computer Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 hi, looking for reccomendation on 2 cables from either Farnell UK or Rapid. 1) needs to be suitable for DMX. needs to be quite rugged and cheap to buy about 100m 2) needs to be 8 core, suitable for analogue control, again, rugged and need 100m or so. product links/order codes would be great :** laughs out loud **: thanks,computer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomLyall Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 well... DMX works over cat5, if you could find some heavy duty stuff then you might be able to use two lines of that, you could even run four universes of DMX. although there is still some debate over the suitablity of cat5 for DMX Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 although there is still some debate over the suitablity of cat5 for DMXNo debate about it, it works. The problem is using CAT5 for a flexible cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peternewman Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Hi, The problem is using CAT5 for a flexible cable.The flexible cable designed just for patch cables is reasonably flexible, (about the same as 1.5mm artic). The problem I have found is getting it in any great quantities. So far the best I have managed is getting long patch cables and cutting them down to make shorter ones - I've never tried using cat5 for DMX. The patch cables want to be stranded (copper?) cores, not solid cores like installation cable is. HTH PN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
computer Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 yeah well this is just for moving around mobile use, so its going to get a bit stamped on, twisted, streched, etc like my equipment usually gets handled by certain people! but yeah, need 4x 25m analogue cables and 2x 25m DMXs with 10x5m DMX cables too, so I need ~100m of each type. Black is the best colour btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
computer Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 I mean, whats used in normal bought cables? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcT Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 although there is still some debate over the suitablity of cat5 for DMXNo debate about it, it works. The problem is using CAT5 for a flexible cable. That's for installations, where the CAT5 cable would be inside metal conduit or trunking, limiting emitted radio interference. The DMX standard calls for a screened cable, CAT5 UTP is unscreened.I personally don't think its wise to use CAT5 patch cable for DMX fly-leads. There's a DMX friendly cable selector below (as well as a lot of other good DMX technical info) DMX Physicals The real answer is that any cable designed for RS485 communication is suitable. You only need one pair and a screen for DMX. Regards,Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomLyall Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 The DMX standard calls for a screened cable, CAT5 UTP is unscreened.I personally don't think its wise to use CAT5 patch cable for DMX fly-leads.you can get sheilded cat5, called FTP [edit: removed stupid mistake] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 The definitive answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 The main issue as I see it is not electrical, but physical - CAT5 in its many varieties is not tough enough for stage use. Canford Audio doe a couple of versions of data cable that have worked well for me - although it is a rather unique turquoise colour. One is installation type, quite rigid and thin, the other is normal 6.5mm diameter and fits well into XLR's. Although I found the colour annoying at first - there is no mistaking the DMX in a large pile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcT Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 2) needs to be 8 core, suitable for analogue control, again, rugged and need 100m or so. A while back I bought some from RS - part number 362-932. You may be able to get it cheaper elsewhere, but I needed it in a hurry. Analogue control cable doesn't need to be screened. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolution_Mark Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 The main issue as I see it is not electrical, but physical - CAT5 in its many varieties is not tough enough for stage use. Canford Audio doe a couple of versions of data cable that have worked well for me - although it is a rather unique turquoise colour. One is installation type, quite rigid and thin, the other is normal 6.5mm diameter and fits well into XLR's. Although I found the colour annoying at first - there is no mistaking the DMX in a large pile!DMX We have the same turquoise cable, has worked for 2 years in small to medioum rigs, never tried it with larger ones. You could always try using mic cable (hehe). Not recommended, as it can be unpredictable, but Halo's entire stock of DMX is mic cable, never had too much trouble with it. Proplex from TMB (www.tmb.com) is the proper stuff to use, and coils well, but is indeed very expensive. I think your making a mistake trying to combine DMX and analogue (re the original post), or did I get that wrong. For cheap multicore for analogue, look in CPC. Or for professional made cable, (for those that can't spent the time to make up 8-pin DIN) goto some where like Lightfactor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomLyall Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 anyone got a part number for that turquoise cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
computer Posted April 8, 2004 Author Share Posted April 8, 2004 I don't want to mix them, I need a set of cables for my 4 way analogue minipaks and I need DMX for my various other lighting stuff.... so I need to have two different makes of cable listed, one 3 core for DMX only, and another type of cable suitable for carrying 8 core analogue... get it :** laughs out loud **:? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 VDC do both types of lead ready-made and would probably sell you the cable on its own too. They are at VDC ...though interestingly they say they use OFC mic cable which is "ideally suited to DMX". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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