Ghostbusters 1 - ribbon cable question

[roboprop]

Ok all you electronic gurus out there. I'm looking to identify the colored ribbon cable that was used on the proton packs in the first Ghostbusters movie....

I've done countless internet searches on this thing and have come up empty. I can have it custom made but at a rather hefty minimum and that's not happenin'.

I want to say that it's several ribbon cables bonded (professionally) together to form one large ribbon cable assembly but that may not be the case.

Regardless, has anyone ever seen this type of cable? And if so, on what?

Thanks bros!

 

[Utinni]

We've been trying to locate that cable for some time. I know there's an active thread on Proptopia right now about it.

- Jeff

 

[ave4uevoli]

just look up "60 pin spectra cable" it's close enough.

lots of people use those... I have one on mine.

and you can get them on ebay for cheap or other electronics stores.

Here's a link for one from a reputable seller - he's the guy/girl (not sure) who made my pack below: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170210025639

my cable is tied up a little too much - but all I would need to do is release the ties and it would look just like the movies.

 

[TheGreenMachine]

GB1 cable, not GB2.

I would grab some of the cleaner pics from Proptopia and post here. They more clearly show the GB1 cable and its differences from the spectrastrip used in GB2.

- TGM

 

[ave4uevoli]

oh... whoa.. totally didn't know there was a difference.. my bad my bad.. :redface

 

[Gideon Vanguard]

Roboprop - I personally always felt it was a hybrid ribbon cable/ribbon pneumatic tubing. Clippard makes some fine ribbon tubing but not in that particular color scheme. Maybe some sort of pneumatic circuit cable?

Utini - Roboprop isn't exactly what you would call new to Proptopia he's just branching out the search.

ave4uevoli - you must have missed the title of the thread. Spectra strip was used in GB2 and is what 99% of the people use as a substitute on their GB1 version packs for lack of better material. Again it's not screen accurate for GB1.

 

[TheGreenMachine]

oh... whoa.. totally didn't know there was a difference.. my bad my bad.. :redface

No worries The GB2 packs or GB2 repurposed GB1 proton packs are all that are seen in the wild in your Planet Hollywoods and what not. They all sport the spectrastrip used in GB2.

There aren't that many sources that clearly show the cable found on the GB1 packs. The OMNI cover is one of the really good sources. The Time magazine photo spread is another.

- TGM

 

[roboprop]

The GB prop community has been relentlessly scouring the net for an accurate GB1 ribbon cable for years now with no successful leads. I thought I'd just run this by the RPF'ers in hopes that someone might have some new info.

 

[Rhett J Martin]

Thre's been two or three threads here about it over the last five years, and nothing ever comes from it. Bad news is, there's a couple people here who know what it is, and never come forward. Grr . . .

 

[dr_slurpee]

Having done a ton of research in the past and haven spoken with someone that saw the cable first hand I can tell you it's not a custom made for the pack item or tubing. It's an actual wire harness. Having said that, I am less interested in actually identifying it because odds are it'd be rarer than rocking horse poo, I am more interested on ideas to replicate it.

That is the direction of conversation now on other forums and I was thinking of posting about it here since there are a LOT more people here with a larger range of skills and knowledge. The obvious way to make it is to find individual wires the right size and laminate them together...the laminate part is the issue.

This is a drawing I had made up after my research, I was told it was pretty much spot on. Note that the grey "spacers" aren't grey but rather the semi-opaque somewhat rubbery laminate. Below is a better picture showing the cable. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Java]

The Ghostbuster's "community" need to realize that the internet is not the only way to look for stuff. Get off your butts are explore the world!

Also, just because you see the real deal (I have) doesn't mean you can identify where it was sourced from. It's wire. Who makes wire bundles like this?

Lots

of

companies!

Where'd they get the stuff in the early 80s? No idea. There is no tag or label on the wire that says "Made by X"

I spoke with a person who worked for a company that wired up emergency vehicles and she thought it looked like wire that they used. That wire is not unique in its rainbow color scheme. It's a standard pattern.

This is similar to the "what kind of hose is used on the TIE Pilot Helmet". You could have the original *in your hand* but without manufacturer markings or a "from the horses mouth" where the stuff came from, the best you can do is find something close.

 

[Bug Stomper]

So how about some pictures?

Cheers,
Stefan

 

[roboprop]

The Ghostbuster's "community" need to realize that the internet is not the only way to look for stuff. Get off your butts are explore the world!

Also, just because you see the real deal (I have) doesn't mean you can identify where it was sourced from. It's wire. Who makes wire bundles like this?

Lots

of

companies!

Where'd they get the stuff in the early 80s? No idea. There is no tag or label on the wire that says "Made by X"

I spoke with a person who worked for a company that wired up emergency vehicles and she thought it looked like wire that they used. That wire is not unique in its rainbow color scheme. It's a standard pattern.

This is similar to the "what kind of hose is used on the TIE Pilot Helmet". You could have the original *in your hand* but without manufacturer markings or a "from the horses mouth" where the stuff came from, the best you can do is find something close.

Wow, that's helpful Java, thanks. :rolleyes

 

[dr_slurpee]

Scott was just saying that seeing it doesn't mean identifying it. And identifying it doesn't mean it would help us in trying to build an accurate GB1 pack. Given I have never heard of a single person finding even a tiny piece of this stuff it makes more sense to focus on replicating it. We know the details of what it needs to be like...so no one has any ideas for making replicas of this cable?

 

[TheGreenMachine]

Having done a ton of research in the past and haven spoken with someone that saw the cable first hand I can tell you it's not a custom made for the pack item or tubing. It's an actual wire harness. Having said that, I am less interested in actually identifying it because odds are it'd be rarer than rocking horse poo, I am more interested on ideas to replicate it.

I'm in agreement with you to an extent. I completely agree that it is a bit of a fools errand to try and identify a manufacturer since it seems to be exceedingly rare and its scarcity could have even spurred the cable switch between GB1 and GB2 way back when.

But I think if someone even moderately generous(with information) had a small sample of it(even a few inches) and could provide a close photograph, it would make it that much easier to have something to shop around to places which make custom wire harnesses to see if they could do it and what it would cost.

Manufacturers tend to take you a bit more seriously when you have an example of the original item and not a close-ish photograph of said item on a proton pack.

- TGM

 

[Java]

Wow, that's helpful Java, thanks. :rolleyes

Because I offered some suggestions on what it could be, and that there was no indicator on the actual cable to say where it came from? Jeez, no good deed....

It's been 25 years and nobody has ever identified the actual cables. They even used DIFFERENT cables (Spectra) on the GB2 packs. Why do you suppose that is?

"X" segment ribbon cable with the standard repeating color pattern is not rare. The specific gauge of this cable seems to be. Wonder why?

I suspect you've seen the cable too. It was helpful seeing it in person wasn't it? No. There's nothing I saw that remotely hinted at were they sourced it from. My only regret is not taking a picture. The pack the cable is on is not mine, so take it up with the owner.

I even suggested that it may have been used in emergency vehicles by somebody that DID that kind of work. I spoke with that person face to face - not via the internet.

What kind of vehicle was the '59 Caddy before they changed it into the Ecto 1?

Good luck on the search.

 

[Java]

More from the ever loving internet:

From a digital point of view, ribbon cable is an ideal way to connect two devices. However, from an analog point of view, these cables are problematical. Around 1980, the FCC discovered that ribbon cables were highly efficient antennas, broadcasting essentially random signals across a wide band of the electromagnetic spectrum. These unintended signals could interfere with domestic TV reception, putting "snow" on the screen. The FCC issued edicts and injunctions to the personal-computer industry, restricting the use of ribbon cables to connect devices together. "Naked" ribbon cable could be used inside the case of a computer or peripheral device, but any ribbon cable connecting two boxes together had to be grounded. This rule led to solutions such as ribbon cables covered by a copper-braid shield, which made it impossible to see or separate the individual connectors. On the Apple II, these cables passed through the holes on the back of the computer that were grounded to the power supply. Eventually, ribbon connectors were replaced, for inter-connect purposes, by a wide profusion of custom-designed round cables with molded connectors.

All you ever wanted to know (or care about): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribbon_cables

 

[Got Maul]

Scott is right - Finding this stuff always comes down to that one person drving and spending HOURS in these junkyard going through history to find pieces produced eons ago. God knows Sean (venkman71) and I put in our time with discovering and sourcing a lot of these pieces close to ten years ago (wow, I can't seriously believe its been that long). This was the last piece that was the bane of our existence , but admittedly didn't put the amount of time as we did other pieces. Its out there, no doubt, ready to be found. I am retired from GB searches but hopefully someone gets out, puts some real leg work into and it discovers it !

 

[roboprop]

Well, I'm pretty convinced that the only way this will be identified is if someone in the right field of electronics chimes in with, "oh yeah, that's a wiring harness found on a XXXX" then bingo...something new to investigate.

 

[Got Maul]

Or just go to the old junkyards that they went to for the movie. That's how sean and I discovered all the stuff...we just retraced their footsteps and oddly enough it made a nice little triangle next to the studios.