A red Tape matter or should that be 3 and 7 .
Since learning the resistor / capacitor colour coding system in early 1960's I've used it to great advantage in my domestic life as well as ( obviously ) in Electronic aspects , you know the one I mean , ie , Black - 0 , Brown - 1 , Red - 2 and so on . In the Electronics Industry when " wiring in " or " Looming up " cables or wires , one uses the colour coded system type identifying Sleeves or Markers , but when you're dealing cables or wires that are pre-wired / fixed or have connectors already attached , then the use of coloured insulating tape can come into play . But this is where we hit a stumbling block . I've yet to find Orange ( 3 ) and Mauve / Purple (7 ) insulating tape available commercially , ironically the colours have been available in Mic cables and such like , but Not in " Insulting " tape ( insulating tape for the non-cynics out there ) . In my own workings what I do is , for 3 ( orange ) I use 1/2 width tapes of red ( 2 ) and yellow ( 4 ) therefore the happy medium being 3 , and blue ( 6 ) and grey ( 8 ) giving a happy medium of 7 . I find this works perfectly because for the normal colours used one uses the full width of tape and the " made up colours " in 1/2 width .
So Please " SELLOTAPE" , " 3M" and other tape manufacturers out there , give us this day our daily Orange and Mauve / Purple insulating tapes , and in anticipation of Mr Clever Dick out there I've not been able to find them yet even if you have . !!!
The system of colour coding can sometimes outwit ordinary numbers , when say used in potentially "dirty" situations , such as in a multi-cylinder engine for spark plug recognition , where if a numeric system was used grime/grease could make a dirty 8 look like a 3 or a dirty 4 look like an upside down 7 and so on . With the colours used for a V8 engine it would be Brown -1 , Red - 2 , "Orange" -3 , Yellow - 4 , Green - 5 , Blue - 6 , "Mauve" - 7 and Grey - 8 , and Bobs your uncle and no misfiring of engine , I've used this appraoch myself and it's ok . For Microphones in a Recording studio such as that AKG C414 that would be Yel / Brwn / Yel , that Shure SM 58 would be Green / Grey and so on . All the dark cabled leads to and from Mixers / Recorders / Outboard Equipment where only a silver or white marker would do ( you try and find a good one that doe'snt immediately shed its colour when disturbed ) can benefit from the tape system , Of course if you have white cables then you can use coloured Magic markers to do the job , but bear in mind that over time the ink does fade .
Back in the day when I was working in my first job ( an apprenticeship ) with a company called "Lustraphone " ( we pioneered Europes first Radio-Mic systems ) amongst all manner of jobs I was working on , I sometimes had to work on M.O.D. stuff , this was all right angles in wiring , neatness personified , daily checks by the man in a black suit , white shirt and dark tie there was a protocol of colour coding for Valve stuff where only Red was used for high-tension , Black was Chassis/Negative , Green was Valve i/p grids , Blue was Valve Cathodes , Twisted Green for Valve heaters and a few other codings which I 've forgotten . But alas todays modern approach seems to have ignored all the sensibilities of yesteryear , so in some circumstances any colour could be high-tension , point here is never assume , you know , it makes an ass out of Blah Blah Blah , See you soon .
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