digital aquatic "bus cables"

jaypeeroe · 01/21/2010, 05:59 AM

anyone know if you can use 6 conductor phone lines for "bus cables" for the RKL.

I need my Monitor cord to be longer. Contacted DigitalAquatics support via email and this was their response:

Our bus cables are different from phone cables. Are you trying to extend the cord from your ReefKeeper Lite head unit? You can purchase cables from other retailers as long as they have six wires and they do not cross-over like standard phone cables. The ones you want are typically called 6 conductor pass-through. You would need to use this with the proper female/female jack.

If you cannot find one you can purchase a new bus cable directly from our website as well as a RKM-HUB unit. This unit acts like a splitter for your system.

I don't really feel like buying a $29 HUB and a cable from them just to use as an "extension cord" for my head unit.

I'm assuming a phone cord female/female connector would work for the jack.?.?.?

I've found 6 conductor phone cable, but none that is labeled as "pass-through." Any idea where to get the "pass-through" cord locally? I'm afraid to try the 6 conductor phone cable, don't want to fry anything if the cords are "crossed." Honestly the "crossed" thing about the phone cables doesn't make any sense to me? Is this there way of trying to get more $ outta my wallet?

dean1977 · 01/21/2010, 07:30 PM

did you ask the DA forums? I'm sure someone has done this before and can give you advice.

DaveMorris · 01/21/2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaypeeroe

anyone know if you can use 6 conductor phone lines for "bus cables" for the RKL.

You answered your own question...No you can not use regular phone cables. They have a twist in them and the topology of the RKE/RKL system does not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaypeeroe

I'm assuming a phone cord female/female connector would work for the jack.?.?.?

Only if it is a six conductor coupler and you are sure that it is a straight pass through. Most of them are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaypeeroe

Honestly the "crossed" thing about the phone cables doesn't make any sense to me? Is this there way of trying to get more $ outta my wallet?

It is simply the way that they chose to do it. They are also a business. Why wouldn't they utilize their own design? I doubt they they did it specifically to sell more bus cables because if that was the case, they didn't do a very good job of designing them. They are simple to make. If it was just a way to get more of your money then they would have made them difficult to copy.

Suggesting the RKM-HUB module was simply a way of them giving you a simple solution. It actually adds more simplicity and expansion options to your system.

luther1200 · 01/21/2010, 10:31 PM

The Bus cables are pretty cheap anyway, why not just get them from DA?

jaypeeroe · 01/22/2010, 03:05 AM

i was just trying to not have to place another order for a cord. buying a female/female straight thru at a store $4 over $28 hub i would have saved some $ and time. i found straight thru 6 conductor cables at local store, but the female/female connector was crossed wires. i could rewire it, make it work. i wasn't trying to keep from giving DA more $, it was more to give me the convenience of buying local & not having to wait on another shipped order.

thanks for all the input.

jaypeeroe · 01/22/2010, 03:10 AM

after more research (not saying i'm 100% right) the reason some phone cables won't work is because a standard phone runs off of 2 wires/conductors. in a cable that has 6 conductors some cables or connectors have wires crossed because it only matters that the 2 running said phoneline end up together on the other end. a 6 conductor phone cable is capable of running 3 seperate lines.

DaveMorris · 01/23/2010, 01:11 PM

The wires in a phone line change order on each end. It works out the same whichever direction you hook it up. The DA cables don't have the swap on the connectors. Before the HUB came out, they way I did it was to use a two jack telephone box and wire the connectors together. Is is very easy to ensure that the wires are the same in both jacks. Pretty cheap, too. Just be sure that you wire it correctly or it won't work.

luther1200 · 01/23/2010, 01:15 PM

Don't they have like 50' cables on the site? How long do you need to make it?

nmbr6 · 01/23/2010, 01:29 PM

I ordered some from Monoprice, cheap.

You're looking for RJ12 (6P6C), Straight. They are also referred to as "for data"

The wires don't flip so they would be in the same order on both sides.

jaypeeroe · 01/26/2010, 03:04 AM

i ended up ordering the hub, but i did find some straight wires locally that were dirt cheap.

01/21/2010, 05:59 AM	#1
jaypeeroe Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: St. Joseph Posts: 71	digital aquatic "bus cables" anyone know if you can use 6 conductor phone lines for "bus cables" for the RKL. I need my Monitor cord to be longer. Contacted DigitalAquatics support via email and this was their response: Our bus cables are different from phone cables. Are you trying to extend the cord from your ReefKeeper Lite head unit? You can purchase cables from other retailers as long as they have six wires and they do not cross-over like standard phone cables. The ones you want are typically called 6 conductor pass-through. You would need to use this with the proper female/female jack. If you cannot find one you can purchase a new bus cable directly from our website as well as a RKM-HUB unit. This unit acts like a splitter for your system. I don't really feel like buying a $29 HUB and a cable from them just to use as an "extension cord" for my head unit. I'm assuming a phone cord female/female connector would work for the jack.?.?.? I've found 6 conductor phone cable, but none that is labeled as "pass-through." Any idea where to get the "pass-through" cord locally? I'm afraid to try the 6 conductor phone cable, don't want to fry anything if the cords are "crossed." Honestly the "crossed" thing about the phone cables doesn't make any sense to me? Is this there way of trying to get more $ outta my wallet?

01/21/2010, 10:31 PM	#4
luther1200 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NJ, shore Posts: 4,376	The Bus cables are pretty cheap anyway, why not just get them from DA? __________________ Matt, 65G reef tank Current Tank Info: 65g reef, mix of sps, lps, few softies. Hoping to upgrade within the year.

01/23/2010, 01:11 PM	#7
DaveMorris VP, SDMAS Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sunny San Diego, CA Posts: 1,309	The wires in a phone line change order on each end. It works out the same whichever direction you hook it up. The DA cables don't have the swap on the connectors. Before the HUB came out, they way I did it was to use a two jack telephone box and wire the connectors together. Is is very easy to ensure that the wires are the same in both jacks. Pretty cheap, too. Just be sure that you wire it correctly or it won't work. __________________ Dave My 130g tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2387989 Current Tank Info: 130g build in progress

01/23/2010, 01:15 PM	#8
luther1200 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NJ, shore Posts: 4,376	Don't they have like 50' cables on the site? How long do you need to make it? __________________ Matt, 65G reef tank Current Tank Info: 65g reef, mix of sps, lps, few softies. Hoping to upgrade within the year.

01/21/2010, 07:30 PM	#2
dean1977 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: south jersey Posts: 535	did you ask the DA forums? I'm sure someone has done this before and can give you advice.

01/22/2010, 03:05 AM	#5
jaypeeroe Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: St. Joseph Posts: 71	i was just trying to not have to place another order for a cord. buying a female/female straight thru at a store $4 over $28 hub i would have saved some $ and time. i found straight thru 6 conductor cables at local store, but the female/female connector was crossed wires. i could rewire it, make it work. i wasn't trying to keep from giving DA more $, it was more to give me the convenience of buying local & not having to wait on another shipped order. thanks for all the input.

01/22/2010, 03:10 AM	#6
jaypeeroe Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: St. Joseph Posts: 71	after more research (not saying i'm 100% right) the reason some phone cables won't work is because a standard phone runs off of 2 wires/conductors. in a cable that has 6 conductors some cables or connectors have wires crossed because it only matters that the 2 running said phoneline end up together on the other end. a 6 conductor phone cable is capable of running 3 seperate lines.

01/23/2010, 01:29 PM	#9
nmbr6 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 55	I ordered some from Monoprice, cheap. You're looking for RJ12 (6P6C), Straight. They are also referred to as "for data" The wires don't flip so they would be in the same order on both sides.

01/26/2010, 03:04 AM	#10
jaypeeroe Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: St. Joseph Posts: 71	i ended up ordering the hub, but i did find some straight wires locally that were dirt cheap.