Two pair
DMX cable is very common to the market. All these days are often very good based upon user demands and normal - been around this ball
park for years type of needs for the cable. Was buying Gepco before it was even
DMX grade as with ProPlex / TMB years in the history. Add to that stuff on sample or that works well enough from any number of manufacturers such as
Rosco, Clark, Gepco, TMB, LEX, Creative
Stage Lighting, Coast, TechniLux amongst many others all pass the general test. TMB ProPlex cable is the king though touch it to a lighting
fixture and it melts down. The inner conductors it would seem are fine in being rated for a higher temperature but
stage hands don’t know this in rejecting a more expensive cable which melts down on contact. Given this and price they went with another option as with many brands of what is cheap
DMX single or dual pair verses what is their best.
Got some
Rosco test cable for instance that has been almost ten years now in
play test, suppose it is good cable at this
point. Often buy both Lex and Creative but also Clark and TMB with lots of other options and these are just the start of
DMX protocal cable with decent cable jackets which also fit the spec. Gepeco, Coast and others also of corse in being good.
Most reasonably priced
DMX cable these days is more or less the same, certain subtleness about the cable
jacket itself and overall cost of what is supplied as a spool or built for you than becomes the solution. Even Tomcat cable is good in testing,
Martin cable is bad still though High End cable not bad in my remembering of it.
Lots of suppliers of it, lots of suppliers of it out there and often even if different brand, for the most part what is made by one the same from another thus the
point in some general grade of cable. While I like neopreme, and rubber more than that - though what I bought with rubber nine years later is expent even if when bought supple and more substantial in many ways. What you most often get these days is thermoplastic and for the most part the same one brand to another. Lots of cable suppliers out there for the same for all intensive purposes cable. Sample away and price it out amongst as many as you can. Heck, even
Rosco cable in being a sort of WalMart type of thing is decent cable.
Brands above posted, decent cable also, all about subtileness, abrasion and cut resistance, and quailty in addition to price.
On the TMB ProPlex, while over-priced (in having a less expensive grade now available) and melts down in outer
jacket at first contact with a hot light, on the other
hand it tends to last forever when not melted down or breaking a
conductor at the
plug as normal to all.. Good stuff overall if budget for one cable that might last years upon years and perhaps best in bulllet proof assuming it doesn't touch a lighting
fixture. I don't really buy it these days but have huge amounts of it in the
system that is as good as new in being dependable years later. As an option it is amongst a few brands that did set the standard.
On lead time to get your cable, most or many suppliers either have it on the shelf or can get it out to you quick. Others can get it out quick or reasonably in all cases would if special needs when otherwise busy need at least a day. Such is normal and supply/demand is not much a factor in getting it given at least a weeks notice. Heck, my crew of two not including me could
knock out 40x cables in a day - or they had at best. More than that and I might help but one might pay extra for shorter notice than a day and assuming we were not otherwise busy. In general, short notice means you pay extra no matter where you shop if not something pre-made and off the shelf.
This all in addtion to a
ETC branded cable I remember - though not Electronic Theater Controls sold cable. Had blue writing to it. Sure they used two pair
DMX type cable in this case for our three pin
XLR plugs. Unfortunately as opposed to terminating all conductors given two pair into three pins into a
terminal, they just left all conductors alone and only stripped and soldered what was requested into the
plug. Just kind of left the extra full length conductors hanging out inside the
plug. This caused constant gremlens in the
system in one would not guess the amount of times a only just slightly twisted free floating
wire one one end might say touch pin three, yet on the other end touch pin two if only
in one certain position in a one in a million chance and Murphys Law. Yep, been there and done that and even in cutting back the free floating conductoros it didn't even solve the problem. Only solution is to cut back both conductors at least once initially, and a second time after use of some amount of time. That or terminate all wires into a
terminal though not such a fan of that concept either given a cable might seem to work but if one
conductor in two per
terminal break off, it might test good but if broken off from termianl
conductor strays to another
terminal you again have gremlens. Say two conductors going to pin three, one of them breaks. You still have
continuity, yet the second
conductor in having broken loose at some times could short to pin two. That's a really hard problem to find over that of the concept of added security two conductors per termaina is a selleing
point for. Nope, not for me, only one
conductor per
terminal, second conductors assigned to a
terminal are only asking for problems.
On the other
hand also, single pair verses dual pair
DMX cable... used to be Hog Remotes, and other gear would use pins 4&5 at times though rare in use these days. As been explained to me to some limited extent for the future, by the time pins 4&5 get used
Ethernet or an alternate language/cable will be already in use. I wouldn't worry about as I
call it "true five pin cable." Only these days real use to having that second pair of
wire other than for very limited situations is in having spare conductors to use when another pair breaks. This granted I only buy true
DMX cable with two pair these days, still I might not if on a budget. Just don't hook up the other pins and there is lots of single pair as called "
DMX grade" cable available from all those that sell two pair
DMX. Much less expensive that way not that I do it in that I do buy true
DMX Protocol these days. Still just a concept in me wasting money on the second pair in recognizing it as not necessary for 99% of all shows and needs.
Single pair cable from any number of brands, say 1/3 the cost.