I wanted to take a look at cables for
the aes50 connection on the Behringer
X32 and Midas M32 platform and to point
out what is the proper cable and what to
look. for even cables that seem to look
correct can actually be wrong and that
means Gremlins just waiting to bite you!
that can be anything from a loss of sync
and a loss of signal, to Pops and bangs,
to blowing out the as50 port on the
mixer or preamp box! and that means
downtime and repair!
the spec is:
Cat5e shielded cable with ethercon type
connectors on the ends.
Looking at the screening on the jacket of your Cat5e
cable and you see only UTP
then you can stop right there. it is the
wrong cable. it's not shielded so nothing
else matters.
on the other hand if you see STP then at
least you know it's shielded cable.
does it have ether con type connectors?
does it have continuity from end to end?
just because it's shielded cable does
not mean it's connected at both ends.
some manufacturers will leave one end of
The Shield disconnected, but that does
not meet the Behringer spec.
a digital multimeter is one of the
handiest pieces of equipment you can own
as a tech.
to test continuity end to end just set
your meter for a continuity test, and
this meter has an automatic mode, put a
probe on each end- like this... we should
get continuity... (Continuity test OK)
if you do get continuity then all is
good.
if we don't get continuity then we can
do a couple of checks.
if you unscrew the ethercon connector,
you should see an RJ45 plug that has
metal surrounding it.
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if there is no metal surrounding the
RJ45 plug then you can stop once again-
it's the wrong cable or wrong connector.
if there is metal around the RJ45
connector then we need to do a
continuity test between those. we should
have continuity from the RJ45 metal
outer sleeve to the other RJ45 metal
outer sleeve.
if they're still not getting continuity then
there's a problem. either it has a broken
shield connection or else it's a cable
that was made to have one end lifted all
along.
in either case that does not meet spec.
if they do have continuity then reseat
the Ethercon connectors and try the
continuity test again.
if the RJ45 plugs have continuity but
not the ethercons, even after reseating
them, then that would mean one or both of
the ethercons is not making contact
with the RJ45 plug's metal shield.
in the past I've added a bit of wire or
a bump of solder to an RJ45 to take up
the slack so it makes the connection
with the ethercon jacket to get things
back to spec. that should get continuity
showing from ethercon to ethercon.
something else to look at-
length- In a theoretical sense 100 meters
is the Practical limit, but a more
realistic limit is probably 75 or 80
meters. we can see the Music Tribe
website says this-
you can see here different cable types
do make a difference. for temporary
portable sound you're more than likely
using stranded cable and that in and of
itself limits your maximum length of
cable.
and I do want to reiterate- the wrong
cable can work even cable that is
technically too long... BUT you're
generally on borrowed time!
being out of spec makes you susceptible
to random and intermittent problems!
including show stopping problems and
even problems that can harm the
equipment! there's a lot more to get to
in this video so I'll leave a link to
this website below.
using something less than the maximum
gives you a margin of error as far as
the cable build goes.
the truth is, best practice is to not use
more than you need anyway.
so while it might seem like a good idea
to get the maximum length and that
should work for everything you do, I'd
recommend not getting the maximum length
unless it's just an absolute have to
situation. in a perfect world you'd have
multiple lengths in inventory. that not
only allows you to have lengths that aren't
in excess of what you need for any given
gig, but also that gives you redundancy
as well.
we can also take a look at (cable) jacket
options here.
I was originally using Elite core Procat
cable but now that they offer supercat
that's what I've been buying. while
the procat is made to take abuse the
super cat can take even more abuse with
its thicker jacket.
both cables handle and coil nicely. in
any case, whatever you do you want some
type of tour grade cable- not home/office
type cable!
ideally you do not want to subject the
cable to foot traffic or vehicle traffic,
but if you absolutely have to, it's best
to use some type of cable ramp.
I'll drop affiliate links for things
like the cables and the digital
multimeter in the text below. likes and
subscribes are always appreciated. drop
any comments or questions. below check
out this other video... and I will see you
next time
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