Do you make or buy DMX cables?

Do you make or buy DMX cables?


  • Total voters
    28
  • Poll closed .

itie

Active Member
I was wondering if people prefer to buy or make dmx cables. not for installation use.

If you buy them what brands do like or places to buy.

if you make them do you see a huge cost savings.
 
We bought a 1000' spool of blizzard DMX cable. And used every bit of it. I think we made something around 10X 50', 10X 25' and about 20X 3' jumpers. All with Neutrik connectors. We got the connectors with the red bands so cables can be easily identified as data cable and not audio cable.

If you have to make a lot of cable, buy it in bulk, you will save money rather than buying 40-50 cables.
 
We do both. Mostly buy standard lengths and make non standard. But it really has become just a Hodge Podge of cable. We make all of our extensions, clear com 4pin, and such. I think we should grab a spool and make some shorter DMX lengths.

A lot of our stuff is 3pin though, and for those we usually just buy bulk 3pin mic cable. I know it's a bit of a taboo, especially cause I'm wearing a Fleenor shirt at the moment, haha. But with most of those fixtures being about 16 bucks each, we don't really worry about dedicated data cable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
We manufacture all of our cable, power and data. It isn't a significant cost savings versus some of our dealer pricing. What it does do is allow us to control materials and methods so that our inventory can stay standard, and we know that we're using connectors and cables with a proven track record.
 
We rarely find ourselves in a situation where it is cost effective to make cables. The difference is close enough that it could be reasonable to use it for training I suppose. If you do make your own and don't care too much about the connector details (like X vs XX series and silver vs gold contacts) www.markertek.com is a good source for Neutrik connectors. Their prices are some of the lowest I've found, but their selection is a little patchy at times.
 
The first time we got a bunch of LED fixtures we made our own. Since then we order Lex cables. It was just too much work.
 
For 3 pin stuff I buy my cable from monoprice, it's stupid cheap and there is no way I could build it myself for the same money. For 5 pin I buy standard length and have made a few custom length cables.
 
I like Blizzard's DMX cables. The blue connectors differentiate them from mic cables and I've not had any trouble with them. They're fairly cheap too.
 
Lately I have been making cables - it's a good sitting in front of the TV activity. I've been using blue 120Ω DMX cable from Audiopile.net. I buy 100' cables with the Neutrik XX ends then cut the cable to the lengths I want and add the rest of the jacks. The cable feels nice and coils well, unlike a lot of other DMX cable I've seen, and the cost is reasonable.

Blue cable differentiates from mic cable. I like the blue jack idea, but am not aware of a source for those.
 
Last edited:
Lack of skill is my excuse.
 
I've been making cables of all kinds for over 40 years.

Here's an order of DMX cables I just shipped out.
proxy.php
 
Hard to beat the prices I can get on premade cables if I need lengths they have in stock. That being said I do make my own as needed if I can't either get them right away and need them now, or if I need an oddball length for a specific reason.
 
Really depends on quantities and availability ... we buy direct from neutik at bulk amounts 100 or 200 CT and make 1000 ft of cable at a time make standard lengths it's quality control, labeled, and kitted for quick deployment ... depends on the size and frequency of use of your operation as well.
 
Current gear seems to trend more to lots of shorter cables (and just more cable) rather than a few long ones. That makes for more cost and far more connectors, an recipe for premade!
 
My company just buys them. Our biggest purchase for us (not price-wise, but importance) was a 50 ft cable that we would run out of the booth window so we could program at the front of our house. We purchased it from Amazon with prime. Hasn't had a malfunction yet. If anyone is curious for the brand, it's an Elite Core VRL.
 
I was wondering if people prefer to buy or make dmx cables. not for installation use.

If you buy them what brands do like or places to buy.

if you make them do you see a huge cost savings.

Buy ready to use is always better. I hate to make DMX cables, I bought some cables from Kino Flo and the cables were excellent. Bought few cables from enttec few months ago but they were poor. I think Klotz have some good cables and they should be good also.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back