Years ago I used boiling water making sure that the ends were not in the water.

Instead of a heat gun you could borrow the xyl hair dryer.

Whatever works for you.

Regards

Lawrence

On Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 4:57 PM, Doug W <KD9CYF@...> wrote:

two disclaimers before this post
1) This may be common knowledge but it is new to me.
2) I am only describing what worked for me.? If you ruin your cables, your oven, your house or your marriage kindly forget you heard this from me.

I wanted coiled cables but didn't have any in my junk pile.? After some quick searching, I learned it is very easy to coil cables yourself.? I did not take pictures along the way so I will do my best to describe the process.? Take the straight cable and tape one end around something round like a dowel, pencil, knitting needle or what ever you have.? Wrap it around as long as you want taping the other end when you are done.? I used electrical tape.? You want the wraps to be snug against each other.? Next you need to heat the cable.? I read some people use hot or boiling water.? I used my oven which has a keep warm setting at 190F (about 88C).? I put the wrapped cable on aluminum foil and left it in the oven for about 45 minutes checking every 5 or 10 minutes.? You want the cable very warm to the touch but not hot.? Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely.? I think a heat gun would be easier but I don't have one.? I still shrink my shrink wrap with a lighter.? I did the one below a few weeks ago and it is still holding its shape and is still springy.?