to being used as a data/power cable?
I had saw this stuff before buying the extension cord, but I was dubious as it wasn't up to the usb specification and I didn't want to be stuck with 100m of the stuff if it wasn't good. Would be a really good option if everything is good with it though, as you get 5x the length for the same price (and it's thin enough to wrap in 550 paracord too, whereas the stuff I posted isn't)

[SKD]

The product code for the cable I use is CB11474 on CPC. This is unshielded. I only use these for non-coiled cables, they do not coil well at all. For coiled cables I use a different cable but it's 4x the price.

I thought that to meet usb specification the wire had to be shielded and have twisted data pairs? How many cables have you used this for and has it held up well to being used as a data/power cable?
I had saw this stuff before buying the extension cord, but I was dubious as it wasn't up to the usb specification and I didn't want to be stuck with 100m of the stuff if it wasn't good. Would be a really good option if everything is good with it though, as you get 5x the length for the same price (and it's thin enough to wrap in 550 paracord too, whereas the stuff I posted isn't)

If you read up USB cable specs, there are many sources that say shielded is not absolute necessary. For environments where interference like EMI could be a problem and actually affect the data on each end of the cable then shielded cables are needed. Twisted pairs are for cancelling out EMI as well. Unless you live in an area where EMI is actually a problem then yeah, use shielded. But really how many people's households are actually affected by this lol.

I'm half way through my second 100m reel and none of the ones I've sold has come back. I won't name who but a reputable cable seller here in U.K. also uses non shielded cables for non coiled cables. I only use shielded for coiled cables because it holds coil much better.

So really, shielded cables are not really necessary. Some people don't go anywhere near unshielded cables but that's just in their heads if you ask me haha. That reel on CPC is fine for straight cables.

[Stabilized]

If you read up USB cable specs, there are many sources that say shielded is not absolute necessary. For environments where interference like EMI could be a problem and actually affect the data on each end of the cable then shielded cables are needed. Twisted pairs are for cancelling out EMI as well. Unless you live in an area where EMI is actually a problem then yeah, use shielded. But really how many people's households are actually affected by this lol.

I'm half way through my second 100m reel and none of the ones I've sold has come back. I won't name who but a reputable cable seller here in U.K. also uses non shielded cables for non coiled cables. I only use shielded for coiled cables because it holds coil much better.

So really, shielded cables are not really necessary. Some people don't go anywhere near unshielded cables but that's just in their heads if you ask me haha. That reel on CPC is fine for straight cables.

Fantastic, thanks for the info! That was really helpful, I didn't know it was a non issue for home use like that.
I will order some of the stuff from CPC and save me some money 

[tobsn]

1. Anyone know where to get lightning adapters? I would love to make some charging cables for friends/family but can't seem to find them anywhere.

probably can't since its licensed by apple(/intel?)

[SKD]

1. Anyone know where to get lightning adapters? I would love to make some charging cables for friends/family but can't seem to find them anywhere.

probably can't since its licensed by apple(/intel?)

You can get them off aliexpress. I stayed away from them because I don't trust the quality of them. iPhones and iPads are not cheap devices. Imagine if them connectors did some kind of damage. Some people say lightning cables are flimsy and break all the time but I always say it's user error. I've never broken a cable from my iPhone 3G, 4, 5, 6 and now 7. If you take apart a lightning cable they are actually very well put together, they're not cheap but I rather pay the extra for a genuine lightning cable.

[mniels]

I am having a heck of a time sourcing the tiered connectors.  Anyone have any ideas?

[27.9.2016]

I am having a heck of a time sourcing the tiered connectors.  Anyone have any ideas?

Do you looking for this?
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=10PCS+Soldering+USB+Type+A+Male+Plug+Connector+w+Metal+Shell+for+DIY&_id=291519646479&&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2658

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=10sets+Metal+Shell+Housing+Mini+5pin+USB+Male+Plug+Socket+Connector+for+PC+Use&_id=322131371544&&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2658



Can somebady tell me where can I buy good sleeving for cable (EU and CN if possible)

Thank you 

[Signature]

I am having a heck of a time sourcing the tiered connectors.  Anyone have any ideas?

Do you looking for this?
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=10PCS+Soldering+USB+Type+A+Male+Plug+Connector+w+Metal+Shell+for+DIY&_id=291519646479&&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2658

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=10sets+Metal+Shell+Housing+Mini+5pin+USB+Male+Plug+Socket+Connector+for+PC+Use&_id=322131371544&&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2658



Can somebady tell me where can I buy good sleeving for cable (EU and CN if possible)

Thank you 

Sleeving is either paracord if you are into that, or sleeving from MDPC-X (very high quality) which is a bit stiffer and more plastic-like.