A5 Cable???

[slimrocktwo]

Does anyone know what A5 cable is? A company we hired LED bars from says that we forgot to include 3 10' lengths of A5 cable, and i don't know what I should be looking for. Thanks in advance

 

[icewolf08]

You sure they didn't actually mean Cat5 Cable? What fixtures are you using? Just look at the connectors on them and see what they are: DMX (5-pin XLR) or Cat5. Though it could also just be some kind of inventory tracking that they use in their shop and the person you talked to just let that slip.

 

[derekleffew]

I'm guessing it's three 10' DMX cables, each with an A5M on one end and an A5F on the other end. Certainly not standard nomenclature, but a possibility?

 

[slimrocktwo]

You sure they didn't actually mean Cat5 Cable? What fixtures are you using?

We did use Cat5 cable durring the show to daisy chain the lights together, but they didn't come with the road case, they are the school's. We always refered to the lights as color blazers, but i'm not sure if that is the actual name of the lights.

I'm guessing it's three 10' DMX cables, each with an A5M on one end and an A5F on the other end..

..So is an A5M the male end of a 5 pin XLR, and an A5F the female end?

 

[derekleffew]

...So is an A5M the male end of a 5 pin XLR, and an A5F the female end?

Exactly. Those are Switchcraft model#'s, and many still use those terms even if the connectors are Neutrik. Your fixtures are Philips/Color Kinetics ColorBlaze72s (if 6' long) or ColorBlaze48 (if 4' long). I believe you can use either Cat5 or 5pin XLR DMX cable to daisy-chain data to the units. It sounds like if they had sent the 3x 10' DMX cables, you wouldn't have needed to use your own Cat5 cables.

Am I right?

 

[icewolf08]

Exactly. Those are Switchcraft model#'s, and many still use those terms even if the connectors are Neutrik. Your fixtures are Philips/Color Kinetics ColorBlaze72s (if 6' long) or ColorBlaze48 (if 4' long). I believe you can use either Cat5 or 5pin XLR DMX cable to daisy-chain data to the units. It sounds like if they had sent the 3x 10' DMX cables, you wouldn't have needed to use your own Cat5 cables.

Am I right?

Or if they had sent 3x 10' Cat5....

 

[JD]

Funny how those XLR connectors evolved! The Cannon XLR connector was the original. (XLR-3 F/M) Then Switchcraft got into the act and we all started calling them A3F and A3M, but if anyone asked, we would say, "You know, XLR connectors." So for some reason, subsequent connectors all went with the Switchcraft style numbers, so we say "Yea, I need some A5Fs... ah... You know, XLR A5F's by Neutrik..." (Actually, NC5FX)

Confused yet? This will do it! Neutrik now has out a unisex XLR connector called the convertCON ! There, that should do it!
[URL="http://www.neutrik.com/fl/en/audio/204_67260377/convertCON_productlist.aspx"]Neutrik convertCON
[/URL]

 

[lieperjp]

Funny how those XLR connectors evolved! The Cannon XLR connector was the original. (XLR-3 F/M) Then Switchcraft got into the act and we all started calling them A3F and A3M, but if anyone asked, we would say, "You know, XLR connectors." So for some reason, subsequent connectors all went with the Switchcraft style numbers, so we say "Yea, I need some A5Fs... ah... You know, XLR A5F's by Neutrik..." (Actually, NC5FX)

Confused yet? This will do it! Neutrik now has out a unisex XLR connector called the convertCON ! There, that should do it!
[URL="http://www.neutrik.com/fl/en/audio/204_67260377/convertCON_productlist.aspx"]Neutrik convertCON
[/URL]

Yes! But why. when in "female" mode, does it have 4 pin holes???

Pretty cool. But it looks like something that would break easily...

 

[JD]

Yes! But why. when in "female" mode, does it have 4 pin holes???

Unless I am getting (even more) dyslexic, when you go from male to female, the pin image reverses, so in one mode, the third pin would be on the one side, in the other mode it would be on the other. I guess it needs somewhere to pop out of!

 

[slimrocktwo]

..It sounds like if they had sent the 3x 10' DMX cables, you wouldn't have needed to use your own Cat5 cables.

Am I right?

Yea, that's probably the case. Maybe the company put it on the packing list but forgot to include them..

Thanks for the help everyone