dumbass patch bay question

[two track]

Howdy,

Have installed a patch bay and been using successfully for about a year, but am still a rank newbie as to all the grimey details. My question is about using the patch cables. I worry that if the ends of cables touch, that I may short something out, so I spend much care to see that that does not happen. But - it's a pain in the ass.
Is this needless concern? If not, is there a better way than leaving dangling patch cords where they may touch?

Thanks much!

[Blue Bear Sound]

My question to you is why you have any cables dangling in the first place?!?!

[regebro]

Originally posted by two track
If not, is there a better way than leaving dangling patch cords where they may touch?

Yes. A cable hanger. http://www.zzounds.com/item--MIDCLAW

[two track]

Thanks for responding. This has come up for me mainly because I have a new mixer that I've yet to incorporate into the bay, and I'm plugging in and out of it externally. So I'll have less cables to deal with when I get that installed. I also have normalled connections that don't require both ends of cables to be patched in all circumstances.

But I am more generally interested in knowing if I can damage speakers and other equipment if these plugs touch each other or the rack chassis when a pair is only patched on one end and the other's dangling.

Thanks for providing the zzounds hanger reference. I could sure stand to organize things better than the way they are now!

[regebro]

The answer is: Probably not, but with extreme bad luck, yes.

Now get the hanger. And in the meantime pull the patch cables out and put them in a pile. There is absolutely no reason to leave them hanging. It's just weird.

[TexRoadkill]

Hopefully your not running anything powered through the patchbay so you won't actually short anything out. Your biggest risk would be plugging something in while the channel is open on the mixer and getting a big pop that could damage your speakers.