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.

 

[chuck worden]

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.

I was an electrician until I retired it seems odd to me but I really dont know in this application. Will the connections in the input jacks on the snake breakdown over time? this snake has been in use for a long time with not much done to board or snake in terms of movement. So would it be worth redoing the jacks at 1 or both ends? I know electrical wire moves by expanding and contracting under load which can lead to loosening of connections does this happen at the low voltage and current demand on a sound system also?

 

[Art Welter]

Will the connections in the input jacks on the snake breakdown over time?

The connections break or short from use and abuse over time- strain reliefs becoming loose, people pulling by the wire rather than the connector.
Over time, static connections can oxidize, and may need to be cleaned, they may present as very high resistance rather than open connections.

this snake has been in use for a long time with not much done to board or snake in terms of movement. So would it be worth redoing the jacks at 1 or both ends?

The snake may have been donated with bad channels.
When you open up the "bad" board end XLR connectors, should be apparent whether it's a problem that is going to happen on all of them.
I owned one cheap used sub-snake that eventually failed on every connector, would have been better off checking them all when the first failure occurred.

I know electrical wire moves by expanding and contracting under load which can lead to loosening of connections does this happen at the low voltage and current demand on a sound system also?

Solder joints can become non conductive for various reasons, but most simply are broken.