Appropriate wire for splices and xConnect runs?

slw2206

slw2206

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Jan 8, 2026
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I'm sure there's a million answers to what wires are "appropriate" for 12V lights. I was given a 250ft spool of Syston QSH-CBL-M wire which is a 16AWG pair with a 22AWG pair.

Question, this seems to me like a perfect fit for 12V light runs (thicker for power, 22AWG retains data better) whether I'm splicing to wire ends together or making longer runs with xConnect ends. Anyone see any reason why this stuff wouldn't work? My current pixels are 3 strand so I would just leave one of the 22AWG unused, but I guess if I ever got 4 strand pixels it would work for them as well.

The only downside I see is that the jacket is blue which might stick out a little during the day... but free trumps a little blue :)

www.systoncable.com

9966 - Compatible to Equal to Lutron QSH-CBL-M Riser Rated Cable

High-quality riser rated Lutron cable for use with the following Lutron systems, - GRAFIK Eye 3000, GRAFIK Eye 4000, GRAFIK Eye QS, Softswitch128, Quantum, LCP128, HomeWorks Interactive, HomeWorks QS, Energi Savr Node, Sivoia QS, Sivoia QS Wireless, & Contract Series, - Syston Part number: 9966
www.systoncable.com www.systoncable.com
 
merryoncherry said:
Cannot argue with the price. The question is less "will it work" and more "what is the most pixels(current draw)+most distance that will work well".
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Well that is something I'll test when it's a little warmer outside and I can setup a mock display to start testing some things out. Since this is my first year with programmable lights I won't be waiting until November to figure out these details.

I'd try to do some testing indoors, but I think the wife's patience is wearing thin with the amount of "stuff" (as she puts it) currently spread around our basement :)
 
I have a roll of cable at home which has 7 cores, 2x at about 16awg, and 5 at around 20-22awg. Very similar to the above, but with direct bury jacket and black. I think its original intention was for power connectivity and a few control lines.

Using it for pixels - no issues at all. In one use case, despite it not being twisted pair, I am dumping two differential data signals over 4 of the 5 data cores for around 25 metres (75ft) and that works well too.

You may need to experiment with either grounding or disconnecting the fourth wire, which would change the capacitance.
 
slw2206 said:
Well that is something I'll test when it's a little warmer outside and I can setup a mock display to start testing some things out. Since this is my first year with programmable lights I won't be waiting until November to figure out these details.
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That's right! You should start using lights for the 4th of July, and also Halloween to work out the kinks!
 
Indigogyre said:
That's right! You should start using lights for the 4th of July, and also Halloween to work out the kinks!
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Ha! Well at the 4th we have 100 over and set off a 15 minute fireworks show. Here in PA we can buy up to 500 gram cakes and its been a tradition since COVID canceled all the 4th shows that I put on fireworks here 🙃
 
Wow, things have changed since I was a kid in PA... we had bang caps, sparklers, and those snake things, that was about all you were allowed. No roman candles or anything ... Anyone who had anything interesting had smuggled it from West Virginia.
 
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