bad snake

[chuck worden]

we have a 16 input snake running from back of church to front. By process of elimination we have determined the snake has several bad inputs. Is it more likely that it is a connection or wire problem. is there a way to find out? Is it worth it to try and repair or should we just bite the bullet and replace the snake? thank you for any input

 

[Art Welter]

Chuck,

It is rare for the wire to fail in an installed snake after installation.

Most likely causes are either mechanically broken open or "cold" solder points in either the male or female connectors.
The console end connectors are a more likely failure point than the stage box, unless the main snake strain relief has become loose and pulled connections .
Connections may also have short circuited in the connectors, wires touching each other due to insulation being pulled back from abuse or poor construction.

Other failures can be nails or screws from construction projects piercing connections, which can short circuit or connect multiple channels

You can check for shorts with an ohm meter- there should be no connection (open circuit) between pins 1, 2, or 3 of any channel(s).

You can check for continuity by connecting a mic cord into the stage box, and read between it's pins and the console end connectors. Check the mic cords used for this first.

Depending on the snake and mic cord length, the series resistance may be ~1 to 4 ohms.