need some thin 4 conductor shielded wire

gadget73

junk junkie
Subscriber
I'm looking to add a line input to a car radio that never had one. I need a 4 conductor wire for this, 2 signal out and 2 signal back. If it was individually shielded that would be spectacular, but I can probably get by with a common shield, or one per pair. I need something relatively flexible and small overall, say max of about 1/4" diameter with the jacket. Internal wire, something in the 24 awg range would do it. Anyone have ideas for such a thing? Inexpensive and not needing to buy vast quantities would be a huge bonus. I expect to need no more than 10 feet for the rest of my life.

Basically my plan is to bring the wiring out to a 3.5mm switched stereo jack. Plug in my device and it breaks the internal connection so the ipod plays. Unplug it and the radio plays. Electrically its easy, I just need the right wire to get it done.
 
Not individually shielded but what about Van Damme Starquad mini?
Might work. My only concern is bleed from the radio to the amp input when using the line-in. Not sure how high the impedance is, though I suspect its probably not that picky.


you could try twisted pairs .
I need to get it out of the stereo and to someplace on the dashboard. Not sure how much noise it might pick up. I'm aiming to keep this less than 3 feet. I have some CAT5 cable around, but stranded would probably be less prone to breaking in a car with the vibration issues.
 
i have a few feet of run of the mill rca cable to the cd changer with no issues .. if you have space for rca sockets on the radio it could work like factory ones .. or even use 1/8 jacks although i dont like those .. i guess inside the metal box it will be pretty well shielded ..
 
I have some shielded twisted-pair that would probably work perfectly. Two 26 ga conductors inside a braided shield. Wire is less that 1/8" diameter. Use one for each direction. See photo:
DSCF0786.JPG
PM me an address I will send you about 20 feet.
 
IIRC higher end S-Video cable is shielded.

Also there is a cable used to connect a trunk CD player to a in dash head unit that also maybe shielded with a DIN connection. This may also be a option.
 
if you have space for rca sockets on the radio it could work like factory ones

Unfortunately I do not. It needs something with switching, so much as 1/8 jacks suck, thats pretty much what I'm stuck with. I was thinking to mount the input jack in the ash tray just below the stereo. Its an 80s Ford stereo in one of my Lincolns. There is not a thing special about this stereo, other than it fits the dash, works, and looks the part. Currently I use one of those tape adapters, but the tape head amp in these are pretty noisy and its some internal proprietary part number on the chip so I can't just swap it for a better one.


hm, I might have an s-video cable around someplace that can be hacked up.
 
long leads from inside then .instead of one thing i thought of was a box outside with rca sockets . less connections the better ..
 
PM received and replied. This is shielded low level audio cable I picked up as surplus from a place I used to work. I have a half a mile of it.
:jump:
 
Hey Thane, how about cable from some type of industrial sensor? Prox switches are usually 3 wire but there is other stuff with more conductors. You might have something at work.

BillWojo
 
Hey Thane, how about cable from some type of industrial sensor? Prox switches are usually 3 wire but there is other stuff with more conductors. You might have something at work.

BillWojo
I thought of that. I just looked and haven't found mine. That stuff is really shielded. I have or had four wire.
 
Agree with the suggestion to skin an old S-Video cable, and use what you find inside. The portion external to the radio. Could be encased in heat shrink
 
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