Derek H Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I'll be making some new cable soon, particularly short jumpers for use in mic-to-boom, boom-to mixer connections and want to see if I can find a consensus on the best way to do solder these up. Obviously pin1-ground, pin2-hot, pin3-reverse, but I wanted to see where you all stand on the more optional connection of pin1(cable shield) to the XLR shell lug, as well as the idea of using ferrite beads and capacitors to soak up extra RF/EMI. If anyone has been implementing these kinds of "extras" into their audio cable with success I'd love to hear about it. I've heard many opinions and positions on these oft-overlooked details. Some people firmly believe that the shell should never be connected (to avoid ground loops), whereas some seem to believe that connecting the shell provides a more complete level of shielding (both Ron of PSC, and Jon Tatooles of SD were in this camp). One tech I talked to (an amp designer) thought that the ideal situation would be to connect the ground to shell but use caps and ferrite beads to ward off any ground loops that you may encounter. I get the feeling that the answer depends on the purpose of the cable as well as the connected equipment's relationship to mains ground. eg.. maybe a mic jumper should be fully shielded, whereas a 100' cable operating at line-level used for patching one panel mixer to another on AC should not have a link to the shell (ground issues)... ?? For my purposes, all of this cable will live in an OTS rig powered by batteries 99% of the time, and occasionally tethered to cameras that may be plugged into AC about 5% of the time... if that helps btw, I'll be using L-4E6S as well as some cloth Neumann hose (for shock-mount jumpers), and standard (silver-colored) Neutrik NC3FX/MX parts. Thanks, -d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Obviously pin1-ground, pin2-hot, pin3-reverse, but I wanted to see where you all stand on the more optional connection of pin1(cable shield) to the XLR shell lug -d This has been debated for as long as I have been in the business (and possibly longer). I remember asking the question first in 1969 when I went to make my first audio cable myself. I got several different answers then and just last year when I asked the question again, almost 30 years later, I still do not have a clear answer. You are right, I believe, that the key question needs to be asked: what is the length and intended purpose of the cable and how will it be used. Armed with the answers to those questions, it seems someone should be able to give a definitive answer. Regards, Jeff Wexler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I still make long xlr cables the way several video- and sound truck guys told me to do it many years ago: connect the shield to the shell at the female end and not at the male end. Does it make a difference? Not sure. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek H Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 I've cross-listed this topic on Ramps, where there is a lot of active discussion----> http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.movies.production.sound/browse_thread/thread/2c651ff19e70e022?tvc=2&fwc=2 To Philip and Jeff: Thanks for your replies. Jeff it's good to hear that I'm not the only one that hasn't found a clear answer to this question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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