Unwinding Twisted Pairs

[Goaty]

Been making a few test coils lately using wire from cat 5 cable, but untwisting it by hand nearly drove me crazy. Then I worked out an easy way to do it using a cordless drill and 2 elastic tie-down (Occy) straps.




This method works to separate pairs from the bundle as well as untwisting individual wires in a single pair.
The elastic straps need to be anchored 1M or more apart (fence, furniture etc) and one end of each of the two wires or bundles twitched around the hooks.






At the other end the wires are either clamped into the chuck of the cordless drill or twitched around a cup hook held in them.








The full length of the cable can be stretched out and some tension applied. Before beginning to untwist them the direction of rotation needs to be checked, then pull the trigger until the “V’” of wires is nearly to you, then slow down or you will re-twist them in the opposite direction.
Watch out when removing the wires from the chuck as they will spring back and wind themselves up – you need to let the twist spin out between your fingers.


Hope this method saves others from some frustration!

[dime196604]

I have done this method before. Its the best way to go about it i think. I did mine indoors. Just clamped the cable to the front door knob and then pulled the cable from the front door through the living and dining rooms into the kitchen where i unwound them with my drill. So so much faster then trying to do it by hand. The wife was not too happy with wire running the full length of the house, but it was over with quick.

[Goaty]

Originally I used to secure the end of the cable by lifting one of the legs of the dining table and putting it down on it!
I also managed to get some epic tangles by trying to untwist 20m of wire by hand.
I find these simple winders made from a short wooden board quite handy. Cut a semi-circle out of each end and round the edges with sandpaper or a file to stop kinks.