Gooseneck wire - does anypne know a supplier?

I am looking for a source of goose-neck "wire" - the kind of stuff used on these cheap usb lamps etc - it can be bent and holds its shape, and is fairly rigid.

I have been buying some cheap lamps, usb connectors and the like from the £1 shop, and cobbling the wire together as best I can to test the concept

- the standard OD seems to be 5mm, and its rigid enough for antennas - both pitch and loop.. I want to buy some lengths, at least 60cm but ideally longer.

But I cannot find a supplier willing to sell me the stuff - the Chinese suppliers I have contacted want to sell me bespoke made-up leads, and ask for technical diagrams etc..

Somebody must sell this stuff 'raw' - I think it could be great to have antennas you could just bundle up - and it would also make shipping new theremins a lot easier..

Anyone who can advise me - I would be most grateful.. Im sure I must be looking in the wrong place - perhaps some brewery supplier or something else I dont use has this on a shelf a few miles from me if I knew where to look.

Or perhaps it has a specific name which, if I used in my searches, would give results..

Fred.

Haven't bought from any of them but:

http://tubing.flexible-gooseneck.com/viewitems/all-categories/flexible-metal-tubing-2?

http://www.stayput-tubing.com/

http://www.leflexo.com/

http://www.flexible-arm.com/product_Flexible_gooseneck_tube_20.html

Something tells me tearing Chinese stuff apart will be more exasperating & less ideal but way less expensive.

"Something tells me tearing Chinese stuff apart will be more exasperating & less ideal but way less expensive." - Dewster

Yeah - its a real pain though, and so bloody wasteful! ... Four LED lamps cost £4 and are enough to construct one antenna.. The antennas are fine, I put metal pins to link the sections, and pins in the ends which go into banana plugs (2 for the volume loop, one for the pitch), before the plugs are connected I also bond the links, then stretch silicon tubing over the whole length to hide the bodges..

So about £6 per antenna in parts, a bag full of useless leftovers, and a lot of work- Ok for proof of concept- but even here there's a problem.. When the shop sells out, will I be able to get more- or will I need to but these lamps at the £5 I see them being sold for on Ebay?

There is a major dearth of availability on stuff like this - All sorts of mechanical bits and pieces that I could have used in many products which have gone into production- things like catches and tubes and windows for displays, but the hassle first trying to locate a supplier, then trying to buy small quantities or get samples, and then trying to procure a supply chain if the item does go into production, forces one to use stuff one can actually buy even if not ideal.

Its so damn stupid! - An example was some elastic conductive cloth - I got samples of every material I could, found one which seemed ideal (but was the most expensive), but the sample was 1cmx1cm and to evaluate the idea I needed at least 10cmx20cm - Contacted the manufacturer to buy 10cmx20cm for evaluation, but they wouldn't supply less than 1mtr length costing about £300, despite me explaining the situation.

Why cant these people understand that if they want their product incorporated into new products, they need to make it easy for developers to get their stuff ?! - They dont need to give it away - I will gladly buy 10mtr of goosneck tube for say £20, but cant buy 1000mtrs for say £500!

Fred.

BTW, leflexo is my only remaining hope - thanks for the links though ;-)

"Something tells me tearing Chinese stuff apart will be more exasperating & less ideal but way less expensive." - Dewster

Yeah - its a real pain though, and so bloody wasteful! ... Four LED lamps cost £4 and are enough to construct one antenna.. The antennas are fine, I put metal pins to link the sections, and pins in the ends which go into banana plugs (2 for the volume loop, one for the pitch), before the plugs are connected I also bond the links, then stretch silicon tubing over the whole length to hide the bodges..

So about £6 per antenna in parts, a bag full of useless leftovers, and a lot of work- Ok for proof of concept- but even here there's a problem.. When the shop sells out, will I be able to get more- or will I need to but these lamps at the £5 I see them being sold for on Ebay?

There is a major dearth of availability on stuff like this - All sorts of mechanical bits and pieces that I could have used in many products which have gone into production- things like catches and tubes and windows for displays, but the hassle first trying to locate a supplier, then trying to buy small quantities or get samples, and then trying to procure a supply chain if the item does go into production, forces one to use stuff one can actually buy even if not ideal.

Its so damn stupid! - An example was some elastic conductive cloth - I got samples of every material I could, found one which seemed ideal (but was the most expensive), but the sample was 1cmx1cm and to evaluate the idea I needed at least 10cmx20cm - Contacted the manufacturer to buy 10cmx20cm for evaluation, but they wouldn't supply less than 1mtr length costing about £300, despite me explaining the situation.

Why cant these people understand that if they want their product incorporated into new products, they need to make it easy for developers to get their stuff ?! - They dont need to give it away - I will gladly buy 10mtr of goosneck tube for say £20, but cant buy 1000mtrs for say £500!

Fred.

BTW, leflexo is my only remaining hope - thanks for the links though ;-)

 Found this interesting did you ever resolve a source of stay put tubing-I'm having the same problems a you had then.

I'd be grateful if you could advise.

Horatio