Mixing mic and DMX cable

[JCC1996]

Hi,

 

Simple question this time and I suspect I know the answer already. I know that its generally alright to use standard mic cable instead of DMX cable in a small rig, but will using a mixture of both cause any issues?

 

Cheers,

 

Joe

[Ken Coker]

The question you might want to ask yourself is: if it's OK why do people make DMX cable?

 

KC

[adam2]

Mic cable is not the correct material to use for DMX, though in practice it is usually fine, used alone or mixed with proper DMX cable.

 

 

 

 

Would I use mic cable for DMX in a low budget am-dram venue ? yes I would, reluctantly.

 

Would I do the same thing for a high profile corporate event ? no way ! use the correct material when reputation is at stake. It is not that expensive.

 

 

 

[JCC1996]

I'm aware of the debate regarding DMX and mic cable, but in the context of this small, low budget production I am happy that mic cable (of which I have plenty available) will do the job. I know that it is not ideal, however, need must and I simply don't have the budget to hire in all the DMX cable I would need. There is a small amount of DMX cable included in part of our hire, hence my question: will using a mixture of mic and DMX cable cause issues?

[Oldradiohand]

Shouldn't be a problem - used to send AES/EBU down 50 to 100 m of mic cable and it runs a bit faster than DMX. Try to use the mic cable for the shorter runs and avoid star quad - it's got too much capacitance. Proper termination will help when using non optimal cable too.

[JCC1996]

I'll make sure to terminate and I hadn't thought about the cable length, so thanks very much :)

[Jivemaster]

I know someone who successfully took DMX to a stand top then simply fanned it to all the lights using twin flex. It worked! BUT for a proper job there is proper cable. Twin flex may work for 500mm but when you want rock steady performance over 100m - 500m then it's properly terminated DMX cable all the way, (and for me it's genuine Neutrik brand XLRs and the correct mix of three and five pin for the job -no spurious adaptors).

 

Is it worth dumping your reputation for the saving on some cheap leads?

 

Yes I know the standard for DMX specifies five pin but with the amount of disco kit around there is probably more three pin kit than five.

 

Can you use an active DMX splitter? Then you can go as far as you can in proper cable and isolate that lot by splitting off the next microphone leads with the splitter. The any fault in the mic cable shouldn't afflict the rest of the lines.

[djw1981]

I'm aware of the debate regarding DMX and mic cable, but in the context of this small, low budget production I am happy that mic cable (of which I have plenty available) will do the job. I know that it is not ideal, however, need must and I simply don't have the budget to hire in all the DMX cable I would need. There is a small amount of DMX cable included in part of our hire, hence my question: will using a mixture of mic and DMX cable cause issues?

Speak to your hire company.

 

In the past, when on a budget, which they knew about, I have been pleasantly surprised that the invoice sometimes has the total at the bottom which is less than the sum of the parts....