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[James Feenstra]

put up a rig with more than 4 lights in it and you will

they wouldn't make 110ohm cable the standard for dmx (and aes/ebu as well) if it wasn't necessary, cause it's definitely not cheaper

[Silas Pradetto]

James Feenstra wrote on Mon, 15 November 2010 09:05

put up a rig with more than 4 lights in it and you will they wouldn't make 110ohm cable the standard for dmx (and aes/ebu as well) if it wasn't necessary, cause it's definitely not cheaper

For AES it is absolutely necessary; I've had problems pushing AES 50 feet over mic cable...

I don't know why some "pros" on here keep insisting "their way" (which is the wrong way) is perfectly fine, just because of "their experience."  

The one time that "experience" will be wrong will be the biggest, most critical show you've done, and it will bring you back to earth in a hurry.

[Micky Basiliere]

Silas Pradetto { wrote on Mon, 15 November 2010 11:06

James Feenstra wrote on Mon, 15 November 2010 09:05 put up a rig with more than 4 lights in it and you will they wouldn't make 110ohm cable the standard for dmx (and aes/ebu as well) if it wasn't necessary, cause it's definitely not cheaper For AES it is absolutely necessary; I've had problems pushing AES 50 feet over mic cable... I don't know why some "pros" on here keep insisting "their way" (which is the wrong way) is perfectly fine, just because of "their experience."   The one time that "experience" will be wrong will be the biggest, most critical show you've done, and it will bring you back to earth in a hurry.

No need for a "pissing contest" here! i've run 12 movers , 8 led pars , and fiber curtains..aswell as a plethra of colors changers and p64's with NO problem all on mic cables. I've seen alot of "dumb" threads on here from "other pros" to...

[Micky Basiliere]

Mac Kerr wrote on Sun, 14 November 2010 23:45

Micky Basiliere wrote on Sun, 14 November 2010 23:38 Sorry man...This topic is just out of control! you will NEVER notice a difference between Mic and "DMX" cable in the 3 pin config. 5 pin would definetly be of the "dmx" type...Have a great night. Why would 3 pin be different than 5 pin? It is only using 3 pins. The signal is also impedence sensitive and should have 110Ω cable. Mic cable usually works, but not always. When it doesn't work, do you want to trace where on the truss the problem is? Mac

Hi Mac, I was referring to the # of conductors needed in the cable for 5 pin...DMX Cable is "no doubt" different but,Mic cable(9 times out of ten)works just fine...Thx

[Bill Hinds]

What is going to happen to his show that 1 out of 10 times?  I will admit I am guilty of using the wrong cable but I also understand the risk.  The OP is asking for advice so, the right answer is he should be using the correct 110 ohm DMX cable. Using anything else may compromise performance. Now the OP knows the risk.

[Tom Bourke]

Micky Basiliere wrote on Mon, 15 November 2010 23:08

Silas Pradetto { wrote on Mon, 15 November 2010 11:06 James Feenstra wrote on Mon, 15 November 2010 09:05 put up a rig with more than 4 lights in it and you will they wouldn't make 110ohm cable the standard for dmx (and aes/ebu as well) if it wasn't necessary, cause it's definitely not cheaper For AES it is absolutely necessary; I've had problems pushing AES 50 feet over mic cable... I don't know why some "pros" on here keep insisting "their way" (which is the wrong way) is perfectly fine, just because of "their experience."   The one time that "experience" will be wrong will be the biggest, most critical show you've done, and it will bring you back to earth in a hurry. No need for a "pissing contest" here! i've run 12 movers , 8 led pars , and fiber curtains..aswell as a plethra of colors changers and p64's with NO problem all on mic cables. I've seen alot of "dumb" threads on here from "other pros" to...

I have seen that one time happen at at least twice.  One time it was a 30 can LED rig.  We had the LEDs on and were sending signal as we wired the rig.  Every thing was fine till the last light bar.  We also were running out of real DMX cables.  So the last run was done with mic cables.  The first clue we had a problem was the fact we needed to leave the terminator off. It also worked to leave off an instrument or 2 at the end. We got the rig stable enough to make it threw programming and a rehearsal.  Show night it all broke down.  The whole thing started glitching.  All it was suppose to be was lights up, lights down.  Not disco!

Point is 1 or 2 less cables and it "worked just fine"  But the rig was close enough to the edge that when it counted, it fell off the edge.  Shortly after that they bought a DMX distribution amp, terminators for each branch and more DMX cables.  Since then they have added more LEDs and the rig has stayed stable.

[John Strzalkowski]

I have run 44 LEDs with 8 movers and 8 scanners with mic cable...I had no problem.

Different night I was running 20 LEDs with mic cable, got a bunch of glitches/twitchy lights. Replaced a bunch of cable with working mic cable, and still had glitches. Frustrating as hell seeing as how i ran so much before...

Another night I was using a DMX distributor box with mic cable. The distributor DID NOT work. Any signal that went THRU the device worked fine, when trying to use a distributed line, no DMX was present at the lights. I ended up having to run a long line around the damn venue to patch in the lights that could not be distributed.

Whoever says mic cable is fine has yet to experience problems, however with the problems I have faced using mic cable, I think the extra money spent on DMX cable is FAR FAR FAR more worth it than cheaping out and 'POSSIBLY' have an annoying headache of a time trying to get something to work.

[John Livings]

For anyone wanting more Basic information on DMX, Have a look at this;

http://www.elationlighting.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ItemNumbe r=1560&MainId=1&Category=26

Regards,  John

[len woelfel]

The short answer is that mic cable will GENERALLY work in MOST small rig situations.  However, if you're doing long dmx runs, using a lot of fixtures, splitters, etc., then you should be spending the money on proper data cable.  The thing is that even tho a mic cable hasn't "failed" it might add in bad data, etc. due to improper shielding, etc. and cause lights somewhere in the rig to misbehave.  The best reason to use twisted pair shielded cable for data is that tracking down a bad signal in your cabling is a tedious, time-consuming job and it's just more cost effective in the long run to get good cable than to spend the time trouble shooting.  That time could better be spent with a pint of Guinness and a hockey game.  
As for those who say mic cable is fine in larger lighting rigs, they are just lucky to have avoided failure yet.

[Gian P. Portanova]

So for those who want to use the proper DMX cables, what is a good recommended source for purchasing?  Low cost install up to high end mobile applications?