Apple Lightning cable shootout...best cable for your drone....

[Harleydude]

Hey Doods!

I posted this in the General Forum, but I thought I'd repost it here, since this group had the original thread regarding Lightning cables.

I hope this helps.

D

 

[lmccluer]

I have had an iPhone since the 3s, and Apple cords have always been a POS in my opinion. Every cord has pulled and cracked right at the end of the cord where it goes into the plastic piece. Every one. Now with the lightening cable end on both the earphones and the charge cord, the same thing will happen with the ear buds. I bought my current model, a 7+ in October, and have already replaced my first cord that came with it, and getting ready to replace the second one. I have yet to find even an non-Apple cord that is worth the price, because before I got my 7+ I’ve had every model of iPhone and have tried non-Apple cords. I see now where you can buy a product that looks like a ballpoint end spring, which people have tried those, but this spring designed for the cords, has a piece of the print where it goes over the plastic piece. Since I just saw it on FB last week, I haven’t seen one in local stores, but want to try it. Why Apple and other brands haven’t figured out how to make the cords better, I don’t know, but I expect it’s a good money maker for them.

 

[Fly Dawg]

Leave it in the general or another area and post a link back to the original thread, if you want to post it here, with more viewers. If that is what you are looking for. Just a tip......

 

[Ripper7620]

What bothers me the most is how fussy apple is about what you plug into them.

 

[jephoto]

Thanks for this HarleyDude!

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Why Apple and other brands haven’t figured out how to make the cords better, I don’t know, but I expect it’s a good money maker for them.

I doubt that it's a question of knowing how to make better cables, it's more likely a matter of priorities and economics. Cables are a throw-away commodity for most OEM's, Apple included. Most OEM's aren't going to give you a cable that has any significant cost associated with it. And most cable manufacturers aren't going to put any significant cost into making a $3 cable that will stand up to everyday use for any significant length of time. They'll make a mass produced cable that (hopefully) meets absolute minimum spec and gets you by for a while. And then, guess what, you need a new one. However, there are a few, enlightened manufacturers who produce better cables, as HD clearly documented above. Yeah, you may pay a bit more for a better cable but, you'll likely get your money's worth (and satisfaction) out of it.

 

[lmccluer]

Yes I agree. Definitely going to look up the companies he tried. If anything, people have started using ball point pen springs to keep the end from crimping over as bad.

 

[Calsun]

Cables are not simple like an extension cord for a home appliance. Folks found out in the 1980's with RS-232 cables that were limited to distances for transmitting data of about 50 feet. RS-232 was developed to connect a teletype machine to the wall and expected to have cables of 15 feet or less in length. No different with a charging data cable where the voltage is low DC and the capacitance of the wire is a limiting factor.

With digital a null voltage becomes a 0 and a plus voltage becomes a 1 and if the +5 volts drops to +3 volts with a long cable then data transmission becomes a problem and of course charging times increase as well. Another factor is that Americans are cheap, hence the success of Wal-Mart.

I can buy interconnect cables for pennies a foot or a hundred dollars a foot depending upon the cable and its manufacturer. For the average person the cheaper the better and only people in a production environment will pay the hefty premium for high quality cable.

Best low cost solution is to go with the flow. Apple selling cables 2 meters or less in length tells me that there devices are engineered to work with cheap cables (and thin cables with smaller gauge connecting wires) at these lengths. Go longer and I would look for a custom cable and expect to pay a great deal more. The truth is that pro audio, pro video, and pro data transmission does not use Lightning (or RS-232 or USB). Look at the Atomos gear to get a better perspective.

 

[lmccluer]

I questioned the lightning cable simply because of the thinness of the end. And because it has to be centered just right because of the way it’s built. It’s not like the previous ends that because of the way it was built helped to keep it in line with the surfaces. Sorry don’t know know how to better explain it. I expected the cable ends to wear out the same. Until they beef up the eves, they will keep wearing out. It might help if the connection was out the side, because being at the bottom is almost automatically bending it. But as you say, they aren’t going to put in a lot of money on something that out of the whole phone system, it’s the one thing that is expendable and the owners have to buy to be able to keep using the phone. Some day everything with a battery will be charged via air, something’s already are. Then you can charge it when it’s laying on a table, your desk, in a cubby in the car, even while holding it.

 

[shockwave199]

I honestly don't know why people have trouble with cables breaking. All my lightening cables last without breaking because I'm not hard on them. I make sure I hold them by the plastic ends when unplugging. That's it. How difficult is that? My cables never break. I have one ritual before flight, which is to unplug and replug in the USB end in the remote and make sure it's firmly seated in the remote port. I believe that's a weak spot that needs to confirmed before flight. Otherwise, a cable is a cable, ime.

 

[Lefty63]

I honestly don't know why people have trouble with cables breaking. All my lightening cables last without breaking because I'm not hard on them. I make sure I hold them by the plastic ends when unplugging. That's it. How difficult is that? My cables never break. I have one ritual before flight, which is to unplug and replug in the USB end in the remote and make sure it's firmly seated in the remote port. I believe that's a weak spot that needs to confirmed before flight. Otherwise, a cable is a cable, ime.

Same here. I have owned iphones as far back as the 3G. Never had a problem with an OEM cable.

 

[lmccluer]

I use mine a lot, so a lot of fine I have it use it when it’s plugged in. A lot of picking it up and moving around. I know a lot of people that have had problems with the ends. The only problem is the rubber cover at the end where it terminates into the plug us where it breaks. Every time. Even the ATT stores and Best Buy’s say the same thing. I just think they cab cone up with a better way. The cordless charging is the answer, and had the time to wait, I would have gotten the 8.