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"…actually overplasticized PVC," Despite the point in my comment about power cable extensions coverings becoming hard through the lack of plasticizers, I confi

"…actually overplasticized PVC," Despite the point in my comment about power cable extensions coverings becoming hard through the lack of plasticizers, I confirm your point about overplasticized PVC in instrument cables. I have a lot of instrument leads that I thought were silicone only to find that after a year or so they've gone hard. So much so that new unpacked ones can no longer be easily straightened (the kinks remain unless one heats the cable up and then straightens them). Despite availability issues,the problem is trying to determine what's real silicone and what's not.

ssl-3 7d ago
I used to buy vulcanized rubber (like SO cable) test leads from Oldaker Manufacturing in Dunkirk, Ohio. They had supplied them to Tripplett when the latter was still manufacturing meters in Bluffton, Ohio. The ones I've had for decades are still working well; they're reliable and flexible. I learned about the utility of rubber after becoming frustrated with PVC leads being stiff in cold weather. I stepped into Oldaker's shop on the way home one day and asked the nice older lady there about buying some silicone leads. "Are you sure you want silicone," she asked. "Most people want rubber." I was sure that she was nuts and that I knew exactly what I wanted, but I played along. She disappeared and came back a moment later with two sets of test leads: One with silicone insulation, and the other with rubber insulation. I examined them both. I picked the rubber ones; they somehow seemed both tougher and more flexible. No regrets. I've bought more examples over the years for different things. (Perhaps it'd have been smart to have also bought some silicone leads from them as well, for long-term comparison. Alas.) --- Anyway, Oldaker Manufacturing burned to the ground about 10 years ago. Whatever tooling and supplies remained after Tripplett packed up and left is simply gone. Which is a bummer for a couple of reasons: First, they seemed like very nice people who were just trying to get by after their heyday was over. It was very much a mom-and-pop facility by the time I came 'round. Second, I subsequently cannot find any reliable source of rubber-insulated test leads. It's only been a decade so far, and I do look occasionally. They do not appear to exist. (There's probably be an opportunity here for someone to make test leads using vulcanized rubber and sell them, but it's limited. If it works and becomes popular, then someone overseas will clone it. And when they clone it, then others will follow with their own take. After that, it's just a hop skip and a jump before we reach the end game: Dilution. Wherein: Overplasticized PVC test leads that are described as being rubber will be easy to find, and actually-rubber leads will be impossible to locate in the sea of noise.)
- hilbert42 4d ago
  "I picked the rubber ones; they somehow seemed both tougher and more flexible. No regrets. I've bought more examples over the years…" Right, depends on the quality of the rubber I suppose. I've been suspicious of rubber because when it's old it often turns into a gooey mess or goes hard and cracks (as with VR [vulcanized rubber] used in house wiring in the days before PVC — and often a cause of fires. At the moment that's a bit close to home. I'm in Australia where power is 240V and only two days ago I needed to test an old Advantest spectrum analyzer and I wasn't sure if it had been strapped for 240 or 110V but didn't have a 240/110V transformer to hand so I dug out an ancient variac/auto-transformer to do the job and its power lead was vulcanized rubber which had turned into a sticky mush (replacing the lead didn't help as the windings had a short to the laminations). Similarly, the rubber insulation on my super flexible AVO multimeter leads with many, many strands of superfine Cu wire has disintegrated. It's similarly perished (but they're well over 30 years old). My first experience of silicone comes from its use as the outer jacket/insulation in microphone cables used in an industrial environment (TV studio). It was wonderful, cables were super easy to roll up and keep orderly, and despite its so-called reputation for not being rugged enough heavy camera dollies would regularly run over it without damage. These cables would last for years (the only occasional issue with them was when an XLR connector would get ripped off when caught on something and someone pulled super hard to free it). I've no issue with using VR for leads except I've not been able to get it (for example, I can no longer get a replacement for my AVO leads).

ssl-3 7d ago

I used to buy vulcanized rubber (like SO cable) test leads from Oldaker Manufacturing in Dunkirk, Ohio. They had supplied them to Tripplett when the latter was still manufacturing meters in Bluffton, Ohio. The ones I've had for decades are still working well; they're reliable and flexible. I learned about the utility of rubber after becoming frustrated with PVC leads being stiff in cold weather. I stepped into Oldaker's shop on the way home one day and asked the nice older lady there about buying some silicone leads. "Are you sure you want silicone," she asked. "Most people want rubber." I was sure that she was nuts and that I knew exactly what I wanted, but I played along. She disappeared and came back a moment later with two sets of test leads: One with silicone insulation, and the other with rubber insulation. I examined them both. I picked the rubber ones; they somehow seemed both tougher and more flexible. No regrets. I've bought more examples over the years for different things. (Perhaps it'd have been smart to have also bought some silicone leads from them as well, for long-term comparison. Alas.) --- Anyway, Oldaker Manufacturing burned to the ground about 10 years ago. Whatever tooling and supplies remained after Tripplett packed up and left is simply gone. Which is a bummer for a couple of reasons: First, they seemed like very nice people who were just trying to get by after their heyday was over. It was very much a mom-and-pop facility by the time I came 'round. Second, I subsequently cannot find any reliable source of rubber-insulated test leads. It's only been a decade so far, and I do look occasionally. They do not appear to exist. (There's probably be an opportunity here for someone to make test leads using vulcanized rubber and sell them, but it's limited. If it works and becomes popular, then someone overseas will clone it. And when they clone it, then others will follow with their own take. After that, it's just a hop skip and a jump before we reach the end game: Dilution. Wherein: Overplasticized PVC test leads that are described as being rubber will be easy to find, and actually-rubber leads will be impossible to locate in the sea of noise.)

hilbert42 4d ago
"I picked the rubber ones; they somehow seemed both tougher and more flexible. No regrets. I've bought more examples over the years…" Right, depends on the quality of the rubber I suppose. I've been suspicious of rubber because when it's old it often turns into a gooey mess or goes hard and cracks (as with VR [vulcanized rubber] used in house wiring in the days before PVC — and often a cause of fires. At the moment that's a bit close to home. I'm in Australia where power is 240V and only two days ago I needed to test an old Advantest spectrum analyzer and I wasn't sure if it had been strapped for 240 or 110V but didn't have a 240/110V transformer to hand so I dug out an ancient variac/auto-transformer to do the job and its power lead was vulcanized rubber which had turned into a sticky mush (replacing the lead didn't help as the windings had a short to the laminations). Similarly, the rubber insulation on my super flexible AVO multimeter leads with many, many strands of superfine Cu wire has disintegrated. It's similarly perished (but they're well over 30 years old). My first experience of silicone comes from its use as the outer jacket/insulation in microphone cables used in an industrial environment (TV studio). It was wonderful, cables were super easy to roll up and keep orderly, and despite its so-called reputation for not being rugged enough heavy camera dollies would regularly run over it without damage. These cables would last for years (the only occasional issue with them was when an XLR connector would get ripped off when caught on something and someone pulled super hard to free it). I've no issue with using VR for leads except I've not been able to get it (for example, I can no longer get a replacement for my AVO leads).