Restore textile covered cables
   
When restoring old equipment, one comes in contact with dirty and/or damaged textile covered cables, most often with dried up rubber wires inside. As our goal is to restore as close to original as possible we have a problem because this kind of cables is no longer produced. The solution presented, here, gives a very nice result. Thanks to Jean-Claude, F6EJU, for the original idea.
   
In my case, it were the interconnection and power cables of a WS18 that needed to be replaced. Not because of the bad textile, but because of the crumbling dried up rubber wires, inside. On this page you can read and see how I solved it:
   
I went to my local shoe repairman and bought a set of shoelaces, woven of a kind of cotton.

These laces are sold in all kind of colours and widths. You can buy the flat ones for many wires, or the round ones, for just one wire.

Than, cut off the length you approximately need. Don't worry if you cut off to much, the stuff is so cheap, you can afford it!

Diameter of the lace depends on the factor of pushing it more or less together.
   
Make a bundle of your wires, tape them together with some cellotape.

Form a tube of the shoelace and push the wires in.

When they are in, pull the lace on both ends to make a tight fit around the wires and fixate one end to the wires.

Now one can feel the wires. That is why I put a second layer around it. Cut this a little longer!

   
This is the reassembled plug with its new cable. I took the wires from an old PC supply unit. Therefore I could maintain the original colour scheme.

The ends I wrapped in textile insulating tape. This will last longer than I will live, I guess. One can also wind black yarn around it, that was also done. But only one string of the yarn needs to break and you need to redo it.

I have found a great cleaning/preserving fluid for rubber. I have soaked the rubber plug in it to prevent it from drying out. This fluid works also great on Bakelite. I will offer it in the Paraset Warehouse Shop soon.
   
Here is another example of a cable I made for connecting my Whaddon Mk-VII "Paraset" to its PSU.