Cool tools: Rhino 101 & Triplett Fox/Hound Jr.
There are numerous cable labelling devices and styles, as folks have commented about in the Gizmo schematics entry and the systems forensics saltwater pathogens entry (;-). I even have a low-end, but decent Dymo LetraTag Plus whose tape labels can be made work okay on cables. But last week I noticed, and bought, this newish Dymo Rhino 101, which can be used with self laminating cable labels. I like it; it’s simple, light, and fast, and no batteries are required.
I also became the satisfied owner of a Triplett Fox Jr. and Hound Jr. cable tracing tool. I’ve never owned a cable tracer before, and I’m sure there are better ones, but these little guys have already identified which of the twin coax cables snaking from Gizmo’s helms through the engine space and up the mast goes to which VHF antenna. And I’m sure the Juniors (which unfortunately use odd size A23 batteries) will be of much more help as I remove obsolete gear and further suss out the boat’s wiring. Maybe it will even find the old radar’s monster cable wherever it’s hidden in the engine space, which is where I got stuck yesterday. Wish me luck!
PS I bought both these tools at CableOrganizer.com, which even made a video demo of the Rhino 101.
Hmmm. Alone. Stuck. Wedged into the engine room. On a mooring. Cell phone on the table above. Are you sure you aren’t Irish, perhaps related to the Murphy’s on your mother’s side? If you were Swiss, you would have filed a trip report, and Emergency services would be on their way before the first muscle spasm kicked in. If you were German, you would have dismantled the engine, and would be overhauling the heat exchanger having forgotten that you were there to trace a cable. If you were French, you would blame the English. If it was made by any of the Navico Family of fine Marine Electronics Products, you’d be on hold….
Thanks for the laugh Sandy, your last line says it all…