Do you often struggle with finding out which cable belongs to what device?
Well, I came up with a simple method (No rocket science, I promise :-D) for cable management. It’s not only suitable for all your (astro)photography devices and gear but also all your devices in your house, garage, school, etc.
The only thing you need for this is a label maker. It can be one from Brother, Dymo, or other brands.
With this label maker, you can create labels for all your cables going to, for example, your mount, your ZWO ASIair, your power tank, multiple power socket, your USB hub, etc.
I created labels for all my power adapters, external hard drives, and even my filters because cables and boxes can look the same or are the same. This way it’s easier to sort them out when cleaning up your stuff or if you need to disconnect a device from for ex., your USB hub.
Because it often happens that I have to take out an adapter from the multiple power socket and at that time there are several power adapters plugged in. And then it’s always the question: “Which adapter do I need to plug out?” The same with my several external hard drives into my USB hub.
Labeling the cables/devices is time-saving and prevents you to disconnect the wrong external hard drive when you are making a backup of your images etc.
My filter boxes are also labeled because it makes it easier and quicker to find the right filter that you need at that moment.
Another advantage of the labels is that they hold great onto your cables or devices in humid environments. Especially, we astrophotographers and astronomers know that it can be very humid during a session of imaging or observing.
So, I would say: “Go crazy with that label maker! :-D”
Brief explanation pictures from left to right:
- A label maker
- Labels and label around a cable power adapter
- 4 external hard drives into a USB hub
- 3 Labeled filter boxes
