Can I use phone cable to extend pickup wires?

kennydoe · #1 02-22-2003, 11:35 AM

Hey all

I recently bought an Air Norton 7, but the lead wire isn't long enough to get thru the route to the switch in my UV.

I have 4 conductor phone wire here that I could use to extend and it'd be nice and neat too, since the wires are already bundled together - I'd just have to add a braided wire (easy enough).

Is phone wire okay?

~Kenny

BZ Beetle · #2 02-22-2003, 01:13 PM

I once sucessfully solved that problem (only had about 1" of lead wire on the pup when i bought it) by cutting the wire off an old powersound pickup I had. then once I had the wires soldered together, I put tiny tiny wirenuts on them so they wouldnt short out against each other, then filled the wirenuts with a general purpose super strong glue to make sure they were all secure. still have the pickup with the obnoxiously long wire on it around here somewhere

kennydoe · #3 02-22-2003, 01:18 PM

OK then.

Assuming i don't have any extra pickups lying around, is phone wire okay?

~K

bammbamm · #4 02-22-2003, 01:22 PM

Can you get a foot of Cat 5 cable, that would be better as it is well shielded.

Bamm

**jemsite** · #5 02-22-2003, 01:24 PM

yes + the ground (unwrapped wire)

cat-5 wire would probably be a bit better, as i believe the wire would be a larger gauge than older phone wire. i'm assuming the phone wire you're looking at is about the same thickness as the pickup wire... g

BZ Beetle · #6 02-22-2003, 01:25 PM

ok, Yes kenny it will probably work, but i dont know if you'll get any buzz out of it :\ i would love to tell you you wouldnt but you may very well. I say try it. If it doesnt work at all then come back here so none of us bother

hehe

it will work, at least it should, and it wont hurt anything to try. I say go for it, I just cant be sure if youll get alot of buzz or not :\

kennydoe · #7 02-22-2003, 03:46 PM

Well, so far so good...it works. The jury is still out on the pickup itself, but at least it works.

I just want to mention, for whatever it's worth, that I didn't snip modular ends off a regular phone cord and start soldering. I'm using the same gague wire they use to run the cables thru the walls, which is definitely thicker that what's used to connect the phone to the wall. It is at least as thick as what Dimarzio uses.

~K