Ghostbusters 1 - ribbon cable question

[Java]

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.

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?

Are you not reading this thread?

It's not a wiring harness. It's rainbow ribbon cable, looks to be about 14 gauge wire. There are literally hundreds of uses for this stuff. These larger wire gauges are used for higher current applications (like automotive). Typical computing and electronics have lower current requirements, so the likelihood of this ribbon cable being used in any modern day electronics are slim. The "terminal" there is clearly a scratch built piece of aluminum to custom fit the "cyclotron" and clamp the ends of the ribbon cable down.

Like Jose said - prop guys are scavengers and they likely didn't search high and low for specific items. They used what was readily available and close by.

 

[TheGreenMachine]

Are you not reading this thread?

It's not a wiring harness. It's rainbow ribbon cable, looks to be about 14 gauge wire. There are literally hundreds of uses for this stuff. These larger wire gauges are used for higher current applications (like automotive). Typical computing and electronics have lower current requirements, so the likelihood of this ribbon cable being used in any modern day electronics are slim. The "terminal" there is clearly a scratch built piece of aluminum to custom fit the "cyclotron" and clamp the ends of the ribbon cable down.

Like Jose said - prop guys are scavengers and they likely didn't search high and low for specific items. They used what was readily available and close by.

FYI "wiring harness" is a pretty generic term. It generally describes some sort of cable comprising a wire or wires with connectors connecting one of more components. A wiring harness could use a ribbon cable or cables as well as discrete wires.

I don't think anyone believes that this cable/wire will be found in some modern application so I'm not sure why the point that it won't keeps being made. That's not in contention here. So please, let's move past that.

I think the point Roboprop has been trying to make is that while this type of cable might have been a found item in a scrapyard over 30 years ago, these places have been checked and are still being checked today and the cable has not turned up. People know where the original prop people looked for items and these places have been checked. People are still trying. So constantly insisting that people do is beating the proverbial dead horse.

Further I think Roboprop wants to know what applications/fields this cable/wire/whatever were used in +20 years ago so people can try and do a more focused search in those specific areas.

Specific example. I had a friend that worked in a shop that machined aluminum parts for high end laser optics applications. He saw the spectrastrip on my proton pack and the next time I saw him he had a shopping bag full of old various length and width spectra scrip cables that they had phased out years earlier and had just been sitting around in a back room.

Thanks for the suggestion on checking the ambulances JM. Unfortunately as far as I know none of the Ecto guys have turned up this cable. Not even the guys with the correct model and year Miller Meteor combo.

- TGM

 

[Java]

I don't think anyone believes that this cable/wire will be found in some modern application so I'm not sure why the point that it won't keeps being made. That's not in contention here. So please, let's move past that.

I brought it up for the exact purpose you are stating. If there are people reading this without the in depth knowledge that the GB centric prop fan has, it is worth stating. If there are people who think looking in an electronics part catalog will provide the answer, they'd need to know it won't. Roboprop brought this to the RPF which is not specifically known for it's Ghostbusters prop savvy (see the banner head )

Further I think Roboprop wants to know what applications/fields this cable/wire/whatever were used in +20 years ago so people can try and do a more focused search in those specific areas.

The applications for this type of wiring is vast. Think of an industry.....

But it begs the question - why hasn't anybody ever come forward in 25 years?

Could it be that coincidentally around 1980 (GB was made in early 80s) the FCC discovered ribbon cables were highly efficient antennas, broadcasting essentially random signals across a wide band of the electromagnetic spectrum and they issued edicts and injunctions to the personal-computer industry, restricting the use of ribbon cables to connect devices together.

This type of cable is likely extinct. Killed by the digital age.

It might be prudent to check ALL old emergency vehicles and aircraft, Medical devices, and industrial equipment.

Chances are slim that somebody will just walk up and hand this stuff to you ("you" in general, not specifically "you" TGM, or even Roboprop).

So constantly insisting that people do is beating the proverbial dead horse.

As the response to this thread has been overwhelming thus far, I will take your advice. Happy Hunting.

 

[TheGreenMachine]

My apologies. Good point on the RPF user base. "Common knowledge" is only common in certain prop circles.

Well for what it is worth I agree that people aren't going to be finding this stuff anywhere in any usable quantities. Like we said it likely couldn't be found for Ghostbusters 2.

I guess I'm just hoping desperately we(the GB community) could get some small piece as a sample to shop around to a equivalent made.

- TGM

 

[dr_slurpee]

When I did my research years ago I had shopped around to some cable manufactures with diagrams of what was needed. They either said they couldn't/wouldn't do it or that many multiples of thousands of feet would have to be made, at prices that I imagine most people here couldn't afford on thier best days. You don't need a sample to have some made, just diagrams/schematics...if anyone wants to sink $100K into it then that'd be awesome!

 

[exoray]

Further I think Roboprop wants to know what applications/fields this cable/wire/whatever were used in +20 years ago so people can try and do a more focused search in those specific areas.

In my professional opinion it's a vintage analog communications or data cable... The cable design, layout and color pattern suggest this...

I doubt it's a generic wiring harness it was probably a proprietary application, and as I said for communications or data, not something like an automotive wiring harness that simply carried power...

My guess since many of the parts on the pack were surplus pneumatic parts is that it came from some sort of industrial or even commercial pneumatic application... Probably a logic cable that opened and closed pneumatic valves systems... It could have been a small or big machine in a factory on an assembly line or even part of a pneumatic system on say a plane or other type of vehicle...