whitehousejamie Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Have tried searching, no luck. Kind of both sound and lighting related, so thought I'd put in in this section. Can DMX cabling be used for audio? I have a very large stock of DMX cabling, and only a small number of audio cables, but have a job where I need more. I know using mic cable for DMX causes problems, does it cause problems the other way round? Thanks in advance. Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Like most things - if the DMX cable is decent, and has the correct number of pins - it will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitehousejamie Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 Thanks for that. Cables are 3 pin, VDC cable and Neutriks. Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 The reason you shouldn't use mic cable for DMX runs is due to the characteristic impedance of the cable and the high frequency nature of the DMX signal. DMX is designed to work at a certain impedance, and if that impedance is not continuous, or the link is not terminated then reflections of signal can occur. Audio signals are a lot lower in frequency and so over short to medium distances are not affected by this phenomenon. So using DMX cable will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norty303 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 That said, good quality (and even poor quality) mic leads can and do work fine in a lot of circumstances. I know of many lighting people that use exclusively mic cable as it prevents having to carry lots of specific stock. To be fair, even a lot of the 'DMX' cable used these days doesn't meet the specified impedance for the DMX standard. Even some ready made DMX cables I've bought have had 'High Quality Microphone Cable' printed on the jacket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 And some (most in fact) mic cables have the XLR shells connected to the screen pin. This is forbidden in DMX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 None of mine do - this includes high quality and cheap ones - the only ones I found that did have were ones fitted with switchcraft stlye ones. Are there any branded ones on sale with grounded shells? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 No idea myself, though I have a few that have arrived free with mic packages etc from wholesalers. (I've snipped them as I do use them for DMX in the workshop). Although I know the Neutrik & Deltron XLR's dont automatically ground the shell by design, the ones I've seen have had a small amount of fuse wire soldered from the screen to the shell tag or the screen braid deliberately soldered across the two. This has, in one case, lead to DMX signals crashing through hum loops between fixtures when using such mic leads. I guess it's more common in nightclub/DJ circles than the pro stage & TV scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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