AndrewE Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Hi, I recently acquired a set of LED units, consisting of 2 control boxes linked by RJ11 cable to modules that contain one of each colour LED (RGB), which are in turn linked to each other using ribbon cable. The control boxes have an RJ45 DMX input and can have their addresses set using 3 small rotary switches. I'm not in front of them at the moment, so I can't remember the brand name I'm afraid. My question is simple though - is there a ready-made RJ45 to 5 or 3 pin din DMX adaptor, or will I need to make one myself? My skills with a soldering iron are limited, so I wouldn't mind forking out for a ready-made solution! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Are you sure its a DMX input into the control boxes? I have never heard of RJ45 plugs used for DMX (although there is nothing stopping you from doing so). Does it actually say 'DMX input' next to the RJ45 sockets, because DMX uses some flavour of XLR and not RJ45s. The only thing I've ever seen that uses RJ45 plugs and sockets is Ethernet cabling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andystone Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 There are quite a few units that use RJ45 for DMX connection, mostly those geared for the architectural market such as Color Kinetics. As far as I know no-one makes an off the shelf cable, so you will need to develop your soldering skills or get someone to do it for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peternewman Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 I've seen RJ45 used for DMX input, was on something at PLASA, the e:cue Butler modules for a start. Worse still they've got DMX and a network connection both on RJ45. Also I guess you could use the Neutrik IDC punchdown range of connectors (I'm sure they do a 3 pin, and probably a 5 too), unfortunately I think they may be panel mount only, but you could stick one in a tiny project box, then just hack a patch lead in half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 RJ45 is being used by several LED manufacturers, not just for DMX into drivers, but for power out, too. We stock an RJ45 - 3 pin XLR, although I wouldn't recommend buying it, as it's for a specific manufacturer and I'm not sure if any standard RJ45/DMX pin configuration has been evolved. If you make one yourself, you'll need to get an RJ45 crimping tool - they are not soldered connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 If you make one yourself, you'll need to get an RJ45 crimping tool - they are not soldered connectors. The (probably cheaper) alternative would be to get some ethernet patch leads and chop one end off, then solder an XLR on. Besides, Cat5 cable is supposed to be OK for DMX, isn't it? I'd go for that one, merely because I know how fiddly getting all the wires in to an RJ45 when you're crimping it can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Hatchet a RJ45 patch lead, get them in a nice range of colours, and solder a XLR3 to the chopped end. Cut back the unused cores in the cable and tidy up with a bit of heatshrink over outersheath and trimmed ends, tin the wire and the connector and bring the parts together and reflow solder, don`t try and hold iron, solder and wire at same time ;-) Don`t try and hatchet a mic lead and crimp the RJ45 on to it, it don`t work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Allen Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 There are two different ways of wiring cat 5 connectors, straight through and crossover, that is why there are different coloured cables. This link http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.aspx has the colours shown and describes cat 5 cabling. If you use a crossover cable you could get a DMX reversal depending on rj45 socket wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peternewman Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 The colour of cable has nothing to do with whether or not it's a crossover cable. If your lucky the cable type will be marked on the boots, otherwise it's a case of looking at the wiring at each plug. However this is all going rather especially as we're assuming they might pick a logical wiring standard, which seems unlikely given past experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 So in summary: Inspect the device to figure out what kind of strange, never-before-seen pinout they use for the DMX (there is no standard pinout)Buy an RJ45 patch lead (neon pink if you can find it, although black would be ok), snip it in half, and solder on your XLR connector of choice. Optionally, swear because it's phase inverted, and swap the pins over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Inspect the device to figure out what kind of strange, never-before-seen pinout they use for the DMX (there is no standard pinout) Except this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewE Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Thanks for all the replies. The fixture is a D-LED Mini ACE, now that I'm back at work and looking at it. I'll go on the website and see if I can find a pin-out. I was just being lazy and hoping that there was a ready-made solution! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieR Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 We have a similar setup used for a comms port on some of our audio kit. The input is RJ45 and the output fom the PC interface is 3-pin XLR. The communication standard is RS485 which is what DMX is based around. The pin configuration we use for this is as follows... XLR Pin 1 - RJ45 Pin 1XLR Pin 2 - RJ45 Pins 3 and 6XLR Pin 3 - RJ45 Pins 4 and 5 Now, I don't know if this is correct for your application but it may be close. Contact the manufacturer first to confirm. I made up my own adaptors using a piece of off-the-shelf ethernet cable with one end snipped off and an XLR soldered on. Technically, cat5 cable is the wrong spec for the job (needs to be an RS485 type cable) but should work in most circumstances so long as the run is not too long. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDODD Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 It's okay folks - I'm the (UK) manufacturer and have have spoken to the Op to resolve the cable issue. FYI - this system is 3-pin XLR-RJ11 DMX conversion.RJ11 on the driver, as it's very small and niether RJ45, nor XLR chassis-mount sockets would fit. We also have the ability to software program preset scenes if anyone has this requirement? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Except this one?Thanks for that!I've read at least four different pinouts for DMX over Cat5 cable which is why I suggested checking first - there's no way of knowing which version of ANSI E1.11-2004 they built it to, assuming they even read that part of the standard. And since we now find out that it's an RJ11 to make it even tinier, there is definately not a standard for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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