18 Core 1.5mm^2 Cable - Where from?

[ChrisD]

I'm looking at getting hold of some Lectriflex cable to go with my brand spanking new dimmer rack (when I get it). From experience, is it cheaper to buy the connectors and cable, or buy premade stuff. I've been searching around and the kind of stuff I've been digging up is about £95 for 50m from farnell, PSLX were doing 100m for £130 odd excluding connectors in both cases.

 

If anyone knows where to get some lectriflex second hand or new, or the components for making it fairly cheaply, it would be much appreciated.

 

Oh, and if I've missed a topic about this before, please feel free to moderate me :)

[Mr.Si]

For the purposes of 18 Core cable, try some general electrical wholesalers such as:

 

 

AC Electrical (not AC Lighting) - unsure of a URL for this company, but they're UK wide

 

Kew Electrical Distributors - http://www.kewelectrical.co.uk/home.htm

 

City Electrical Factors (CEF) - http://www.cef.co.uk/

 

 

Being wholesalers etc, you can do a deal with them esp since you're interested in a lot of cable.

 

 

For the connectors, I'm not sure, but VDC Trading do new connectors for lighting.

 

For second hand stuff, try Used Lighting or someone like that.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Moderators, I'm sorry if my posting of company names violates any of the forum rules.

[Brian]

Or buy them ready made from Thomann

[ChrisD]

Cheers Mr.Si and Brian. I'll probably go for Thomann as that's where I think I'll get my dimmer from (behringer jobby, it's been discussed in lighting recently iirc). Has anyone bought Lectriflex from Thomann recently? What's the quality like?

[Ian Ferguson]

For the purposes of 18 Core cable, try some general electrical wholesalers such as:

 

 

AC Electrical (not AC Lighting) - unsure of a URL for this company, but they're UK wide

 

For the connectors, I'm not sure, but VDC Trading do new connectors for lighting.

 

For second hand stuff, try Used Lighting or someone like that.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Why not try AC Lighting, we have the cable, connectors and sell them second hand, contact me off forum for pricing

[Mr.Si]

Why not try AC Lighting, we have the cable, connectors and sell them second hand, contact me off forum for pricing

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

[Partially off topic]

Hi Ian, Sorry, I didn't know if you actually did the cable persay, because I'd have recommended your company as well otherwise. I just made the distinction between AC lighting and AC Electrical Wholesale just in case confusion arose.But not that it really matters anymore! because you do it!

[/Partially off topic]

 

Anyway, hope you get it sorted Chris.

 

I'd have to say, AC lighting would be a v. good company for all your future and current lighting needs, so if thomann are not good, then use AC (lighting) instead.

 

Ta, Si

[ChrisD]

Not to get at AC or anything but...

 

I've found Thomann to be satisfactory for my needs in the past (albeit only 2 piddly strobes ) and AC have a tendency to be expensive, but I hope my fears are dispelled after I speak to Ian.

 

Cheers for your help guys

[bob_lamb]

the cable you are looking for is YY type. the cores are all black and are numbered. UK cables which is owned by edmundson electrical stock it

[Dave]

Just to go back to the first question. Historically, with cabling, "make" has been cheaper than "buy", as there is a labour element in the price of a ready-made lead. But you then have to factor in the value of your time to make the things. If it's free then you have a distinct advantage. Also consider the "hassle" (I have to psych myself up before making cables, it's such a tedious and boring task), your skill level, tooling, and the testing and H&S issues.

 

It's worth checking things out carefully, as in some cases you may find cable suppliers offering ready-made leads for prices that are similar to, even less than, the price of the parts. This is more likely to be the situation with simple audio cables that don't take much time to make.

 

But things have changed quite a lot with the growth in asian manufacturing. You can get imported cables for less than the cost of the parts, and in most cases the quality is perfectly satisfactory. We used to get a fair amount of business making audio multis for clients, but that's virtually dried up now as they can buy a Chinese one for half the price. Globalisation is a wonderful thing ;)

 

I don't know where Thomann's leci's are made, but certainly they are cheaper than you could buy the bits for.

 

Not to get at AC or anything but... I've found Thomann to be satisfactory for my needs in the past (albeit only 2 piddly strobes ;) ) and AC have a tendency to be expensive, but I hope my fears are dispelled after I speak to Ian.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With respect, and our only connection with AC Lighting is as a satisfied customer, I would never call them expensive. Their pricing (including on cable) is nearly always very competitive, and the stock availability and customer service are very good.

 

the cable you are looking for is YY type. the cores are all black and are numbered. UK cables which is owned by edmundson electrical stock it

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Note that most YY cable has a grey outer sheath, whereas you may prefer a black sheath. This is harder to find. You can also get the cable with colour coded cores - some people prefer this to numbered ones.

 

Two other sources worth mentioning: Lapp (http://www.lapplimited.co.uk/) do both the cable and connectors. I've used them for quite a lot of cable in the past, but more recently they have been expensive when I've asked for quotes. Batt Cables (http://www.batt.co.uk/) are also worth a try.

 

VDC Trading as previously mentioned do both the cable (their own design specially for lx applications) and connectors, as well as ready made leads. If you can persuade them to give you trade pricing, their prices are good although probably not as cheap as Thomann.

 

Finally, although this is a debatable point, do consider now if you really want to use leci multis. They seem to be less and less popular these days, and if compatibility with other people's kit is important to you, I'd suggest going down the socapex road.