We have an Expression 3 and the RFU. I have moved the board from the booth, into the balcony, I had enough DMX cable to run to my new position. But I don't have a long enough 6 Pin cable. Would it be possible to just get two six pin connectors and solder them onto a cat 5 cable?
"There's a hard life for every silver spoon, there's a touch of gray for every shade of blue, that's the way that I see life, if there was nothing wrong, then there'd be nothing right."
If you are going through the trouble of buying the 6-pin connectors, why not just get the correct Belden cable at the same time?
- Mike
I would recommend using ProPlex PC248T but please also see the acceptable substitutions for Belden 9728. (Recommend the Plenum versions)
Well the reason that I want to use cat 5 is because I have 100' of it sitting around. It will be alot eaiser for me to get two connectors purchased then new cable.
Btw, this is going to be a temporary solution. Eventually they are going to install all the jacks at the new location. They say its gonna happen soon... but I'm really sick of having RFU jacks all over the stage, and having to use my Video node in the LX closet.
LOL
Oaky...if you must... it should work out using Cat5 but no guaranties on my part….
You will want to ensure you have stranded CAT5.
RFU pin-out:
1. Data 1 +
2. Data 1 –
3. Data 2 +
4. Data 2 –
5. Common
6. +12 VDC
As the Cat5 has 8 wires, I would recommend doubling up on pins 5 and 6 as these are the power lines.
Sincerely,
Mike
Also make sure that you use a matched pair for each of the two data pairs. For instance -- use orange and white/orange for Data 1+ and Data 1-, and green and white/green for Data 2+ and Data 2-.
Matt GarrisonElectrical EngineerETC - Dimming & ArchitecturalMiddleton, WI
I haven't personally done this with Expression RFU's, but I want to raise the issue of conductor size. Lots of CAT5 cable is very small-gauge, but (in my case, the Obsession....) RFU can easily draw enough current to have a bad voltage drop over 100'. It's possible that your remote will be intermittent or reboot unpredictably, due to low voltage at the RFU.