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Retractable console cords

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Crazy Cooter:
This is the one I have:
http://www.gemini-usa.com/a5/modelDetail.asp?PkgID=370557&User=GemGaming

There's some other "stuff" there, but I can't view the info:
http://www.gemini-usa.com/gemini/products.asp?Ctg=Gaming&SubCtg=Recoil%20Series

It looks like they might have what you're looking for?

effdubya:
i think you guys misunderstood the intention its not to buy a new controller but to have original ones hooked up so they're retractable.

i think what i'll try and do is mount each controller cable on a whole bunch of measuring tapes from a $2 shop which I'd extend the spool to be bigger so that the cable (which is obviously a lot thicker than the thin strip of measuring tape :P) will be able to coil without getting tangled or going off the spool.

then add/crimp a metal cylinder where i want the cable to stop retracting so that it is blocked from going any further.

planning on trying this on the coming weekend so if i get up to it ill post pics and guide if it actually turns out okay lol

Crazy Cooter:
One of those in the links I had looked like a SNES plug.  I was thinking you could just splice right into it.  That way you could see how they're doing it and follow their lead for the others.

I'd take my controller apart, but I know how much of a PITA putting a tape measure back together is  ;).  FWIW, the cable on it is flat like a tape measure, not round.

lkench:
You might check here:

http://www.yourmobiledesk.com/products/mfr_main.cfm?mfrID=189

This is a link to some cables made by Zip Linq.  I've never used them, but they had some retractable cat5 cables which should have 8 conductors.  You could snip the ends off and put whatever ends you needed to connect the controls.  You might be able to pop them apart and replace the cable with your own too.  There might be other sources for Zip Linq products too.

Larry

DarkBubble:
I did a lot of digging for retractor part layouts.  In the case of the vacuum cleaner cord, it appears that the cord's conductors make contact with a disk-shaped contact, allowing the entire cord to spin without being broken during retraction.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Zip-Linq cable and can't find any shots of the mechanism.  It seems to me that they've got to be using a similar method.  You have to pull from both ends, meaning that it's got two mechanisms, but you'd have to use the contact disk method to prevent breakage.  I may be able to get ahold of a retractable Playstation cable fairly cheap, so I may grab one and crack it open to see how it works.

The thing about using a tape measure is that the end of the tape doesn't have to connect to anything other than the spooling device.  With a cable that is going to have power going through it, it has to maintain contact on both ends.  Unless you have a method similar to the contact disk, the controller end is only going to act as a brake.  It's one thing to wind something up that only connects at one end, such as a cable winch or a tape measure, but when you're working with a power cable that has to connect at both ends, it gets tricky.

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