Level Up Your Desk
Choices… Choices… Choices…
Personalizing your own bespoke cable can be a bit more daunting than it would seem at first. With so many options to choose from, the plethora of single and double sleeved color combinations, and finally whether or not to include a detachable connector, we know it can be overwhelming.
Let’s start off by clearing up a few things …
Detachables
It’s important to know that not all detachables are created equally.
We understand this … and that’s why we carry a full suite of Genuine LEMO connectors and Weipu connectors. These connectors are machined out of brass and are chrome-plated to fractional millimeter levels of tolerances. The same attention to detail you demand in your custom housings and keycaps is exactly what you’ll find with both of these ultra-premium detachable brands.
Our full suite of premium detachables allow you to swap between different USB connectors on multiple device side cables and swap keyboards without re-routing your desk setup each time. That’s especially sweet … because if you care that much about your cables … odds are you’re probably velcro tying, channel routing, or using other magical cable management techniques on the rest of the wires under your desk as well.
Now, of course we also offer additional options in the form of the ever popular YC8 and Aviator form factors, what kind of custom maker would we be if we didn’t.
Check out our page on detachables to find out more about what we use to build and how to choose between them.
Base Sleeving
When it comes to dreaming up your perfect cable to accompany your favorite (or maybe just current favorite) keyboard the first step is picking the right sleeving for your base layer. Or maybe it’s your only layer. In either case we have over 400 colors available for you to look through.
Refer to our color charts for both Paracord as well as MDPC-X for our complete set of options for base sleeving.
Outer Sleeving
In order to get a deeper level of personalization and add a TON of depth to your cable, try adding a second, outer, sleeve to your design. With all the options available in either MDPC-X or Techflex, you can dream up anything to match deskmats, keycaps, or any other objects in your office / work area / productivity space.
When comparing PET sleeving like MDPC-X and Techflex, the primary difference between these two options is the expansion in the weave and how see-through the mesh becomes after applying the material as a second layer.
MDPC-X provides a good deal of expansion with a consistently tight weave resulting in a less see-through second layer, compared to Techflex. MDPC-X is our definite favorite when it comes to sleeving up a custom cable.
With a Techflex outer sleeve you end up with a more open weave, revealing much more of the color and pattern of the inner/base sleeve. Techflex is a thinner material / mesh overall so it provides a cool effect when combined with more vibrant paracord options underneath.
Coils
Coils add a visceral weightiness and substance to your custom cable. They also bring even more attention to the color, pattern, and depth of your sleeving choices.
In order to really lock in the shape of your coils, we use a two-stage oven-based heat curing process in advance of the configured USB connectors being applied. To this end, applying a second layer of sleeving allows the cable coils to cure with more rigidity increasing the quality and lifespan of the coils. While this secondary sleeve isn’t explicitly required, we feel like double sleeving (with Techflex or MDPC-X) makes the coils last longer and just feel better - especially if paracord is used as the inner sleeve.
Coils will start 2 - 3” from the device side connector and in the event of an optional detachable will continue until 2 - 3” before the prong end of the detachable.
Heatshrink
Heatshrink is the rubbery feeling coating that is applied over USB connectors as well as the sleeved wire that makes up your mechanical keyboard cable.
In addition to providing protection for the USB housing on each end (and after any detachables), heatshrink also provides an additional way to personalize and customize the exact look of your cable.
Check out our page on heatshrink if you’re not sure which one to choose.
USB Connectors
We offer a wide variety of USB connectors in both silver and gold colors.
The type of connectors you choose are going to basically depend on what port you’ve got on your keyboard.
Double check the connection type on the device side before finalizing your personalization and check our page on connectors if you’re not sure what to look for.
What About Cable Length…
You can choose to configure your cable any length between 1 and 15 feet total length (see our note on coil lengths below).
In our tests we’ve found that most standard keyboards without RGB backlighting work perfectly fine with cables up to 15 feet in length. This limitation isn’t based on any rules we just made up here at Dispatch, but is actually a recommendation / limitation of the USB specification. With cables longer than 15 feet in length there’s a good chance of failure or issues with pushing enough power all the way through the cable to your device.
A note on coils …
It is important to note that 1 inch of coils takes about 9 1/2 - 11 inches of wire to make, dependent on the coil diameter. This is especially important when configuring cables for high-power draw keyboards or boards that have known higher power requirements.
For example, for a cable configured to be 6 feet long and include a coil 6 inches wide:
The wire needed to make that cable measures 5 1/2 feet (for the straight portions of the cable) AND an additional 5 feet of wire (for the 6 inch coil).
In this case, the total effective length of the wire is still 6 feet, the length of wire used to make that cable will measure 10 1/2 feet long.
As seen in this example, the length of coils you select does not add extra length to your customized cable, it will be automatically included in the length calculation during our build process. If your selection for coil length includes 6” of coils and 6’ in length, then the total length will still be 6’ (5 feet 6 inches of straight wire and 6 inches of coiled wire in the middle).
A note on specific keebs …
HHKB
In our testing we noticed found that cables up to 14 1/2 feet were able to successfully power an HHKB Hybrid (Type S) with batteries removed.
While our tests were successful, it is still recommended to limit your configuration for cables intended to be used with HHKBs to a max of 8 feet.
We recommend our Connected or Lemo Connected series of cables.
Drop ALT
In our testing with the Drop ALT, the board just needs a LOT of juice. When configuring cables in excess of 8 feet there was a dramatic drop in the brightness of the RGB lighting on the board and we also noticed that certain laptops couldn’t power the lights at all.
The Alt’s draw on power being what it is, we recommend to limit your configuration for cables intended to be used with a Drop ALT to a max of 8 feet.
Drop CTRL
We don’t have a CTRL in the lab to test with, but poking around in the discord-verse, keebtalk, geekhack, and all the usual places we’d make the same recommendations for the CTRL as we do for the ALT (check the paragraph to the left).
We recommend limiting your configuration for cables intended to be used with a Drop CTRL to a max of 8 feet as well.
In order to keep the RGB lighting and connectivity as reliable as possible, here are a few tips you can use to configure coiled cables for these boards:
Keep coil lengths using 3/8” coils to a max of 4”-6”
Keep coil lengths using 1/2” coils to a max of 4” - 6”
Ensure the non-coiled portion of your cable is 4’ or less
As we continue to test and learn more about some of the specific outliers in the community, we’ll update this section with any findings.