I'm really liking using a coiled cable to connect my boom pole to my mixer:

Remote Audio CAXJCOIL Coiled XLR Jumper Cable CAXJCOIL B&H Photo

But this cable is designed for use with internally-cabled boompoles, with the right angle adapter at the end. I've been jury-rigging it up by velcro-ing that right angle connector to a straight XLR cable at the middle of the boom pole, but I think I'd be happier plugging it into an internally cabled boompole, so that I didn't have to keep adjusting the velcro as I extend or shorten the boom pole.

It looks like my Gitzo GB1540 boom pole:

Gitzo 1540 - Four-Section Carbon Fiber Boompole GB1540 B&H Photo

has holes at both ends for internal cabling, but it would have to be extremely small diameter wire (if coiled inside the boom pole) because of the skinny end segments on the GB1540.

Any suggestions as far as how to internally wire this puppy? It seems like there's just not enough room for a coiled cable in there, and a straight cable would get pushed out the end when the boom pole is in the short unextended configuration. But please prove me wrong!

This is super layman's opinion, so take it for what it is.

A few years ago Rode came out with their first boom pole. It had the holes in each end to string a cable through.

I know a guy who is good with electronics/soldering/all the crap I'm not, so I had him TRY to internally wire it.

We could not get it to work.

Any cable he put in there bunched up when you tried to collapse it. He tried, straight, tried coiled, wasn't happening.

Came to the conclusion (maybe someone who knows can verify/debunk) that that there must be another set of "shafts" inside a "real" internally cabled pole that keep everything straight as you expand/collapse the pole, otherwise everything gets tangled. No idea if this is true or not, but long story short, we found it impossible to run a cable through in such a way that it would expand/collapse smoothly without tangling/bunching.

In the end, you just have to coil the excess when the pole's collapsed, and be careful when expanding it to feed the cable through and not strain it.

I guess that's why the "real" internally cabled poles are pricier.

PS if you get this to work, let me know how, 'cause I came into possession of another pole with holes and I wouldn't mind trying again.

Yep, I think you are right that the only way there is any hope of this working is to feed the cable out of the pole when in the unextended position, and feed it in to extend.

So that raises question of what do do with the extra cable hanging off the end? Perhaps wrapping it around the boompole handle would keep it neat.

You mean when the pole is collapsed? I would coil it over/under style and then use some kind of tie to tie the coiled cable to the pole. But you want to try never to strain the cable at either end. Mine has enough so that even when fully extended, theres about ten feet hanging off the end, so the end of the cable can lay on the floor instead of being pulled on.

Josh: Good call. I may well do just that. But what did you mean:

theres about ten feet hanging off the end, so the end of the cable can lay on the floor instead of being pulled on.

How does ten feet of cable laying on the floor stop pulling?

Maybe I didn't explain well. My fault.


Let's say you have the boom on a C stand, and only about a foot hanging out the back end. When you connect your other XLR cable to it to go to your camera/recording device, if it's hanging straight down, now you've got something pulling on the internal cable.

In the "real" internally cabled poles, that XLR connector is buried INSIDE the base of the pole, so there's nothing to strain.

If, on the other hand, with your self-wired, internally cabled pole, you've got enough internal cable so that it hangs out the back end all the way to the floor, that acts as strain relief, since additional cable will be connected at the floor and not up in the air. The additional cable won't be pulling on your internal cable. So it's not really ten feet laying on the floor; the ten feet is to get you to the floor, with a few feet left over.

It's all personal preference. It just seems that that cable is already going to get abused from being fed through during expansion and collapse, and putting additional strain on it by pulling on it while bending it where it comes out of the pole (the way you would if you just have a short piece hanging off the end, up in the air, being pulled on by another XLR cable) seems like a bad idea.

Aha, I gotcha. I don't usually put the boom on a stand; I have a boom stand for that purpose if needed. I was thinking of making the cable just long enough that no extra cable sticks out when fully extended. That way I could velcro the XLR connector to the end of the boom and not cause any strain.