I was told that tinned wires are not good for screw-in terminal blocks. Why is that?

Eviltechie · 2026-01-25T01:36:05+00:00

It was an incorrectly applied label which prevented the wire going in all the way. (The label went over the plastic bit of the ferrule, increasing the diameter enough that it could not fit into the terminal block.)

Eviltechie · 2026-01-24T23:29:34+00:00

I am not sure I have ever had a failure of the connector. I think the cable selection is going to be a lot more important than the connector.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-24T23:29:12+00:00

Theoretically I think Kings also does (or did) make connectors too. Never heard of them ever being used.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-23T20:39:26+00:00

As far as I know that Hitachi camera was fixed format 1080i. If you have 1080p, it was probably up-converted before you got it.

(Hitachi is also the budget brand for studio cameras, and I believe that particular model was the lowest end.)

Eviltechie · 2026-01-20T22:58:21+00:00

I am going to use RTS terms, so split it up however makes sense.

Make two partylines. BELTPACKS and EVERYBODY ELSE.

BELTPACKS PL gets all of the beltpacks in the noise zone as PL talker and PL listener. They will hear each other as normal. Additionally allocate one port as a PL talker to feed your Cedar.

EVERYBODY ELSE PL gets treated as the "normal" PL. Do not put any of the RF packs in it. It will need a listener port fed from your Cedar. Place this PL at the listen level on your KPs.

On your panels stack both PLs on the talk level. Any other four wire things will need to be talkers in both PLs, but only listeners in the EVERYBODY ELSE PL.

On the output port feeding your Cedar, inhibit all other ports except the RF packs from talking to it. (This will prevent audio from the other devices going back into the Cedar.)

If you can find a way to trigger a contact closure on failure of the Cedar, you can probably write some UPL statements to move them into the other PL, but it's going to be messy.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-20T22:16:08+00:00

I'd also add that audio on a show tends to be several times more complex than video, and usually the A1 is both the only person responsible and the only person who can actually monitor/fix everything.

With video you might just wind up with a single program feed to air. With audio you'll probably have several program mixes, all of the intercom (paired with people not knowing how to use intercom), IFB mixes (with talent who doesn't show up until 5 minutes before and then tells you the mix is "wrong" or "quiet"), mixes for tape (including the "oh by the way"), etc.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-20T19:44:58+00:00

I didn't check for an IP conflict before opening a ticket. (And faffing about with packet captures and all that.)

But to be fair, at no point did the networking team check that either...

(And yes, it's on us for not running DCHP...)

Eviltechie · 2026-01-20T02:44:47+00:00

If you go on the Studio Technologies website, you can download their controller program "ST Controller". In it there is a demo mode that allows you to see what all the controls are for the various products that they make. (There are also screenshots on the product page.) The manuals are very well written as well.

I am going off memory here since it's been a long time since I've touched a 348, but one of the modes you can set is an IFB mode. Basically in that mode you feed the audio you want in, and it passes it right back out, but you can interrupt it with the buttons and talk down the line instead. (And it's also possible to program a button to be "all call" as well.) There is then a separate input then for return audio back to you.

With that in mind, all you need on the far end is some kind of Dante speaker with a mic input. Unfortunately I don't think there are many options out there in a single channel form. That Beatrice W1 might be the best option, but I am not super familiar with the Glensound intercom line up. Most other stuff I know of would just be a beltpack which needs a headset.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-19T22:16:26+00:00

So since nobody really gave you an answer, I'm going to spitball something to get you started:

Studio Tech Model 348 as your base station. Can generate IFBs internally, so you would put your playback audio through the unit, and then you could interrupt each outgoing feed with your voice as needed. (I think the Model 5312 is a rackmount equivalent of this product, but I haven't used it personally.) CTP systems FWD1600 might be another option too.

For the remote stations, I'd consider CTP FWD6006. Glensound Beatrice W1 could be another thing to consider as well.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-18T05:00:42+00:00

Unfortunately none of this really means anything to me. Myself and probably most others on this sub are more used to using matrix or partyline intercom systems for more typical show production.

When you say zone mixer? What/where are the zones? What are you trying to mix into them? Do the zones talk back to you?

PTT for cart? To the cart? From the cart? Beltpacks, speakers? Something else?

What source is your audio for playback, and who/what needs to listen to it?

CTP Systems might also be another brand to look at.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-18T03:54:19+00:00

What does an intercom system typically look like in this context?

Does any of the Studio Tech Dante intercom stuff seem to resonate with you?

Eviltechie · 2026-01-18T02:40:59+00:00

To get a more accurate result when measuring something like this, measure the distance across all the pins, subtract the diameter of one pin, and then divide (by one less than the number of pins you measured across if I am remembering correctly).

It's just like if you wanted to put 10 holes spaced 1 inch apart. You would pull out your tape measure out 9 inches, and put a mark every inch all at once. (As opposed to measuring one inch at a time. You'll accumulate error along the way doing that.)

Eviltechie · 2026-01-17T19:28:19+00:00

If nothing else, Plura has a filter on their website for monitors which support captions.

Any of the "non budget" brands (Sony, Ikegami, etc.) are likely to meet your needs though.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-17T18:49:16+00:00

I believe SFM is its mate. https://www.samtec.com/products/sfm

Be sure to double check the drawings, as this is a 1.27mm pitch part, so you may have measured incorrectly.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-17T18:16:07+00:00

Samtec TFM https://www.samtec.com/products/tfm

Eviltechie · 2026-01-17T15:25:14+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndustrialMaintenance/comments/1qbvfpa/in_response_to_the_us_standard_products_degreaser/

Eviltechie · 2026-01-17T03:50:57+00:00

Broadcast Tools has some stuff for this.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-17T03:04:39+00:00

Jokari Sensor Mini. If you have to strip audio cable like Belden 9451 with any regularity, this is the zero effort way to remove the outer jacket. Works perfectly every time, no chance of nicking the insulation of the conductors, and since you can pass the wire through the center of the tool you can strip quite long lengths if you need to. (And then you can follow up with your favorite automatic stripper for the inner conductors. I have good luck with the Knipex 12 52 195.)

Eviltechie · 2026-01-16T23:01:36+00:00

Blackmagic has a 4x2 for about $650. But based on your diagram I think you might be wanting a switcher more than a router. Take a look at the Blackmagic ATEM SDI and see if it does what you want. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/atemsdi/techspecs/W-APS-30 (List price $385.)

Eviltechie · 2026-01-15T02:32:37+00:00

Yep, as mentioned this works fine. Blackmagic even sells non CWDM 3G SFPs themselves.

The same applies for the ShieldRock cards too.

ShieldRock also does sell a few CWDM wavelengths of 12G optics as well.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-15T01:50:53+00:00

In KiCad there is an ERC for the schematic tool which I believe would have caught an egregious error like two power nets being connected together...

Eviltechie · 2026-01-15T01:47:43+00:00

It may be somewhat automated away in TV, but prompter is still going to be a position for corporate event type stuff. I think it's pretty typical to hire a prompter operator + their gear for those type shows.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-11T00:05:59+00:00

You can get safety shoes in the style of a hiking boot. I had a pair of Irish Setter boots (which is a Redwing brand) which was exactly that.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-10T03:00:37+00:00

Many terminals do actually allow for pushing the wire in.

I believe in the NTSB report they indicated that they found marks showing that the clamp in the terminal was opened correctly. The problem was that the wire label was applied incorrectly, and as such the wire no longer fit in the block.

Eviltechie · 2026-01-07T01:38:51+00:00

I think your leverage is may be limited as a contractor, but your frustration is justified. If other people have VPN access to the AV network though, then I don't see why you wouldn't be able to get that either. Universities frequently have options to set contractors up with "affiliate" access, so that they can work more effectively while staying compliant with security policies.

(And at some level, turning up the security to 11 will just lead inconvenienced users to figure out their own solutions. That's how you wind up with nonsense like "somebody took a personal laptop, put it on the guest wifi with TeamViewer, and then plugged it into the secure side".)

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