distance for a 3.5 mm cable

B

bert-nc

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Jan 8, 2012
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Location
central North Carolina
still working on my audio addition for my show this Christmas
and trying to learn what to order (the first time) to make things work properly

I will be running a Kulp K8-B cape on a beaglebone black
using a Soundblaster 3, and was planning on going ahead a get a powered usb hub to run the soundblaster

How far away from the control box to the box containing the transmitter can i go with the 3.3mm plug cable.
Trying to avoid possible interference from transmitter.
I understand there are several variables that could make a difference
I have seen the 3.5 mm cables listed from 2 feet long to 50 feet long
was thinking more like 15 to 25 feet long.
Not wanting to go past the distance the soundblaster would push a signal

Thanks for any advice and opinions

bert-nc
 
I have a Y-splitter in mine coming out of the SoundBlaster, with a 30' cable going to the AV Receiver that runs the speakers, and another 30' cable going to the FM transmitter. So the 15-25' distances you are talking about ought to be just fine...

I am not sure I'd run a 50' 3.5mm cable in a professional studio, but we are talking about FM quality here...
 
I use a splitter, then a 50 ft 3.5mm cable to reach the amp that powers my outdoor speakers. The sound quality is good enough that I can't detect any issues while standing outside listening to those speakers.
 
My suggestions / comments for any long runs -
1. Keep them away from mains cabling (30cm/1' or so) - to prevent induced hum pickup.
2. You may need a ground loop isolation transformer in the line. A ground loop would be evident as a strong 50/100Hz hum (or 60/120Hz for our USA friends) - note - this may not be evident in say your amplified sound, but only your transmission, or vice versa - no matter where in the line the ground loop is occurring
- I use one of these https://www.jaycar.com.au/response-ground-loop-isolator-stereo-35mm/p/AA3086 as I do get some ground loop noise in my show between my cheap amp, transmitter, Pi PSU and compressor.
3. Avoid any joins in 3.5mm cable where possible. Use the longest continuous line possible. The connectors are pretty rubbish at the best of times, and can introduce crackle should they get corroded.
4. Any excess cable should be wound in a figure-8 pattern. The same goes for mains cable. On the former, any noise picked up in one half of the loop is reversed in the other half, so cancelled. The same goes for the latter, but for noise production.
 
Skymaster said:
My suggestions / comments for any long runs -
1. Keep them away from mains cabling (30cm/1' or so) - to prevent induced hum pickup.
2. You may need a ground loop isolation transformer in the line. A ground loop would be evident as a strong 50/100Hz hum (or 60/120Hz for our USA friends) - note - this may not be evident in say your amplified sound, but only your transmission, or vice versa - no matter where in the line the ground loop is occurring
- I use one of these https://www.jaycar.com.au/response-ground-loop-isolator-stereo-35mm/p/AA3086 as I do get some ground loop noise in my show between my cheap amp, transmitter, Pi PSU and compressor.
3. Avoid any joins in 3.5mm cable where possible. Use the longest continuous line possible. The connectors are pretty rubbish at the best of times, and can introduce crackle should they get corroded.
4. Any excess cable should be wound in a figure-8 pattern. The same goes for mains cable. On the former, any noise picked up in one half of the loop is reversed in the other half, so cancelled. The same goes for the latter, but for noise production.
Click to expand...
Have caution when winding excess mains/power (even 12v) cables, if they're under high load they can get hot and melt as the heat buildup between layers of cable becomes too much over time.
 
just ran a small test of the audio on my setup.
only was doing a test with the kulp k8-b with the soundblaster 3 and wired (3 feet) over to a small speaker
it work fine after I realize the speaker had powered down and i needed to power it back up😄
Now to order the transmitter and probably order a powered usb hub at the same time

bert-nc
 
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