gabrielrey
Member
Hi everyone!
I'm working on a permanent architectural installation that uses DMX. The final install will use one DMX cable, to go from a standalone DMX playback unit to an LED dimmer. The units will be right next to each other, so I'm looking for a very short cable. Quality and reliability are way more important than price in this situation -- I'm willing to pay a high price if it actually buys more reliability. But I'm not sure what a reasonable ceiling on price is. I wonder if someone with a lot of experience evaluating cables could help me out?
For example, I see this 1.5 ft Leprecon cable for sale at full compass for $86:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/255574.html
That seems like quite a lot for a 1.5 foot cable. Is it worth it? Are there options which are cheaper but would be just as high quality?
Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm open to building my own cables if that's what will yield the highest quality, but prefer to buy because I don't have a lot of time to spare, and I'm also just a beginner at soldering, so not convinced my own skills will be good enough at this point.
The system will be running all night, every day for many years. There will be some heat from the dimmer board, hopefully not too much. Ideally the cable would function 50-100 years or more without needing to be replaced. So this is a situation where if, for example, doubling the price would get me just 5% more reliability and longevity, I'd seriously consider it. Especially since we're just talking about one cable (or maybe I'd order two so that one can be on hand just in case).
Separately (but perhaps related) -- I have the option of either installing a DMX connector on the dimmer board or soldering directly to it. I'd prefer to install a connector, as I will be testing the unit and then moving it (and this also seems to keep things more flexible/easier for the future, in case part of the system needs to change at some point). In this type of situation (a permanent architectural install that needs to last for years with minimal or no maintenance), do you see any downside to putting a connector on versus just soldering the wires directly to the board?
Thanks!
I'm working on a permanent architectural installation that uses DMX. The final install will use one DMX cable, to go from a standalone DMX playback unit to an LED dimmer. The units will be right next to each other, so I'm looking for a very short cable. Quality and reliability are way more important than price in this situation -- I'm willing to pay a high price if it actually buys more reliability. But I'm not sure what a reasonable ceiling on price is. I wonder if someone with a lot of experience evaluating cables could help me out?
For example, I see this 1.5 ft Leprecon cable for sale at full compass for $86:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/255574.html
That seems like quite a lot for a 1.5 foot cable. Is it worth it? Are there options which are cheaper but would be just as high quality?
Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm open to building my own cables if that's what will yield the highest quality, but prefer to buy because I don't have a lot of time to spare, and I'm also just a beginner at soldering, so not convinced my own skills will be good enough at this point.
The system will be running all night, every day for many years. There will be some heat from the dimmer board, hopefully not too much. Ideally the cable would function 50-100 years or more without needing to be replaced. So this is a situation where if, for example, doubling the price would get me just 5% more reliability and longevity, I'd seriously consider it. Especially since we're just talking about one cable (or maybe I'd order two so that one can be on hand just in case).
Separately (but perhaps related) -- I have the option of either installing a DMX connector on the dimmer board or soldering directly to it. I'd prefer to install a connector, as I will be testing the unit and then moving it (and this also seems to keep things more flexible/easier for the future, in case part of the system needs to change at some point). In this type of situation (a permanent architectural install that needs to last for years with minimal or no maintenance), do you see any downside to putting a connector on versus just soldering the wires directly to the board?
Thanks!