In the last year a ridiculous number of 5M-3F adapters (used for LEDs) have gone missing (at many times and from different places). A much much smaller percentage of 3M-5F and gender benders have disappeared. Any one have any idea of other used for that specific adapter? I'm trying to figure out why that, out of everything, is getting borrowed/taken/lost.
Control/Dimming Uses for 5M-3F adapters?
- Thread starterLavaASU
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STEVETERRY
Well-Known Member
Lot's of fixtures went 3 pin to save money, makes it easy to sell to the disco/club market, etc.... You still see a a lot of cheap LED stuff using 3 pin. Thus the need when using 5 pin DMX compliant cable. I keep in stock a lot of adapters for the folks that bring in crap equipment and run out of cable and need my 5 pin stuff, as well as for my High End Studio Spots which are 3 pin only and you would think a reputable company like High End would know better. $20 per adapter, which turned me off High End as a company, especially when I complained about it on the LightNetwork and got an absurd reply from a High End manager.
Rant Over
Rant Over
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STEVETERRY
Well-Known Member
From the old fart archives, my rant on that subject:
Whose network is it, anyway? Why the end user is the loser in the DMX512 connector controversy
ST
I've read that before but it still is very true today. I was recently sent on a job where I didn't load the gear, the first time I saw what they sent was went I went to hook it up. I had five pin DMX, a board that diddn't output DMX at all and a board that only took three pin. Luckily I had a splitter that had both three and five pin connectors. Then I had to borrow a mic cable to hook the rented board, one that I had to find, to the system. Of course the shop asked why I didn't solder up a three to five adapter. Uhhh, they didn't sent anything with a three pin so I would have gone and bought parts and then cut up an existing five pin, more shop time to repair.
Am I crazy or did the rest of you not really get the OP's question? I don't think he was wondering what we use the adapters for or looking for another DMX standard rant (but I am totally with you guys on that). He knows what they are for, he owns them and uses them (with his LEDs, he said), I think he was curious if there was another, perhaps outside our industry, purpose for the 5-3 pin adapters because his keep on getting stolen but the 3-5 pins don't. And to that, I don't know why just those would be running off. I don't know of any other use of the 5 pin XLR besides DMX (oh, and that one sound standard?)
Seeing as how he posted this in the Lighting section, it's safe to assume he was wondering about other LIGHTING uses ?. He wasn't specific and it seems both Steve Terry and I thought that was the question, as well as taking the opportunity to hop on the podium for our favorite rant (or one of them).
In any event, a 5M/3FM is the adapter at the start of the daisy if the devices are 3 pin and you are using 5 pin cable to get to the first device (say house cable, with the gear all owned by the rentee). Thus over time, the adapter walks with the gear owned by the outside company. I know I have to make special comments to my crew to get the adapters back.
Using the logic that it is 5 pin to the first instrument you need a five to three there. If everything else is three pin then there is no need to pilfer an adapter to change it back.
No, you are not crazy. That's exactly what I was asking. Generally all gear is ours so regardless of which case it got thrown in it would end up back at the shop. I'm trying to figure out if there is some (non-lighting) use for the lighting adapter that would explain where all of mine are going.
I can't think of any non-lighting purpose for the adapter, 5-3. I suspect they disappear more than the adapter, 3-5 simply because they are used more.
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