LANC Extension Cable at DVinfo.net

Bryan Worsley · June 6th, 2021, 12:50 PM

Bought a 25' LANC extension cable to do some stealth wildlife videography with my Canon HF-G40 and a Manfrotto 521 remote. Purchased it from the DV Shop in Toronto. The brand is TecNec.

https://www.dvshop.ca/cables/lanc.html

It works fine but has an annoying tendency to spontaneously twist on itself and I have to go through this tedious ritual of undoing the twists when laying it out to full length and then coiling it back up.

Is LANC cable always like that or are there brands, maybe with heavier duty sheathing, that are not prone to twisting ?

Cheers.

Christopher Young · June 7th, 2021, 01:45 AM

Thin cables like LANC cables are always prone to twist internally if you not very careful when coiling them. Have you tried the over-under reverse coil technique? One wrap counteracts the twist of the previous wrap. You may already be doing this and it is just a poor cable but it's worth a try. If the cable already has a "set" to its twist trying lying it out flat and untwisted on a hot sunny day and hope any spiral set it has drops out of it. Then while it is warm from the sun try the coiling technique shown in the following video if you haven't already tried this technique.

Chris Young

Paul R Johnson · June 7th, 2021, 02:46 AM

It's very ugly, but if you have easily kinkable cable tape it to a piece of mic cable, this stops it bending. I do it a lot with cat 5/6 cable which never lays flat - the extra cable it's taped to works very well. It then coils well for storage too.

Bryan Worsley · June 7th, 2021, 09:13 AM

Thanks both.

@Chris, no I wasn’t familiar with these coiling techniques. I’ll try later and see if it makes a difference.

@Paul, Thats a possibility. Another might be that flexible plastic conduit that snaps around the cable. Would protect it also in the field.

Christopher Young · June 7th, 2021, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

It's very ugly, but if you have easily kinkable cable tape it to a piece of mic cable, this stops it bending. I do it a lot with cat 5/6 cable which never lays flat - the extra cable it's taped to works very well. It then coils well for storage too.

Like your thinking there Paul. Made a note of that for sure!

Chris Young

June 6th, 2021, 12:50 PM	#1
Bryan Worsley Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 439	LANC Extension Cable Bought a 25' LANC extension cable to do some stealth wildlife videography with my Canon HF-G40 and a Manfrotto 521 remote. Purchased it from the DV Shop in Toronto. The brand is TecNec. https://www.dvshop.ca/cables/lanc.html It works fine but has an annoying tendency to spontaneously twist on itself and I have to go through this tedious ritual of undoing the twists when laying it out to full length and then coiling it back up. Is LANC cable always like that or are there brands, maybe with heavier duty sheathing, that are not prone to twisting ? Cheers.

June 7th, 2021, 01:45 AM	#2
Christopher Young Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,568	Re: LANC Extension Cable Thin cables like LANC cables are always prone to twist internally if you not very careful when coiling them. Have you tried the over-under reverse coil technique? One wrap counteracts the twist of the previous wrap. You may already be doing this and it is just a poor cable but it's worth a try. If the cable already has a "set" to its twist trying lying it out flat and untwisted on a hot sunny day and hope any spiral set it has drops out of it. Then while it is warm from the sun try the coiling technique shown in the following video if you haven't already tried this technique. Chris Young How to Coil Cables - YouTube

June 7th, 2021, 02:46 AM	#3
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	Re: LANC Extension Cable It's very ugly, but if you have easily kinkable cable tape it to a piece of mic cable, this stops it bending. I do it a lot with cat 5/6 cable which never lays flat - the extra cable it's taped to works very well. It then coils well for storage too.

June 7th, 2021, 09:13 AM	#4
Bryan Worsley Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 439	Re: LANC Extension Cable Thanks both. @Chris, no I wasn’t familiar with these coiling techniques. I’ll try later and see if it makes a difference. @Paul, Thats a possibility. Another might be that flexible plastic conduit that snaps around the cable. Would protect it also in the field.