Hi,
 
Weird that the article did not state that you had to plug the cable up a personal location just to ensure it was lubed and ready to go!
 
Even in theater, with cables massively longer and thicker than what anyone uses on a stage for a concert, we would have known that was crap!  The bigger problem we had was always furniture, and this and that going over the cable and pointed high heels stabbing them, and the like which while not a major problem would leak a bit, but not enough to hurt the lights, but enough to prevent the cable from lasting longer. We were always taught to be on the lookout for cable damage, since a metal heel on just the right spot ... would be a serious problem/issue ... and teaching stage folks this bit and piece is often the hardest part, specially when so much of the work is done in the dark, although for theater, not as much!
 

Most people would object to having cables wound up in them. Including me.

bitflipper
"Check periodically to see if you’re overloading power cables and adapters by touching both the wire and plug areas to detect if there’s any heat."
 
Such advice was surely available pre-internet, but back then you'd be able to look the guy in the eye and know he was nuts

I hate to say this Bit, but........... Unlikely though it is to find good advice on any "audiophile" website that is good advice.

Overloaded power cables and plugs do get very hot and can catch fire. One of the main causes of house fires is overloaded ring mains or extension cables. Ditto AC extension cables while coiled - the coil makes them ian inductor which besides emitting RFI acts as a resistor (like a kettle element). A cable safe to 13A unwound (the UK domestic standard) might only be able to cope with 5A or less while coiled.

Guitarhacker
Hey.... wait, I thought they were serious, I mean, the writer surely seemed serious..... then I read the posts here...... buffoonery.... buffoonery, it's all buffoonery

It might be buffoonery to anyone who's ever been in a studio, worked in a theatre or concert venue or even just done local gigs armed with nothing but an instrument and amp but the "audiophile" world (also known as fools with lots of money from which others hope they can be parted) takes this stuff very seriously indeed.

1000 bucks for a mains cable anyone? http://www.mojo-audio.com...y&faceted_search=0

It'll make your recordings sound so much better........

there is a method of 'properly' coiling cables,
if you do a lot of roadwork and travel,
you HAVE to learn to do it properly.
 

WindUp

"You're gonna wind up working in gas station" ~F.Zappa
 

tlw

I hate to say this Bit, but........... Unlikely though it is to find good advice on any "audiophile" website that is good advice.

Overloaded power cables and plugs do get very hot and can catch fire. One of the main causes of house fires is overloaded ring mains or extension cables. Ditto AC extension cables while coiled - the coil makes them ian inductor which besides emitting RFI acts as a resistor (like a kettle element). A cable safe to 13A unwound (the UK domestic standard) might only be able to cope with 5A or less while coiled.

Oh, of course you're absolutely right about the potential for fire damage from overloaded power cables. (I taught Ohm's Law on Day One when I was an electronics instructor, and then proceeded to observe many a student vaporize copper in order to empirically prove the principle.)
 
But read it in the original context. He's talking about a seriously NON-recommended procedure for "breaking in" power cables that most definitely should NOT be undertaken by anyone not conversant in G.S. Ohm's law. Rather than calculating a proper load beforehand, the author suggests checking your work by feeling for excessive heat.
 
That's the joke.

I never wind any of my cables up.  I roadie-wrap 'em!
 
(Go look it up.  There are even training videos out there.  Yes, it DOES work wonderfully - and on lots of other windable items like power cords.)

batsbrew
there is a method of 'properly' coiling cables,
if you do a lot of roadwork and travel,
you HAVE to learn to do it properly.
 

 
Oh yes, I absolutely agree.  It makes the load-out job quicker, it also prevents tangled cables, and makes deploying them at the next gig a snap. It also slows the wear-and-tear on the cables from destroying the cables  by flexing the inner conductors and braided shield sharply. Tight bends are not good for the longevity of any cable or wire.