What is a Cable Curmudgeon?
Welcome to the CableWholesale blog! Here, we can discuss various trends in technology, and how cables fit into the scheme of things. I’ll try to debunk some myths, and offer some (hopefully refreshing) perspectives.
“So what the heck is a ‘cable curmudgeon’ anyway?” you ask. “Do I have what it takes to be a cable curmudgeon?” Well, let’s see.
First of all, to truly walk the Path of the Curmudgeon, you have to be passionate about something that doesn’t normally evoke much passion: cables. And, of course, being somewhat “curmudgeony” is a must. A cable curmudgeon:
- … is not taken in by fancy marketing
- … has little patience for industry buzzwords
- … values good old fashioned common sense when looking at cable engineering, and…
- … quite often despairs at the lack of same in the world today!
On the other hand, a true cable curmudgeon is serious about cables. He or she will:
- … meticulously count every individual tenth-of-a-millimeter strand of copper inside a cable jacket, to make sure it matches spec. (”There’d better be 96 of them here, or heads will roll!”)
- … endlessly stare at Pantone ® swatches, comparing them against jacket colors, making sure that one lot matches the next
- …carefully pick over lines such as “UL 20276 3C [(24AWG*1P + Drain) w/Al-Foil] *4 + 24AWG*1P + 24AWG*5C, w/Al-Foil + Braid, OD: 10mm” just for the sheer joy of it.
Needless to say, they don’t let us out in public much. Not without a handler, anyway.
In all seriousness, there’s a lot to love about our industry — and the world of electronics in general — and there’s a lot that makes this here curmudgeon shake his head in disbelief. The world of electronics cables is fascinating, and I look forward to hearing others’ perspectives on my rants. Comment away!
You sound like my brother tony. Seriously.
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