Digital Surfaces Inexpensive Cat5e for Portable Sound System

[Brentgi]

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive cat5e or cat6 cable that would be good for using in a portable application. We will be connecting a stage box to a console via cat5e. I'm looking for bulk cable that I can terminate myself. We'd like it to be trainable but also lay flat once deployed.

If you have any ideas, i'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

 

[techieman33]

monoprice usually has really good prices. You'll want to get stranded cable. Solid core won't last very long.

 

[darinlwebb]

For same day during business hours, brick and mortar, you'll find it at Best Buy, Microcenter, Frys.

Same day emergencies, look online for local IT service companies. Managed Service Providers, IT Repair shops. Start calling around and find somebody willing to sell you some cable.

But if you've got time, and want the best deal. Monoprice is easy. Amazon sells spools too.

Not sure what you mean by trainable, but you'll find differences in flexibility and rigidity between solid and stranded cables. Solid cables are cheaper, more fragile, but transmit much longer distances. Stranded is flexible, expensive, but transmits cleanly shorter distances. (More Info).

Treat them with the same care as your XLR. I see hideous network cable all the time, more so in the IT space because nobody teaches cable coiling over there.

 

[rwhealey]

Cat 5e UTP: http://www.clarkwire.com/cableCN424C5TF.htm
Cat 6a SF/UTP: http://www.clarkwire.com/cableCN423C6ATFS.htm

 

[RonHebbard]

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive cat5e or cat6 cable that would be good for using in a portable application. We will be connecting a stage box to a console via cat5e. I'm looking for bulk cable that I can terminate myself. We'd like it to be trainable but also lay flat once deployed.

If you have any ideas, i'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

@Brentgi Appreciate what you're asking. You're basically putting all of your eggs in one basket and shopping for a low cost basket.
For me, buy once, cry once comes to mind but to each their own. @TimMc Would you care to comment?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[Brentgi]

You'll want to get stranded cable.

Stranded is flexible, expensive, but transmits cleanly shorter distances.

Just so I understand correctly, I'd need to get RJ45 connectors specifically for stranded, right? Also, I plan on using Neutrik Ethercon connectors on the cables.

Appreciate what you're asking. You're basically putting all of your eggs in one basket and shopping for a low cost basket.
For me, buy once, cry once comes to mind but to each their own.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this, so I'd love for you to expound on this if you can. If helps, the plan is to have a redundant or spare cable ready if the need should arise.

*EDIT*
Also, notice I did not say I was looking for cheap cable. I just am not looking for standard $2 per foot cable that I can buy from Sweetwater. (sorry of this sounds abrasive, it's not meant to be)

 

[RonHebbard]

Just so I understand correctly, I'd need to get RJ45 connectors specifically for stranded, right? Also, I plan on using Neutrik Ethercon connectors on the cables.


I'm not quite sure what you mean by this, so I'd love for you to expound on this if you can. If helps, the plan is to have a redundant or spare cable ready if the need should arise.

*EDIT*
Also, notice I did not say I was looking for cheap cable. I just am not looking for standard $2 per foot cable that I can buy from Sweetwater. (sorry of this sounds abrasive, it's not meant to be)

@Brentgi Expounding per request.
I read your post as: Console out in the house connected to stage box on stage by a single run of CAT cable.
In my mind, all of your inputs and outputs were being connected to your stage box with only the single run of CAT coupling to your console.
Thus, to me, it appeared you were heavily dependent upon this single run of CAT cable. A redundant spare is great but there's still that large oops while you swap cables. Clearly people are different. If it were me, I'd be shopping for a couple of lengths of TMB's "Tactical" CAT cable. They don't like to sell it raw, unterminated, but I've managed to purchase unterminated lengths when I've had to pull them through water filled conduits on an install below the water table of a nearby lake. My boss bought once, cried once and we all slept happily ever after. We blew and vacuumed the water out of the conduits but they re-filled almost as quickly as we could pull the TMB Tactical CAT through them.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[Brentgi]

@RonHebbard I really appreciate your input. Thanks!

 

[RonHebbard]

@RonHebbard I really appreciate your input. Thanks!

@Brentgi I realize you don't have very many lakes to avoid in Las Vegas but I recall working on an install in Vegas in 1999 when it rained one day and totally flooded the basement of a copying center over towards UNLV. I found it bizarre. I'd been over in the morning having some E sized prints copied and all was well. I went back later in the day and their entire lower level was off limits with all of their large format copiers sitting in a couple of feet of water. The staff seemed to take it in stride like it was a fairly common occurrence. Up here in Canada, storm sewers are commonplace. I worked several months on the heart of the strip and only worked with one electrician who was a native, actually born in Las Vegas. Everybody else had moved there at some point in their lives.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[rsmentele]

I like the Elite Core cable. Have a 200'er myself. Lays flat, solid construction and not too expensive

http://www.fullcompass.com/searchre...ch=1&search_return=all&Brand=Elite+Core+Audio

 

[mikefellh]

Cat 5e UTP: http://www.clarkwire.com/cableCN424C5TF.htm
Cat 6a SF/UTP: http://www.clarkwire.com/cableCN423C6ATFS.htm

I would check the specs to make sure the box you are plugging into wants UNSHIELDED Cat cable!

The ones I bought want SHIELDED Cat cable(s)...it works fine with my setup unshielded since I'm not requiring phantom, BUT if I wanted to use phantom I would NEED shielded (the twisted pairs only transmit 4 hots and colds, no grounds).

 

[porkchop]

If you're in Vegas (that's what your location says) just go to Keisub. They'll have premade cables and a box of just cable so you could cut the lengths you need and terminate your own ends. Talk to them and they might even give you a discount. And you can go to Rollin' Smoke for lunch afterwards.

 

[Brentgi]

I went back later in the day and their entire lower level was off limits with all of their large format copiers sitting in a couple of feet of water.

It doesn't rain too much, so for some reason no one thought of doing proper drainage. They've made some improvements to drainage channels over the years, so it's not as bad as it used to be, but it can get crazy.

I would check the specs to make sure the box you are plugging into wants UNSHIELDED Cat cable!

Yeah I should have mentioned that it's for a Soundcraft Si Impact to the mini stagebox 16i. It runs MADI/AES10, which I cant seem to find a whole lot of info on when it comes to spec. I'm thinking that I need to go with stranded STP for this.

And you can go to Rollin' Smoke for lunch afterwards.

Funny you say that. I was in the area of Rollin' Smoke the other day and it smelled so good. I've never been but I told my girlfriend that I want to go. So now I can say that someone recommended it to me. Thanks!

 

[TimMc]

I'm not a Soundcraft user so I can't confirm/deny that shielded or unshielded is suitable, but I will say that Elite Corps is some of the worst junk my boss has ever purchased - not a CAT5e cable but sub-snakes and audio cables. It's cheap for a reason...

Note that STRANDED CATx cables have less length over which they will meet specification as compared to solid conductor CATx cables, on the order of about 65% or so.

The "lays flat" requirement is the most difficult one as it requires additional fillers and more PVC extruded over the final looming. It's about adding bulk, mostly. While that makes it more convenient (less gaff tape) it doesn't gain you anything else. If you're using the console repeatedly in the same spaces it might be worth it to do a semi-permanent install of CATx cables.

Markertek also has tactical CATx cables as assemblies or in bulk.

 

[rwhealey]

Yeah I should have mentioned that it's for a Soundcraft Si Impact to the mini stagebox 16i. It runs MADI/AES10, which I cant seem to find a whole lot of info on when it comes to spec. I'm thinking that I need to go with stranded STP for this.

That changes things a bit. These are what I was told to use by Soundcraft:

Belden 1305A (unshielded)
Evolution XPC (unshielded)
Klotz RC5-SB (shielded)

 

[globalg]

monoprice usually has really good prices. You'll want to get stranded cable. Solid core won't last very long.

yeah has good prices, i just checked at their site, i would love to get one for myself.

 

[Marty ContraSound]

Wire and Cable is my special fetish. I use a lot of Clark Cable (clarkwire.com) but they changed their tactical cat5 and it is not as nice as it used to be. I did a search for stage friendly cat5e cable and found this:
https://www.elitecustomcables.com/e...shielded-soft-cat5e-bulk-cable-500-spool.html
it feels and lays like our favorite mic lines.
It also works really well with the new IDC ethercon connectors.
http://www.neutrik.com/en/ethercon/ne8mx6

 

[taneglaus]

Be careful. Be sure it's SHIELDED which will add a few $ to the cable. Be sure you understand the manufactures spec on the cable. The digital snake uses a bi-directional communications scheme. The data has a start but and specific flow rate/pattern which requires the stage box and console use the same scheme and are timed or sync'd with each other.
Using a standard cat5e or cat6 data cable may cause intermittent issues. The stage box and console may fail to sync. Or, they might initially sync but then loose sync. You might also get very loud "pop's" in the sound system. Then going to a shielded ethercon cable will most likely fix these issues.
I've also heard of an issue where people stepping on the cable will cause a "pop" in the sound. Then running the cable under a pedestrian protection device prevents this. Protecting the cable this way also ensures a long life as crushing the cable can cause serious damage to it.

 

[DIYLED]

This is where I get cat5e:
http://www.bestlinknetware.com/Product/StoreDetail/60/06
Decent quality at a really good price. I haven't had any failures. I wouldn't say I use it portably, but it's been reused a few times for DMX purposes and handled by various people and tossed off a 10' roof onto grass below, probably had 12-gauge Romex land on top of it too. I pull it through walls and conduits using the dust covers from L-com and wrapping with tape. I've never put it in water.
http://www.l-com.com/ethernet-rj45-protective-covers-for-plugs-pkg-100

 

[Ben Stiegler]

Few thoughts
Running the whole show on a single temporary cat5 should make you nervous, especially if it’s anywhere near feet, wheelchair paths, beverage carts, ambulance gurneys, etc. I have left Cat5e cables in place (overhead rafters, above woodwork,etc.) where they are out of harms way vs. deploying and rolling up each gig or rehearsal.

But if you are serious about your show staying alive and you need to run cat5 / 6 in unprotected paths, get 2 managed Ethernet switches, run TWO separate cables, and use trunk port groups on each switch to bond the 2 runs together. Think of it as RAID for your digital snake.

Also in 40 years of running UTP cables permanently in buildings and temporary for AV / theater gigs, I’ve learned that solid cable does not like to be flexed and reflexes repeatedly. It’s designed to get pulled into a protected space (conduit, walls, etc.) once and left alone. If you rely on solid for touring or repeated deploy / strike and store situations, you will have a moment of reckoning someday. If you need longer runs than native copper Ethernet or the console spec allows, look into copper to fiber converters and run tactical fiber between stage box and FOH. Or rethink where your FOH needs to be.

Good luck!