Quality DMX Cable? (and Pin Connectors)
- Thread startergafftaper
- Start date
JD
Well-Known Member
I sometimes have to laugh at how things get named! I have been around a long enough time to understand how and why, but to the newcomer it must appear we name things to intentionally confuse people! Take a piece of 12/3 so cable. It has three 12 gauge conductors; Black, White, and Green. Now, lets say we want the same thing in BX.... Do we ask for 12/3 ? NO! That would be 12/2 ! If you asked for 12/3 bx, you would get a cable with four 12 gauge conductors. (Red, Black, White, & Green.)
When I grew up, Stage Pin connectors had two pins. Along came grounded connectors. Now, everyone called them "Two Pin Stage Plugs." I'll never forget the day (think it was around 1968) when I overheard the AV director placing an order for 10 male connectors:
"I need 10 male 2 pin connectors... no.. no, the newer ones with 3 pins..." Don't know why it hit me so funny, but it took a week for me to stop laughing!
I just call them Stage Plugs. Nice. Simple. Two syllables. No need to over exercise the tongue. By that I mean a connector that has 3 pins, one being a ground. Stage Pin Plugs, GSP, 2P&G, all those other words just add syllables! If I want something unconventional, I'll get into the extra words, but anybody who has worked a stage for awhile knows what a Stage Plug is. As for the "two blade fifteen amp U ground Edison male cap", I call them "plugs" (omit the word "Stage")
When I grew up, Stage Pin connectors had two pins. Along came grounded connectors. Now, everyone called them "Two Pin Stage Plugs." I'll never forget the day (think it was around 1968) when I overheard the AV director placing an order for 10 male connectors:
"I need 10 male 2 pin connectors... no.. no, the newer ones with 3 pins..." Don't know why it hit me so funny, but it took a week for me to stop laughing!
I just call them Stage Plugs. Nice. Simple. Two syllables. No need to over exercise the tongue. By that I mean a connector that has 3 pins, one being a ground. Stage Pin Plugs, GSP, 2P&G, all those other words just add syllables! If I want something unconventional, I'll get into the extra words, but anybody who has worked a stage for awhile knows what a Stage Plug is. As for the "two blade fifteen amp U ground Edison male cap", I call them "plugs" (omit the word "Stage")
Sorry, "stage plug" is taken and refers to an entirely different animal.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Yj...ts=6F8evzNTt5&sig=yWach6olcZIqtzVysYbkD1H-AD8
Although the connector/receptacle is (practically) obsolete, the term cannot be re-applied.
Gaff, the "G" in GSP is for "grounded," not general. I still think of German Shorthaired Pointers whenever I hear that however.
I call it a "stage pin" when speaking and 2P&G when writing/specifying. Anyone use PBU for parallel-blade u-ground (Edison)?
I knew there was some shorter way to get that out, I just couldn't remember it.
JD
Well-Known Member
Last time I saw one of those, it was attached to an antique electric chair!
No, Stage plug:
http://www.sourceshop.com/catalogue.asp?cat=Electrical-Supplies
If you want a roll then you will be getting 1000 feet. Most of the time anything less than a roll is on a per foot price and is usually more expensive per foot than the cost per foot. I would call the major distributors like BMI or Production advantage. I got a good deal on Gepco DMX cable last year from systemsstore.com.
as far as Stage pin connectors, Advanced Devices Bates are the best out there. They are owned by Marinco now. You can get them in the type where you slide the ferrule over the wire and stick it in a hole and tighten a screw, and they are avaialble where they use a crimp ring terminal. If you are purchasing manufactured cables, I would go with the crimp terminal, and specify the screws are torqued to mfgr spec with a torque screwdriver, not just rammed home with a drill.
The TMB Pro Pins are made in china, by Kupo I believe. It is my understanding that LEX now uses connectors from Leviton. Leviton used to resell union connector, but now make their own in china.
I have sampled chinese connectors, and will never use them. The brass is of poor quality and the screws strip out.
When you can get the advanced devices Bates connectors for under $5, there is NO reason to use any other.
With regard to the DMX cable, TMB' ProPlex is the best, hands down. I swear, you could hang a truss from the stuff. -If this is for theater use, not rental or touring, you would be fine with their Dataplex brand cable.
The TMB Pro Pins are made in china, by Kupo I believe. It is my understanding that LEX now uses connectors from Leviton. Leviton used to resell union connector, but now make their own in china.
I have sampled chinese connectors, and will never use them. The brass is of poor quality and the screws strip out.
When you can get the advanced devices Bates connectors for under $5, there is NO reason to use any other.
With regard to the DMX cable, TMB' ProPlex is the best, hands down. I swear, you could hang a truss from the stuff. -If this is for theater use, not rental or touring, you would be fine with their Dataplex brand cable.
For more than you ever wanted to know about 2P&G/GSP/Stage Pin Connectors, see the collaborative article: Connectors, Stage Pin.
I too am old enough to remember using two pin stage plugs. With the addition of the ground it is known in my neck of the woods as three pin stage. We also had twist locks of both right hand and left hand twist, depending on the theatre. I was taught left hand twist were west coast twistlocks and righthand were east coast. I have no idea if this is indeed truely the names but that was the way I learned it from older techs.
So I am buying DMX cable and I will be running about 25 to 30 lights at weddings. All my lights are 3 pin XLR. I saw this DMX cable and wondered if this is pretty good. I just want to make sure I dont get any interferance as you can imagine how bad it would be if the lights started flashing during a wedding. Thanks in adavance
Gepco - DMX512 Lighting Control Cable: SystemsStore.com
Gepco - DMX512 Lighting Control Cable: SystemsStore.com
Gepco makes good cable, you should not have any problems.
I bought a roll of that cable three years ago and have been very happy with it. I made a bunch of both 3-pin and 5-pin cables from it. Works great.
Reiterating what JD said, no need to buy two-pair cable if you're going to be using it with 3-pin XLRs. Any 110Ω cable should be fine.
As for the 3-pin vs. 5-pin debate, see STEVETERRY's article
Whose network is it, anyway? Why the end user is the loser in the DMX512 connector controversy.
epimetheus
Well-Known Member
I've got some of the Gepco cable (DLC224) sitting in front of me right now. Seems like pretty decent cable to me. The only thing I don't like about it is that the 2 pairs are not individually twisted. All 4 wires from both pairs are twisted together, like the quad mic cable. I know that this isn't acceptable in industrial RS-485 situations; the pairs have to individually twisted (a la Belden 9842). It doesn't seem to be an issue in DMX systems however. I think the main reason it isn't an issue is that the second pair is officially unused. If you had a second data stream on the second pair, individually twisted pairs would have less crosstalk.
JD
Well-Known Member
Right on both counts! Not true cable if the pairs are not paired! and... probably no problem because the second set is unused. I forget what 2 pair I am using, but they are separate pairs with individual shields.
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