Cables often come with ties holding them together, which i always knot and leave on to avoid losing them for when i need them again. If these were of two bright contrasting colours or tones, perhaps with patterns such as the suits of a pack of cards, they would be easily identifiable and could be slid along behind a desk in order to aid identification when plugging, unplugging, untangling and so forth.

For instance, suppose you have the following "colours" available to you: red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, magenta, black and white. This gives non-colourblind people something like two dozen distinctive combinations. Combine these with diamonds, clubs, hears and spades, and with inverted versions, and there are eight versions of each, giving more than a gross. Then make them stripy vertically, diagonally and checkered, and the number of distinctive combinations becomes much larger.

Each cable is sold with a random pair of ties. If they match, use another, and the chances of confusion dwindle.
-- nineteenthly, Jan 05 2012

So these? http://www.uline.co.../Colored-Cable-Ties
[MechE, Jan 05 2012]

or these? http://www.jamestow...oduct.do?part=50612
Just installed by the manufacturer? [MechE, Jan 05 2012]

MechE beat me to it. http://lmgtfy.com/?...ur-coded+cable+ties
[MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 05 2012]

1 of about a million google hits http://www.cablecra...k/Products/00010026
Vendor page for several different cable labelling systems [Custardguts, Jan 06 2012]

More http://www.google.c...0&biw=1422&bih=778\
[MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 06 2012]

You Are Not Worthy.

Seppuku is the only honourable option open to you.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 05 2012


RS?
-- gnomethang, Jan 05 2012


[MechE] your link is for colored ties. [nineteenthly] needs coloured ties.

Edit: [MaxwellBuchanan] found some of those.
-- mouseposture, Jan 05 2012


What is this "colored" of which you Hu-Mons speak ? Your words are strange to us.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 05 2012


I wasn't sure whether to bun or bone based on the use of "a gross" as a number.

Electricians solved this problem years ago with the use of cable tags. Many different versions are out there, but one popular one slips onto a cable or wire, and come in sets with lots and lots of loose numbers and letters. So you slide the numbers and letters onto the tag (room for sometimes up to 5-6 digits), and then the tag itslef attaches to the cable or wire. Linky.
-- Custardguts, Jan 06 2012


My homemade solution was to use clear tape over labels, which I wrapped around the plug end, and a matching label at the appliance end (or behind the desk, etc.) with the label sticking out as a little flag. Works for us.
-- XSarenkaX, Jan 06 2012


Welcome back, [XSerenkaX] !
-- csea, Jan 06 2012


OK, i'm going to quibble now. When i buy a cable, the tie has always been either black or white. There may be ties available which are in different colours, but they are not, so far as i know, used by manufacturers. That could be seen as making this a Let's All, but there's more to this.

The links are to monochrome colour-coded cable ties, which would not be as distinctive as patterned ones. A larger number of cables could be distinguished by patterns than by colours, and they are easier to distinguish in dim light or by colourblind people. So i stand by this idea as a new one while at the same time being very glad that colourful cable ties are baked.
-- nineteenthly, Jan 06 2012


Well, there are plenty of numbered and/or lettered cable-ties out there as well; I'd also say they're fairly well known. I'm struggling to see what new point you're making.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 06 2012



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