25 Thompson Rd, Branford, CT 06405  |  Mon–Fri 8am–5pm 800.243.3161  |  100% Woman-Owned · Est. 1947
Product Category

Curly Cords

UL-listed curly cords for telephone handsets, healthcare equipment, dispatch radios, control panels, and test leads. Retractile by design, manufactured in Branford, CT since 1947.

Overview
What Are Curly Cords Used For?

Curly cords keep a handset, headset, or test lead within reach without leaving slack on the bench. Autac curly cords are built for reliability in demanding communications, control, and testing environments. For industrial and signal cable specified by gauge and conductor count, see coiled cords; for the full UL-listed stock range, see retractile cords.

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Telecommunications

Telephone handset cords, headset cables, and communication panel connections. Multi-conductor designs for signal integrity across voice and data lines.

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Control Panels

Electronic control cords for industrial panels, pendant controls, and operator stations. Available in 2 to 12 conductors for complex control circuits.

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Test Equipment

Auta-Prene test leads for utility meters, multimeters, and field testing. Our proprietary TPE jacketing delivers superior flexibility and durability in all conditions.

Which cord do you need?

Coiled, Curly, or Retractile?

These three names describe the same helical geometry, and the industry uses them interchangeably. Autac splits them by application so you land on the right stock range. Retractile is the term UL uses for the category as a whole.

Also called coil cords

Coiled Cords

Industrial and signal coil cords: shielded multi-conductor cable, miniature cords for instrumentation, and heavy-gauge coiled power cable. Start here for any coil cord specified by gauge, conductor count, or shielding.

See coiled cords →
Phone, headset, and test leads

Curly Cords

Curly cords for telephone handsets, dispatch radios, headsets, control panels, and Auta-Prene test leads. Start here when the cord attaches to a handset, a headset, or a meter.

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The UL term for the whole family

Retractile Cords

UL-listed retractile power cords in TPE, TPR, and PVC, 2 to 10 conductors, with 12 to 48 inch retracted lengths. Start here for the full stock range and custom retractile builds.

See retractile cords →

Why Are Phone Cords Curly?

The curly handset cord is one of the most familiar coiled-cable applications in the world — and the engineering reason behind it is the same reason curly cords are used across industrial, medical, and dispatch environments today. A handset has to reach the user's ear from a base station and return to a compact resting state when not in use. A straight cord either has to be too short to be useful or constantly tangled across the desk. The helical coil solves both problems simultaneously: it extends to several times its retracted length under tension and pulls itself back into place when released.

Curly cords are manufactured by winding straight insulated cable around a heated mandrel, then heat-curing the jacket compound at controlled temperature and time. The cure permanently sets the helix into the molecular structure of the jacket — not as a temporary deformation but as the cable's new resting shape. The same heat-set process Autac has refined since 1947 produces every Autac curly cord, from a 26 AWG telephone handset cord to a multi-conductor dispatch radio cable.

When to Call It a Curly Cord

Curly cord is the term that sticks to a specific picture: a handset tethered to a base, a headset on a dispatch console, a test lead on a utility meter. It is consumer and operator language, and it is the right word when the cord is short, light, and attached to something a person picks up and puts down all day.

The same helical construction goes by other names elsewhere in the industry, and Autac splits its catalog along those lines so you land on the right stock range. If your requirement is specified by wire gauge, conductor count, or shielding, that is a coiled cord. If you are working from a UL product category or need the full stock and custom range, that is a retractile cord, which is the formal term UL uses for the whole family.

Where Curly Cords Are Used Today

Despite the rise of mobile devices, curly handset cords and other curly-cord applications remain critical infrastructure across half a dozen industries. Reliability, signal integrity, and the ability to disinfect or service a fixed cord matter more than mobility in these environments.

Healthcare & Hospitals

Patient room phones, nurse stations, and medical-cart handsets. Antimicrobial PVC jackets meet healthcare cleaning protocols.

Hospitality

Hotel guest-room phones, bell desks, and front-desk operations. Long service life and a familiar user experience for guests of any age.

Call Centers & Operations

Multi-line phone systems, headset cables, and dispatch consoles where 24/7 reliability is non-negotiable.

Emergency Dispatch

911 dispatch handsets, public safety radios, and fire/police/EMS communications. Shielded options block radio interference.

Industrial Control Panels

Pendant controls, hand-held programming terminals, and machine operator stations on the factory floor.

Test & Measurement

Auta-Prene test leads for utility meters, multimeters, and field instruments. Flexes reliably in cold and oily environments.

Government & Federal

Secure facility phones, tactical communications, and federal procurement contracts. WBENC-certified woman-owned supplier.

OEM Custom Builds

Built-to-spec curly cords with custom terminations, jacket colors, and conductor counts for medical, AV, and specialty equipment.

PVC Insulation • PVC Jacket
Communications & Control Cables

Tinned-copper curly cords for telephone handsets, dispatch radios, headsets, and control-panel wiring.

Conductor: Tinned copper Insulation: PVC Jacket: PVC Listing: UL Listed Stock: 2 part numbers
Cat. No. Cond. AWG UL Type Voltage Amps Retracted Lengths Listing
5501 4 18 CMG 300V 5A 2", 4", 6", 8", 10" UL Listed
5510 4 16 CMG 300V 8A 2", 4", 6", 8", 10", 15" UL Listed
PVC Insulation • PVC Jacket
Test Lead Cords

Curly test lead cords for meters, probes, and bench and field test equipment, where the cord has to stretch to the work and pull itself back out of the way.

Conductor: Tinned copper Insulation: PVC Jacket: PVC Listing: UL Recognized Stock: 2 part numbers
Cat. No. Cond. AWG UL Type Voltage Amps Retracted Lengths Listing
6601 2 18 SVT 300V 7A 2", 4", 6" UL Recognized
6610 2 16 SJT 300V 10A 2", 4", 6", 8" UL Recognized

Don't See Your Exact Spec?

We build custom curly cords to order — any gauge, conductor count, length, material, and color.

Build Your Cord →
Frequently Asked
Curly Cord Questions
A curly cord is an electrical or signal cable wound into a helical spring shape that extends under tension and retracts to its compact resting length when released. The helix is permanently heat-set into the cable's jacket compound during manufacturing. Curly cord is the consumer-facing term, most often associated with telephone handset cords and test leads. The same construction is called a coiled cord when specified by gauge and conductor count, and a retractile cord in the formal UL product category.
Phone cords are curly so the handset can be picked up, moved across a desk, and held to the ear without dragging a long straight cable across the work surface. The curly geometry retracts when not in use, keeping the cord out of the way, and extends to several times its retracted length when needed. Without the coil, a phone cord would either be too short to use comfortably or constantly tangled.
Hospitals, call centers, hotels, emergency dispatch centers, manufacturing plants, and government facilities all still rely on curly handset cords because landline phones remain critical infrastructure where reliability matters more than mobility. Beyond phones, curly cords are used for dispatch radio handsets, headset cables, hand-held controllers and pendants on industrial equipment, test leads on utility meters and multimeters, and medical instrumentation.
Curly cord tangles come from the cord being twisted axially over time as the handset is rotated relative to the base. Each rotation adds a fraction of a turn to the cord's underlying twist, and these accumulate until the helix kinks back on itself. The fix is simple: unplug one end, let the cord hang freely, and let it spin out the accumulated twist. A higher-quality cord with a properly cured jacket compound (like Autac's Auta-Prene) holds its coil memory better and resists permanent kinking from years of normal handset rotation.
There is no engineering difference; the helical construction is identical. The words map to different buying contexts, and Autac splits its catalog the same way. Curly cord is the term for handset, headset, and test-lead cords, which is what this page covers. Coiled cord, or coil cord, is the term used when a cable is specified by wire gauge, conductor count, and shielding — that range lives on coiled cords. Retractile cord is the formal UL product category covering the whole family, and retractile cords carries the full stock and custom range.
Yes. Autac builds custom curly cords to specification with no minimum order quantity — common for OEMs sourcing handset cords for medical devices, hospitality phones, dispatch radios, and specialty equipment. You specify conductor count, gauge, voltage rating, retracted length, extension ratio, jacket compound and color, optional shielding, and termination connectors. Quote turnaround is typically one to three business days. Start at Build Your Cord.
PVC is the most common choice for indoor curly cords like phone handsets, control panels, and consumer electronics — cost-effective, flame retardant, and available in standard colors. For curly cords used in environments with chemical exposure, temperature extremes, or heavy mechanical wear (test leads, dispatch handsets, factory pendants), Auta-Prene — Autac's proprietary thermoset rubber compound — delivers superior coil memory, abrasion resistance, and a wide service temperature range.
Standard Autac curly cords use a 1:5 extension ratio: a cord with a 12-inch retracted length extends to 60 inches under tension. Custom ratios from 1:3 (more aggressive retraction, longer resting length) to 1:7 (more reach, gentler retractive force) are available depending on application. Cycle life on a properly specified curly cord exceeds 100,000 extensions in normal service.

Related Resources

Curly Cords Guide → Spiral Phone Cords → Why Phone Cords Tangle → Coil Cable Terminology Guide → Telephone Cord Reference → Phone Extension Cord Guide → Retractile Cords → Coiled Cords → Custom Cord Builder → Conductor Color Charts →
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