I throw them in a box and never use them again. My USB cable box is a rats nest of at least a hundred cables. Why? Because I might need them some day. Even those stupid mini-Bs and UC-E6 for cameras that broke a decade ago. No labels necessary, just procrastination.
this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2024
17 points (100.0% liked)
Ask Lemmy
26734 readers
1479 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
I put each one in a ziplock style bag (unless they're short, then I'll put a few of the same in a single bag). Helps to prevent the tangly part!
God damn it how have I never thought to do this before. Well guess I have something to do after work today lol
Masking tape and a pen
I don't. Though I sure wish that it was part of the USB spec to consistently do so!
I learned about a year ago that the reason that I couldn't get my Android phone to do hotspot tethering via USB was because, for some odd reason, the same two cables that were definitely data (not power only) cables and worked fine with other devices wouldn't permit a data connection to be established between my Android phone and a Linux laptop, just power.
I think that if I were going to do so, though, I'd do one of two different things:
-
For cable management, to take up extra slack, or to store a coiled cable, one can get colored Velcro cable ties. I tend to put these on stored cables, so I have them anyway; might as well use color-coded cable ties and even if I have a cable expanded, leave the cable tie on the thing as a label.
-
If I just wanted to label it, colored tape. I don't know if colored masking tape is ideal -- my experience has been that masking tape left on a surface for a long time leaves some goo, though Goo Gone might get that off. But I suspect that it'd stay on the thing for a long time.
For stored cables rather than in-use cables, another option:
- Store them in separate containers. Maybe put one type in a labeled bag in a larger container, if you only have a few. Easier than digging through one large unsorted container.
I think I just need to get around to throwing out a bunch of cables. I tend to be hesitant to throw out cables, because they don't take up much space and if you have any chance of using one someday, it's nice to have it around. but the reality is that I only have a few mini-USB devices still around, and only a few micro-USB devices. I'm just not likely to use those. Might be a good idea to throw out all unused mini- and micro-USB cables but one or two of those.
If I just wanted to label it, colored tape. I don’t know if colored masking tape is ideal – my experience has been that masking tape left on a surface for a long time leaves some goo, though Goo Gone might get that off. But I suspect that it’d stay on the thing for a long time.
Yeah, the gooey factor is one of the only reasons I've been somewhat iffy on using masking tape for this purpose. However if it holds up to where it doesn't need replacement, could be a nonfactor all things considering.
The ones I use are out of production, but they are similar to these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082DZ19FP
They work really well for identification, but they will snag on things, which can be very annoying.
For ones that are less likely to snag, I have also used these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YYJLKM
I find that style hard to read, though.
You could also use colored tape or paint pens and just rely on color.
The local discounter had a cheap set of Velcro cable ties in assorted colors. I bought a bunch, and now all USB C cables have yellow ties, and USB B Mini have red ones.