Socapex Connectors

[ocfe]

I'm going to need to purchase some Socapex connectors soon.

There are a number of Socapex connectors on the market, the original Amphenol Socapex branded connectors and other brands which seem to offer compatibility.

What are the Blue Room's views on which to go for and any pro's / cons of the various brands?

[indyld]

When it comes to terminating, the various models and brands I've come across are much of a muchness each with of their own peculiarities.

 

One thing I've noticed is that while the crimp termination seems more robust, it does make it harder to re-use, swap parts between connectors etc. if you don't have the right crimping gear to hand. Conversely, one can usually rustle up a soldering iron wherever you are and when to comes to keeping cables in service it is often the case of going to the Soca parts bin and scavenging bits and pieces to make a good connector when a part wears out. Similarly, re-making cables after they get trashed or conductors break is generally easier without having to deal with an all-crimped connector.

 

I guess the above considerations really depend on the final life and use of the resulting cables.

 

Some connectors suffer from spinning inserts more than others but this is not really a brand thing, just a result of how the connector is designed.

 

I would just accept that they are reasonably expensive and avoid really cheap brands, mostly because of the chance of inferior materials which have a higher risk of stuff like the threads wearing and stripping - leaving you with something useless that needs completely replacing.

[numberwrong]

Depending on your usage waterproof soca may be a consideration even if its just the fan-outs

 

More and more gigs use using outdoor lighting these days