Automotive → True or fasle can you warp auminam foil to make a shelded cable

Please move if wrong forum.
Is this true or false can you warp aluminum foil around a cable to make a shielded cable. I read a article a long time ago you could do that but I do not believe it.

No you can't. The only thing you can make it into to shield anything is a hat ....

thanks I thought so. Man you was quick what was it a minute.

Technically yes it all depends on how you define shielded - a lot of telephone cables have an outer spiral wrap of aluminum.

Having said that you would have to cut it into narrow strips and control the tension of the wrap. The joints between wraps would leak, which is why if you ever looked at the construction of coax, say RG6 used for TV, it has one or more braids over the inner shield.

Can't solder to aluminum so you will need to figure out some way to terminate the shield.

/tom

Gum and duct tape can fix a engine... doesn't mean you should. Also, what kind of cables are we talking about? I am not sure it would be cost effective to even try given the labor required and how cheap most general cabling is.

Also depends on how strong you need your shielding to be. If you're in the sticks, you don't need to worry too much about off-air ingress. If you're 10 miles outside NYC, you'll have issues.

I was wanting to extend a cable about 6in for a backup camera on my car. I some 1.5ft shielded audio cable.

Yes aluminum foil can shield cables. Just wrap it good and tight.

Just try whatever cable you have, and see if it works. If it works, stop there.

If it doesn't, or you have issues just buy the proper cable.

Having said that, aluminium foil can shield a cable at *some* frequencies and I've worked with many that had Al foil inside, but making your own is not as easy as you think. I presume your unshielded cable is probably for audio, and so its frequency response may be nowhere near of a video cable, shielded or otherwise.

A source for multiple types and lengths of cabling, usually low priced

»www.monoprice.com/catego ··· /pages/1

Not sure of what type of cable you're using, but some cable shields require grounding. Perhaps alligator clips and a jumper wire could do this?

yes, you can shield with aluminum foil.
or with many other options. brass, copper, braided tinned or untinned copper sleeve, etc.

for shielding, whatever metal you choose needs to be connected to and around whatever sheilding is at both ends of your existing equipment.
for grounding (for hum reduction), you only need to ground the end at the closest to the equipment input.

as mentioned, the existing coax which uses aluminum foils have a crimp connection of the foil to the connectors at either end. they also normally have a solderable ground wire inside the foil wrap. they also often have a folded-under-over crimp in the edges of the foil, to eliminate gaps in the wrap. most effective shielding of all is multiple combinations of foil and single or double layers of braided wrap.

in your use, perhaps the easiest solution is to find some 1/2" diameter hollow braided tinned copper overwrap. the shielding is not quite as good, because of the gaps in the braiding, but you can solder to the braid all around both ends to whatever connectors you are using.

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could you please say more about what you are trying to shield for/from?

just buy a all ready shielded cable gee it does not cost that much
if your too broke just get one from your local cable co I mean you can get a coax-cable that has great shielding all ready

they also sell RF coax to RCA type connection as well