RCA's

[Haunz]

I need 2 extra sets of RCA cables, and was thinking I should probably replace the 2 sets I already have in my car which are pretty cheap...

I don't have a problem with noise right now.. but I will be putting in several extra amps and heavier wire... all that sort of stuff.. so I am thinking it's not a bad idea....

Anyway I was figuring it would probably run me around $150 Cdn. for 4 pairs of decent RCA cables that are 15-20 feet long...

BUT it just hit me that we have a big roll of coaxial cable used for TV signals sitting in our shop...

So I am thinking this would be a good type of cable to use... and since I know I already have a couple pairs of gold plated terminals I should be able to do the install for very little money...

So how about it... should this cable work well for me??

PS.. I don't know the guage.. but it's just regular coax that your cable company or satilite installer would use..

[toslink]

Co-axial TV-type cable will work. But it's got two disadvantages, maybe three.

1) it's solid-core and not well suited for in-car use due to vibration.

2) it's very large in size relative to pre-made interconnects.

3) due to its design, it has a very high loop area, and is a magnet for alternator noise.

[toslink]

Why not pick up some CAT-5 cable and some RCA ends? That's what I do and the results are nearly perfect, with low, low cost and high, high performance. I laugh all the way to the bank every time I make a new cable.

[Y2kXLTSport]

I'm trying to picture how you wire cat 5 to RCA ends and its eluding me. Can you describe for me please.

[toslink]

I'll post a photo soon.

[Y2kXLTSport]

Originally posted by toslink:
I'll post a photo soon.Thanks! smile.gif

[Jason M. 02 Z28]

Does the CAT5 really work well? I have a box of CAT5e right here... never gave it a thought. Its solid though, I'd probably be better off with the stranded patch non-plenum cable huh?

[Haunz]

can someone discribe CAT-5 cable to me ??

in addition to the COAX cable I was thinking of using we have a bunch of patch cable for PA setups.. the kind that you put a plug on.. I am not sure what it would be called... but it's used for low and high voltage signals... ie. one for the source signal and another is used from the amp to the speaker cabinate..

I think there is also some balanced line around here too.. used for the same purposes... But I am not sure what the story on this stuff is either...

[crimedog684]

isn't cat5 cable about 8 little wires in one shroud?

[scuba_steve]

yup... 8 twisted pairs in one cable...

[Shark]

Yah, like network cable....
you can basically make a pretty nice 2 channel, 4 channel or whatever RCA.....
(just remember to pay attention not to get the pairs mixed up smile.gif

[Haunz]

OOhhhhooo

catagory-5 cable... the stuff you use to hook your computer up to a high speed modem.....

I have a bunch of that stuff...

I guess you could make multiple (up to 4) RCA lines with one length of cat-5...

Wow.. one wire would do my whole system..

I would think coax cable would work better then this stuff though... cat-5 isn't even sheilded is it??(not that you always need sheilded wire)

I was actually told the other day that alot of RCA's are exactly the same as TV coax cable..

maybe someone can clear some things up for me... I couldn't really make much sense of the 1st. reply I got.. like how do vibrations effect a signal in a solid core coax cable??? and what is this stuff about it having a high loop area ??

Also wondering what twisting the + & - wires does for an RCA cable... (does it cause the magnetic waves produced by the + & - wires to cancel so the - wire dosen't create noise in the + wire????)

(I think that's it anyhow....)

[mach_y]

CAT5 RCA cables.... are great. I am using 2 of them in my car right now. One has 4 channels, and the other has 2 (since I only needed 6 channels). I used shielded RCA's. There are 4 twisted pairs. Green and green/white, blue and blue/white, brown and brown/white, and orange and orange/white. So for 4 pairs, use the solid color for the pos, the white striped one for the negative of each pair. It works well due to the way the cable is twisted to minimize signal loss and noise pickup to be able to transmit a digital signal. Needless to say, I don't have any noise in my system, and for the cost (about $20 total for cat5 wire, rca ends, and colored heat shrink), can't go wrong! smile.gif

[Sean]

coax is by far inferior to twisted pair. The only complaint i have with cat5 is it is only 28awg, , and if you run more than 11ft, i consider that way too small. If you have to go farther than 11ft, use 2 pairs of wire per channel.