Sorry about the long-winded title, I don't know what exactly I'm looking for. My project is a replication of Guy Manuel's Daftpunk helmet. I've already figured out most of what I'm going to need to make it work, except for how to cleanly have around 40 wires coming down from the helmet into my pocket. I originally was going house the Arduino inside of the helmet to avoid this problem, but now I realize that there's not enough room.
My problem is that I don't know the name of what I'm trying to find, which is about 40 smaller wires bundled into one large black cable.I'm expecting something about as wide as the diameter of my thumb but I may be wrong. Also, would it be called a 40 pin connector cable if I wanted something that could be attached and detached like a phone charger?
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Edit:
The cable also needs to be around three and a half feet long.
Oh, and do you guys think 3.5 feet of wire is going to effect how my project runs? It's essentially an Arduino that controls 20 transistors that each activate their own light sources.
groundfungus:
How about flat cable like a hard drive data cable? IDC (insulation displacement connector) connectors are easy to install and cheap.
I'm trying to find something that is round and black to be as discreet as possible. One thinker wire sticking out of the back of the helmet and then going through the back of the jacket would be best. If it was flat like a hard drive cable I feel like it might get tangled easier. I also didn't mention this, but the cable need to be about 3.5 feet long.
That's a solution I would seriously consider.
Another approach could be split the wire up and have say 5 layers of 8 conductors each. That might make it easier to handle.
PhilC:
That's a solution I would seriously consider.
Another approach could be split the wire up and have say 5 layers of 8 conductors each. That might make it easier to handle.
Remember that you'll need it to be fairly flexible so as not to stop you turning or tilting your head. I think wrapping the cable will make it too stiff. You want something like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/data-cable-multicore-25-way-grey-priced-per-metre-xr46a.
It's very flexible. They also sell 15 core cable. A metre is approx. 39", just 3" short of your 3.5 feet.
That cable is screened, so you get an extra 'core' you can use as a ground connection.
You haven't said where you are :0 so you may have to look for local suppliers.
Henry_Best:
Remember that you'll need it to be fairly flexible so as not to stop you turning or tilting your head. I think wrapping the cable will make it too stiff. You want something like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/data-cable-multicore-25-way-grey-priced-per-metre-xr46a.
It's very flexible. They also sell 15 core cable. A metre is approx. 39", just 3" short of your 3.5 feet.
That cable is screened, so you get an extra 'core' you can use as a ground connection.
You haven't said where you are :0 so you may have to look for local suppliers.
That looks great! Only problem is that I live in the U.S. so I'll have to find a similar product somewhere else. Any suggestions?
Use 5 lengths of CAT 5 wire with 4 pairs of twisted pair wire in each. Pull the bundles out of the outer insulator and rebundle into one.
Go browse Home Depot and Staples.
A while back various companies were making round IDE/ATA cables for hard drives - they were easier to route than the standard ribbon cables. Looks like they are still being made, but probably not in the lengths you want.
My project is a replication of Guy Manuel's Daftpunk helmet.
I don't know what that is, and I can't research it right now...
What you are looking for is called "multiconductor cable". Telephone & communications companies use lots of it. But I agree with what's been said. Connectors are bulky and wiring/soldering 40 conductors on each end of the cable is a pain if you can't use IDC ribbon connectors.
Maybe there is another way to do it? Whatever "it" is. For example, you can send data serially... The whole internet is done serially. I built a lighting effect with 48 individually addressable LEDs, and it's controlled serially with 3 Arduino outputs. Of course, I have to also supply power and then there are some chips on LED side... And it still required LOTs of soldering (two wires to each LED).
Henry_Best:
Remember that you'll need it to be fairly flexible so as not to stop you turning or tilting your head. I think wrapping the cable will make it too stiff. You want something like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/data-cable-multicore-25-way-grey-priced-per-metre-xr46a.
It's very flexible. They also sell 15 core cable. A metre is approx. 39", just 3" short of your 3.5 feet.
That cable is screened, so you get an extra 'core' you can use as a ground connection.
You haven't said where you are :0 so you may have to look for local suppliers.
That looks great! Only problem is that I live in the U.S. so I'll have to find a similar product somewhere else. Any suggestions?
MAXOFLIFE:
Sorry about the long-winded title, I don't know what exactly I'm looking for. My project is a replication of Guy Manuel's Daftpunk helmet. I've already figured out most of what I'm going to need to make it work, except for how to cleanly have around 40 wires coming down from the helmet into my pocket. I originally was going house the Arduino inside of the helmet to avoid this problem, but now I realize that there's not enough room.
You can get cables with lots of strands. 40 is quite a lot though...
A better way to do it would be (eg.) to put I2C expander chips inside the helmet. You only need 4 wires (5V/GND/SDA/SCL) to control an awful lot of things with those. The PCF8574A is usually a good choice. They're cheap, can drive LEDs directly, you get 8 I/O lines per chip and you can put 8 chips on the same I2C bus (64 I/O lines total).
CrossRoads:
Use 5 lengths of CAT 5 wire with 4 pairs of twisted pair wire in each. Pull the bundles out of the outer insulator and rebundle into one.
Go browse Home Depot and Staples.
Thanks for all of the suggestions guys! I am going to go with CrossRoad's suggestions. Thanks for all of your help! If you have anything else to add, I'll keep checking back here everyone and a while.
When you say "Daft Punk" helmet, you might want to specify which one...
That said - I think I would approach it from a different angle - if we are talking about a bunch of LEDs in a matrix, then using a bunch of WS2812 (aka - AdaFruit's NeoPixels) or similar "smart" RGB LEDs might be the best way to go (if not the cheapest).
You can get them in SMD or thru-hole versions, by the way - all have four pins: Power, Ground, Serial Input and Serial Output.
Then just daisy-chain all of them together, and run the four wires out - at that point, using RJ45 cable and connectors makes perfect sense - you have more than enough conductors to provide the needed power and data to the pixels. Hook it up to your Arduino, dump in some code (WS2812 and similar LEDs have a ton of libraries available that people have written) - and you're set.
This would be the "proper" way to do this - that is, what you would see in a robust developed product meant for a bit of abuse. The problem with running all of the individual wires is that if one breaks (from flexing or such), you'll be in for a nightmare debugging or fixing. The added complexity of the system (wire and connectors, etc) - just makes for a less robust system that will be more prone to bugs and breakage over time.
While these so-called "smart" LEDs cost more up front, the overall system is simpler to implement, so there is less to go wrong, and if something does go wrong, it is fairly easy to diagnose and correct (at home or "in the field").
cr0sh:
When you say "Daft Punk" helmet, you might want to specify which one...
That said - I think I would approach it from a different angle - if we are talking about a bunch of LEDs in a matrix, then using a bunch of WS2812 (aka - AdaFruit's NeoPixels) or similar "smart" RGB LEDs might be the best way to go (if not the cheapest).
You can get them in SMD or thru-hole versions, by the way - all have four pins: Power, Ground, Serial Input and Serial Output.
Then just daisy-chain all of them together, and run the four wires out - at that point, using RJ45 cable and connectors makes perfect sense - you have more than enough conductors to provide the needed power and data to the pixels. Hook it up to your Arduino, dump in some code (WS2812 and similar LEDs have a ton of libraries available that people have written) - and you're set.
This would be the "proper" way to do this - that is, what you would see in a robust developed product meant for a bit of abuse. The problem with running all of the individual wires is that if one breaks (from flexing or such), you'll be in for a nightmare debugging or fixing. The added complexity of the system (wire and connectors, etc) - just makes for a less robust system that will be more prone to bugs and breakage over time.
While these so-called "smart" LEDs cost more up front, the overall system is simpler to implement, so there is less to go wrong, and if something does go wrong, it is fairly easy to diagnose and correct (at home or "in the field").
I did specify which Daft Punk I am building in the OP.
For example, you can send data serially... The whole internet is done serially. I built a lighting effect with 48 individually addressable LEDs, and it's controlled serially with 3 Arduino outputs. Of course, I have to also supply power and then there are some chips on LED side... And it still required LOTs of soldering (two wires to each LED).