What cable: Belden, Canare, Other? For DIY component video. (1 Viewer)

[David A. Frattaroli]

Thanks Mike and Phil.
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[MikeTC]

Phil,
Isn't the LV-77S a RG59 type? Is there a stranded RG6 from Belden or Canare (Could use for speaker wire)?
How much per foot and where could you find the LV-77S stranded anyway?
Thanks.
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MikeyTC

 

[Ellen]

Canare LV-77S is roughly equivalent to Belden 8281F. They are RG-59/U type cables with 22 AWG stranded center conductors and double braided shields. You can get LV-77S from Markertek for $0.69/ft in black, red, green and blue. Belden 8281F can also be had in black from Markertek but I think you need to buy a min of 100'.
If you want speaker cable, just pick up some of Canare's 4S8 four conductor cable. Each conductor is 16 AWG. Wire two together to get two 13 AWG conductors. $0.56/ft min 50'.

 

[David A. Frattaroli]

Ellen, that 4S8 sounds like a great alternative to braiding that Cat5 stuff.

 

[MikeTC]

Thanks for the suggestion Ellen I will look into it.
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MikeyTC

 

[Ellen]

Let us know how it works out Mike. I think Belden has four-conductor speaker cable too. 1810 maybe? Check their web site.

 

[Joe J]

I'm new to all this as well but I am going to try and make some interconnects. Is there a special type of solder one should use and/or a special solder gun that works better than another?
Thanks
Joe

 

[Phil A]

For solder, I prefer to use Sound Connections (www.vampirewire.com). I think it is $36.00 for a roll.
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[David A. Frattaroli]

Joe, the interconnects I plan on making will use solderless connectors. Just in case you didn't know that was an option.
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[Joe J]

I thought about the ones that crimp on as well. I think I will go the the radioshack.com store that we have here in Denver (have lots of other stuff that the regular radio shack doesn't carry) and see what they have. I might buy some in-expensive cable and connectors and practice a little bit to see how they come out. I know they have the Belden cable there just not sure which ones. From reading a bunch of posts it appears that there are several different cabels that will work. From Belden I think that 89259, 82259, 1506A, 1505A and 1694A are the recommended ones. I am hoping to be able to get the components locally if possible.
Later
Joe

 

[Scott_G]

I soldered on my first set of long componant RG6's. They are stiff and can break loose if moved too much. My next set (added an HDTV tuner), I'm going to terminate with F connectors and use the F-> RCA converters on the end.
Not as clean but should be much easier to make, no solder, and won't break if moved. Of course I won't need to move them once I make the other set.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Joe,
Good luck at the RadioShack.com store! The one here in Atlanta doesn't have crimp-on RCA's. They also sell the 1506A cable but I wouldn't bother. It's 3 times the cost of the 1505A which is the same cable except for the plenum rating (in-wall). Incidently, I have 2 sets of 3 1505A cables (3m long) with Canare connectors for component video cables. They work great!
Brian
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[David A. Frattaroli]

Brian, is that what plenum rated means? In Wall?
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[Scott_G]

When I was wiring buildings :
Plenum required for commercial applications if it runs through any airflow space. Plenum does not emit the toxic fumes that regular PVC does when burned.
I'm not sure why they call it "in wall". Most of the phone line stuff put in houses has a pvc jacket.
my 2 cents.
anyone else ??

 

[Joe J]

O.K., here is what I ended up with. First I bought a decent solder iron (weller soldering station) for $45. I could have got a cheaper one but I figured this one would last longer than a $20 one and it is variable wattage. Next I bought 6 ft. of Belden 8281F (.79/ft nice and soft), some silver content solder ($2.50), and 4 gold connectors ($2/apiece). Have to be careful on the connectors as not all of them will fit this fat cable. I also bought some cheap connectors (.39/apiece) and about two feet of cheap cable (.21/ft).
I started by practicing with the cheap cable and connectors just to get a feel for it. It actually went o.k. except that the connectors are plastic and I melted the threads so I couldn't put the covers back on. Oh well onto the real stuff.
I think the hardest part was getting the coax cable stripped correctly. After doing this with an exacto knife I took the connectors apart just to find out that they didn't look the same as the cheap connectors did inside. You actually have to insert the center wire into the pin and get solder to flow into it. It took me about 1 hour to do the first one and then the second one only took 15 minutes after I figured it out. Also I am not 100% sure the best way to attach the wire braid to the connector. Sounds a lot harder than it really was.
When I got all done they look great! I only hooked them up long enough to make sure that they work. I will put them on tonight and give them a good listen, if they sound as good as the look I'll be happy.
So what did I learn? that I really stink at soldering, that I can make something that looks as nice as monster cables and I am sure it will sound as good if not better at 1/4th the cost. Also it would be helpful to have a vice or something to hold the cable and the connector while you solder it, not sure if they make anything like this. Also if you plan on doing a lot of cables it might be worth while to get a device to strip the cable correctly.
Thanks everyone for your help on this project. I've got lots more cables that I am going to make for sure.
Later
Joe

 

[Phil A]

Joe - if you go to www.haveinc.com they have a cut cable special on 8281F for $0.37 foot. I think they have a $75 minimum order.
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[RandyR]

I am in computer networking (though I rarely get into the cabling except at my own home,) and with network cables, plenum usually is required for cabless that run through the ceiling (fires burn more up than sideways.) I agree, I have never heard of plenum rated phone wire, though if you were doing the wiring yourself, wiring network cable along-side your telephone cable, you might use the higher quality Cat-5 cable for both so you don't have to use 2 different kinds of jacks.
I am planning to build a new house in a year or 2 so I will have to do this myself. It makes sence that I will have to make my own speaker wires, component cables, and digital cables as well.
When my only DVD player was in my computer 15 feet away from the stereo and TV, I eventually found that RG6 cable with rc adapters worked very well for the digital output on the dvd player, using a premade 25 foot RG6 cable.
I will possibly have to do some cable-making as well in my bedroom in order to hook up a stereo that's not beside the TV set. Also since I will just be using 4 bookshelf speakers mounted high on the walls I should make some speaker cables as well (the tv is high up so it can be watched from bed comfortably.) Of course once the new Ekornes recliners come in I will probably never watch movies in the bedroom again anyways

 

[Joseph Hoetzl]

Check with your local fire codes...but, I would venture to say, that unless you are running the cable through your central air vents or returns, you won't be needing Plenum cable...most homes do not use the type of HVAC systems that would require plenum.
Plenum Cable: Plenum cable should be used when smoke retardant properties are required. Plenum cable is specifically designed for use in a plenum area which is the space above a suspended ceiling used to circulate air back to a building's heating/cooling system. Most cities now have regulations which say that if you are running cabling through a plenum ceiling, then you must use plenum cable which has insulated conductors jacketed with PVDF (PolyVinylidene DiFloride) material providing low flame spread and low smoke producing properties.
PVC Cable: PVC cable should be used when smoke retardant properties are not required - i.e. when a building's heating/cooling system is run through metal ducts - not ceilings. This cable is sheathed in PVC (PolyVinyl Chloride), the standard jacketing of most electrical cable. PVC is a tough water and flame retardant material, but is not smoke retardant. If PVC catches on fire, it will emit noxious gases - if the cable is run a plenum area, the deadly gases can be dispersed throughout the building.
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[David A. Frattaroli]

I just received my TCD-5CF crimp die yesterday so I'm good to go. I'll be ordering some L-5CFB. The MarkerTek catalog recommends the Canare BNC connectors. I assume that means I can still use the RCAP-C5B connectors if I want to, right?
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[Chris White]

The Canare connectors that fit the L-5CFB are:
BCPC5FA - BNC
FPC5F - F-type
RCAPC5F - RCA
The TC-D-5CF die works for all three of these connectors.
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