Phase Reverse Adapters

[JLEvents]

Sorry if this is a stupid question but is there a difference between a male to female adapter and a female to male adapter?

If I'm going out of a normal DMX fixture into an old martin fixture then I use a male to female phase reverse adapter, when I go out of the Martin back into a normal fixture does it have to be a female to male adapter or will a male to female adapter (turned around) do the exact same job?

Maybe it's late and I'm gettin tired I just couldn't figure out the difference.

:)

[ddproduction]

It's just swapping pins 2 and 3 - wont make a difference which way around it is.

[JLEvents]

That's what I thought, just wondering why some shops are selling make to female and vice versa

[PaulDF]

They aren't 5 to 3 pins are they?

[JLEvents]

No just 3 - 3 pin

[paulears]

You're having a laugh aren't you? A Male to female is exactly the same as a female to male! As in you stick it on the end of a cable - either end, and the gender at that end doesn't change once it's on. The only difference is which word they put first!

[Just Some Bloke]

I think you are talking about a male to female lead rather than adaptor. It's the phase reverse element that is changing not the pin to socket connection. A male-female adaptor would be used when you had a cable ending in a male XLR that you needed to plug into another male XLR. Obviously this can't be done so you'd get an adaptor with 2 female XLRs on it so that you would plug your male XLR into the adaptor then the other end would plug into the other male XLR (on the moving head, for example). In fact it's unlikely you're going to need one of these in lighting (they're much more common in sound). You're more likely to need a 3-5pin adaptor or a 5-3pin adaptor. Or, as in this case, a phase reverse lead with male on one end, female on the other end and pins 2 and 3 swapped. There's a big difference between a male - female adaptor and a male to female lead with pins 2 and 3 swapped.

[paulears]

We are talking about these things, aren't we?

http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/CN12212-40.jpg

male to female with pins 2 and 3 swapped internally.

 

You can get the same housing with the pin 1 ground lifted - for hum reduction, and getting them the right way around only applies when using the very similar 3 to 5 pin versions with 1-2, 2-2,3-3 wiring used for DMX conversion - these come in two variations M5 to F3 and M3 to F5. Cable versions are just as common - but the short barrel types are convenient for many purposes, and don't get mixed up with 'normal' cables - it's damn annoying to get to the microphone and discover it has a 5 pin socket on it!

[LXbydesign]

I don't like those all in one adapters as they are quite weighty if u need to for whatever reason stick one into a fixture on a facility panel.

 

Paul's comment about plugging a mic in - in a hurry - usual last minute dot com-and then seeing a 5 pin connector on the other end makes me see red as well.

 

What I did during a quiet afternoon is make up a few jumpers of varying sorts using purple cable and 30cm lengths.result- no more confusion :-)

[Jivemaster]

Apparently there was a convention at the BBC to have reversed patch leads in Yellow.

 

There is something to be said for splitting a universe and reversing one output, sending DMX down one line and reverse DMX down another line. OR wiring all the DMX in order, then fitting a crossover lead then running on to a terminator.

[LXbydesign]

Apparently there was a convention at the BBC to have reversed patch leads in Yellow.

 

There is something to be said for splitting a universe and reversing one output, sending DMX down one line and reverse DMX down another line. OR wiring all the DMX in order, then fitting a crossover lead then running on to a terminator.

 

 

I did think about yellow!! However, thought purple might be more discrete if its up in the rig.

[JLEvents]

We are talking about these things, aren't we?

http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/CN12212-40.jpg

male to female with pins 2 and 3 swapped internally.

 

You can get the same housing with the pin 1 ground lifted - for hum reduction, and getting them the right way around only applies when using the very similar 3 to 5 pin versions with 1-2, 2-2,3-3 wiring used for DMX conversion - these come in two variations M5 to F3 and M3 to F5. Cable versions are just as common - but the short barrel types are convenient for many purposes, and don't get mixed up with 'normal' cables - it's damn annoying to get to the microphone and discover it has a 5 pin socket on it!

 

Yes these are the ones, looked around a few places online.

Glad I'm not goin stupid anyway :)

[Jivemaster]

The solid inline adaptors are best used in a cable run, not on an appliance inlet or outlet as the leverage that can (accidentally ) applied is easily sufficient to destroy the lantern's connector or PCB.

 

When sending DMX down mixed disco kit I would run the cable to the 5pin stuff first, then convert to 3pin and feed all the 3pin units. Only one converter so fewest connections on the DMX line. -It was always connectors that failed me never the cable.

[PaulDF]

Some of the martin fixtures have a pair of jumpers which can be altered internally to change the polarity of the fixture so it works with a normal DMX polarity signal.

[JLEvents]

Thanks for the replies, I do have a couple of five pin fixtures would the rule of wiring them first still apply if the USB DMX adapter I was using is 3 pin?

 

As far as I know the roboscan 812s don't have the jumper inside unless someone can tell me otherwise? I e never noticed it and I don't think it's in the manual.

 

Cheers