Adaptors

[leemr]

Hi all,

 

A while ago, I built up a load of adaptors for both sound and DMX. Unfortunately, they were involved in a rather catastrophic incident a few years ago, where they melted.

 

I'm in a position where I'm starting to feel that it would be useful to build my stock of special cables back up and I wondered if you could look over my list and see if you have any comments.

 

I'm thinking of building the following:

- 4 off 1/4" phono to convertcon

- 4 off m-f earth lift cables

- 2 off m-f phase change cables

- 4 off "spiders" (m-m-f-f)

 

- 2 off 3-5 pin DMX

- 2 off 5-3 pin DMX

- 1 off DMX combiner (M5-F5-M5 with one male wired to pins 2&3 and the other wired to pins 4&5)

- 1 off DMX splitter (the opposite of above)

- 2 off DMX terminator

- 1 off DMX tester

 

I intend to use coloured boots to denote function:

- black for normal audio signals

- green for earth lift

- red for phase change

- blue for DMX, with a yellow ring for 3 pin and green ring for 5 pin (these mimic resistor colour codes).

 

I also have various 3.5mm jack leads to XLR and 1/4" jack; and similar with 1/4" jack to XLR and 1/4" jack.

[Simon Lewis]

Welcome to Blue Room!

 

Your list looks to be quite thorough and well considered.... although quite obviously you probably only need the adaptors for situations you are likely to encounter... !

 

The only thing I'd suggest is whether some of them might be better as premade barrels rather than cable assemblies? I know there's arguments either way, but I find a case full of adaptors in a divided flight case a lot easier to manage than a large selection of cable versions?

[MarkPAman]

Another cable to add maybe an audio lead to take headphone out (3.5mm stereo) from a phone, with a body that's narrow enough to avoid the need to remove the phone from its case. I've never found any really narrow rewire-able jacks, but CPC do/did sell some splitters which I've chopped the sockets ends off & put XLR(M) onto. Then I may need a couple of XLR > Jack etc, depending on what I'm connecting to.

 

 

My box of adaptor cables can often sit unopened for months at a time. This means when I do need something, I've forgotten what my colour codes were! So now there's writing on anything that's not obvious. Much more helpful for other people too.

[kerry davies]

Big thumbs up for Simon's pre-made barrels. If you are in a fixed venue like a theatre then cabled adaptors can have slight advantages but out in the field, literally and metaphorically, solid barrels every time possible for me.

 

Less noise, no fraying, robust and cheap enough to afford decent quality makers. Biggest advantage? No more rats nests just when you least need a tangled mess to unravel.

[Stuart91]

To take a contrary view to Kerry, biggest thumbs down for pre-made barrels is that they can introduce significant mechanical strain when plugged directly into a panel-mounted socket. Longer barrels (or, shudder, two inline) is vulnerable to get knocked, and has plenty leverage.

 

I was in a venue recently that had a jack to female XLR barrel adaptor, with a male-to-male XLR barrel on top. It was all sticking out of the main output of a small mixer, with an XLR cable tugging away into the distance. I cringed as I walked past it.

 

Hopefully with an arrangement like that, the weak point is the jack plug end, and it would go before the socket on the desk sustained damage, but I don't know and I'm not sure how you could tell without conducting an empirical test. But for me, the potential risk outweighs the hassle of dealing with cabled adaptors.

[sleah]

To take a contrary view to Kerry, biggest thumbs down for pre-made barrels is that they can introduce significant mechanical strain when plugged directly into a panel-mounted socket. Longer barrels (or, shudder, two inline) is vulnerable to get knocked, and has plenty leverage.

 

I was in a venue recently that had a jack to female XLR barrel adaptor, with a male-to-male XLR barrel on top. It was all sticking out of the main output of a small mixer, with an XLR cable tugging away into the distance. I cringed as I walked past it.

 

Hopefully with an arrangement like that, the weak point is the jack plug end, and it would go before the socket on the desk sustained damage, but I don't know and I'm not sure how you could tell without conducting an empirical test. But for me, the potential risk outweighs the hassle of dealing with cabled adaptors.

I'm with Stuart for all the reasons he has given. Hate the premade barrels! I either buy pre-made or make my own adaptors with a really short length of cable (10~15cm). Easy enough to store and just as easy to tell what type they are (apart from phase convertors which are always worth labelling)

Just have a couple more than you are likely to need on any one job in case of a failure :) <<which is arguably true for most cables anyway!

[Simon Lewis]

Seems like a post to divide opinions... :-)

 

As said - there's arguments either way and in fact I have both a flightcase briefcase fitted with a tray like the one below, and another small case with such things as cabled Speakon 4 pole biamp in and out adaptors, XLR splits, and as many 3.5mm 3 pole to jack/XLR adaptors as there are light fingered musicians and 'helpers' to pocket them... ;-)

The tray does really help with keeping stuff tidy and in order though... :-)

 

 

 

 

[sunray]

I carry a fairly decent stock of plugs and sockets so it's always easy to make up any additional cable or adapter when required.

I do have a few barrel style devices but generally I hate them for the same reason as Stuart.

 

Make a laminated crib sheet for the coding as you WILL forget when you haven't opened the box to 2 years (happened to me recently, I even had to open a diecast box to see how the connectors were wired to a transformer) plus a sea of colours will be meaningless to a third party.

 

As an aside note, last week I found myself assisting a rushed set-up (Due to a serious accident delaying the PA provider), his XLR cables are all F-F and use a M-M barrel, his snakes are M ended to accommodate.

His reasons:

1) Males get squashed too easily,

2) Can't run them the wrong direction.

[Just Some Bloke]

Another vote for Simon's box of pre-made barrels. I made one like that for my current venue, my previous venue and the one before that! You'll never regret it.