Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums > Wireless and Communications

com over CAT5... update

(1/3) > >>

Keith Broughton:
So I made an interface box to connect Clearcom to FOH using the CAT5 cable config as discussed a few months back.
Worked in the shop but once the cable was laid out on a show, there was noise picked up.
As it turns out, the CAT5 is not STP... :(
Replaced the CAT with mic cables and com was quiet so I can only associate the noise with the lack of shield on the CAT.

Tim McCulloch:

--- Quote from: Keith Broughton on September 10, 2015, 03:15:56 PM ---So I made an interface box to connect Clearcom to FOH using the CAT5 cable config as discussed a few months back.
Worked in the shop but once the cable was laid out on a show, there was noise picked up.
As it turns out, the CAT5 is not STP... :(
Replaced the CAT with mic cables and com was quiet so I can only associate the noise with the lack of shield on the CAT.

--- End quote ---

Clear-Com is also unbalanced - no CMR.

Perhaps Pete or Mac can comment on use of CATx cables and party line intercoms.

Keith Broughton:

--- Quote from: Tim McCulloch on September 10, 2015, 04:22:33 PM ---Clear-Com is also unbalanced - no CMR.

Perhaps Pete or Mac can comment on use of CATx cables and party line intercoms.

--- End quote ---
Yep... no CMR.
 Knew that from the start and suspected it might be a problem but gave it a try anyway.
Fail  :-[

brian maddox:

--- Quote from: Keith Broughton on September 10, 2015, 06:05:51 PM ---Yep... no CMR.
 Knew that from the start and suspected it might be a problem but gave it a try anyway.
Fail  :-[

--- End quote ---

Yeah, clearcom will buzz when everything is perfect. Good luck with no shield...  😀

The old Telex balanced Comms would work over Cat5. But that's largely a dead forrmat at this point.

You could of course convert to four wire and then cat5 is not only acceptable, it's a viable option.  But I digress.

Mac Kerr:

--- Quote from: brian maddox on September 10, 2015, 11:00:05 PM ---Yeah, cclearcom will buzz when everything is perfect. Good luck with no shield...  😀

The old Telex balanced Comms would work over Cat5. But that's largely a dead forrmat at this point.

You could of course convert to four wore and then cat5 is not on.y acceptable, it's optional. But I digress.

--- End quote ---

You could also put dry out boxes at each end of the run, but you would have to power each end separately.

Here's a LINK to Pete Erskine's download page of a dry out box. Connect the balanced sides together with a Cat5 cable, making sure pins 2&3 are on the same pair, and you're good to go. As I said, this does require power at both ends.

Mac

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

Go to full version