Extension Cord Routing ideas

[GriswoldStyle]

21 hours ago, caniac said:

If you keep it simple you miss out on an opportunity to use some first class profanity!!  

Simple ahhh yes that strange word we avoid.   I like to talk to myself often while doing this hobby. Although most of the time it is some first class profanity.... I like to think of it as a learning moment. Obviously I am realizing an error on my part and learning not to do it again when the profanity bombs start flying out my mouth lol.   My version of simple involves blood, sweat, tears, and profanity lol. After that comes the pretty lights for all to enjoy

[caniac]

we gave up on the zip ties thing a long time ago.  We constantly change our show thru out the season.  What you see October 15th for Halloween will not be what you see October 31st.  Likewise what we start with November 15th will not look like that on December 23rd.   I will setup what I think we want to do in my Model Preview.  The wife and I will go over it and then move it around a bit, that will be the basis of our sequencing.  As most of you, know once you start setting up things it doesn't always work out the way you think they should.  Things get changed based on access to power/controller/landscaping/sunlight et al.  Then the first night or so of running the show my wife and I will sit outside and watch it start to finish a few times.  Don't think I have had a night when after that run we didn't say "well that sucked".  Next afternoon we move it around a bit then wait for nightfall, lather/rinse/repeat.  Next up is issues with sequencing, timing is off, singing faces have mustaches, we have seen it all.  Make sequence corrections and try again.  Usually by 3-5 days out everything is on point.  And once orderly extension cords are everywhere!! lol 

Edited June 28, 2018 by caniac

[k6ccc]

On 6/27/2018 at 11:01 AM, idahocampers said:

The picture on the right was my first year the one on the left is after that! 

I like the photos, but somehow I doubt you need 48 pairs of fiber optic cable to run your show!

OK, the scary part is that by Christmas this year, some of my E1.31 traffic Will be running over fiber optic cable for part of the route...

 

[Orville]

15 hours ago, k6ccc said:

I like the photos, but somehow I doubt you need 48 pairs of fiber optic cable to run your show!

OK, the scary part is that by Christmas this year, some of my E1.31 traffic Will be running over fiber optic cable for part of the route...

 

Looks more like 96 pairs to me Jim.   I see 6 across and 4 down, 24 for each section by 4 sections = 96 fiber optic cables. 

I wouldn't even know where to begin or how to even set up my display using fiber optic cables.   Not even sure it'd be worth the time, effort or the expense to convert over to something like that.   But hey, if you can do it and that's what you like, go for it.    Me I'll just do it the old fashioned and easy way {at least for me}, electric extension cords that plug into standard electrical outlets.

[caniac]

6 minutes ago, Orville said:

Looks more like 96 pairs to me Jim.   I see 6 across and 4 down, 24 for each section by 4 sections = 96 fiber optic cables. 

I wouldn't even know where to begin or how to even set up my display using fiber optic cables.   Not even sure it'd be worth the time, effort or the expense to convert over to something like that.   But hey, if you can do it and that's what you like, go for it.    Me I'll just do it the old fashioned and easy way {at least for me}, electric extension cords that plug into standard electrical outlets.

fiber isn't that much different than ethernet only 1000 times faster so what you are doing now would work, not sure how it would deal with RS-485 though.

[Orville]

15 minutes ago, caniac said:

fiber isn't that much different than ethernet only 1000 times faster so what you are doing now would work, not sure how it would deal with RS-485 though.

That's why I don't think it would work for me.   I'd have to start changing things around a bit too much to even try using it.  I'll stick with my extension cords, may be a pain at times, but life goes on.

[caniac]

1 minute ago, Orville said:

That's why I don't think it would work for me.   I'd have to start changing things around a bit too much to even try using it.  I'll stick with my extension cords, may be a pain at times, but life goes on.

fiber doesn't replace extension cords, it replaces ethernet.  Primarily used when you want to push ethernet (and back in the day token ring) greater distances.

[Orville]

3 hours ago, caniac said:

fiber doesn't replace extension cords, it replaces ethernet.  Primarily used when you want to push ethernet (and back in the day token ring) greater distances.

Shows you just how much I know about fiber optic cables!???  

Seriously though, the only thing I know about fiber optics is the little fiber optic lamps and Christmas Trees that use them, and have used those light fiber optics in a locomotive on occasion to filter light from a source to where an actual light bulb or even L.E.D. would be impractical.  but as for running ethernet, I'd be completely in the dark {no pun intended} using them in that manner.

[caniac]

8 minutes ago, Orville said:

Shows you just how much I know about fiber optic cables!???  

Seriously though, the only thing I know about fiber optics is the little fiber optic lamps and Christmas Trees that use them, and have used those light fiber optics in a locomotive on occasion to filter light from a source to where an actual light bulb or even L.E.D. would be impractical.  but as for running ethernet, I'd be completely in the dark {no pun intended} using them in that manner.

because the push light instead of electricity it can be pushed farther with less resistance.  Also you can bundle thousands of strands of fiber optic cable together and you don't get the interference you would get with copper.

[Orville]

13 minutes ago, caniac said:

because the push light instead of electricity it can be pushed farther with less resistance.  Also you can bundle thousands of strands of fiber optic cable together and you don't get the interference you would get with copper.

I know it pushes light, but how do you use it in place of cat5 cables?  And does it replace the cat5 from controller to controller too?  Kind of curious as to how this actually works.

[caniac]

4 minutes ago, Orville said:

I know it pushes light, but how do you use it in place of cat5 cables?  And does it replace the cat5 from controller to controller too?  Kind of curious as to how this actually works.

just a matter of formatting the data BUT controllers would have to be reworked to allow fiber in and out (sort like most audio amps these days and dvd players).  The signal is the signal whether it is riding on copper or fiber (microchips convert it for either medium).

[k6ccc]

A lot of routers and switches these days either have optical interfaces built in or far more commonly SFP ports.  SFP is short for Small Form-factor Pluggable.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form-factor_pluggable_transceiver  for details.  Essentially it provides an optical interface rather than an electrical interface for the ethernet.  Depending on the type of FO cable and the transceivers used, it can  go many miles at speeds as much as many tens of gigabits.

I will be using a pair of optical SFPs between two of my switches.

 

Edited June 29, 2018 by k6ccc

[k6ccc]

8 hours ago, Orville said:

Looks more like 96 pairs to me Jim.   I see 6 across and 4 down, 24 for each section by 4 sections = 96 fiber optic cables.

96 strands of glass = 48 pairs of glass.  Each yellow tube is one strand of glass - they are made up in pairs, and it appears that the blue connectors are pairs.

Note that bi-directional fiber optic communications can be done with two strands of glass (one for each direction), or with a single strand of glass (using different wavelengths of light for each direction).  You can also multiplex multiple ethernet circuits onto a single strand with what's called Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) where there are a bunch of different colors of light for each direction.  We have some stuff at work that is capable of 40 colors - each running 10Gb/s (we're not running that much however).  Anyone need 400 Gb/s over a long distance?

 

[LOR Staff]

I have glass between 2 switches at one of my clients.  For no other reason than to be able to say I have glass between switches.

#geekcred

[k6ccc]

11 minutes ago, DevMike said:

I have glass between 2 switches at one of my clients.  For no other reason than to be able to say I have glass between switches.

That is exactly why I am going to run my second link between the family room switch and the data cabinet switch in fiber!  It will also be 100% diverse routed, and the two routes will be a LACP trunk group.

Besides, the optical SFPs are less expensive than gigabit electrical SFPs - enough cheaper that it paid for the 25m two strand multi-mode jumper (conduit extra).

Yes - GEEK!

 

[Orville]

2 hours ago, k6ccc said:

96 strands of glass = 48 pairs of glass.  Each yellow tube is one strand of glass - they are made up in pairs, and it appears that the blue connectors are pairs.

Note that bi-directional fiber optic communications can be done with two strands of glass (one for each direction), or with a single strand of glass (using different wavelengths of light for each direction).  You can also multiplex multiple ethernet circuits onto a single strand with what's called Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) where there are a bunch of different colors of light for each direction.  We have some stuff at work that is capable of 40 colors - each running 10Gb/s (we're not running that much however).  Anyone need 400 Gb/s over a long distance?

 

Not knowing much about how FO works, that makes sense.  Thanks for clearing that up.  I would have sworn it was 96, didn't realize they were "paired".

[bbass101]

I reroute most of my show each year, mostly because I add a controller here or some more lights there etc. So I have several 8 ch and 16 ch "snakes" (think of the audio snake) that are labeled, zip tied, and ready for use. This way I can run 16 or 8 channels from the controller in one run, not 16 or 8 respectively. I also have a couple that spool out, where the controller (male) ends are all the same length, but the female ends are spread out every 5 feet or so. I mainly use these for the pumpkins during Halloween. Since each one is on a separate channel it works out well.

[Richard Hamilton]

I don't bother..... The wife has learned that if she goes and lays out all the extension cords for me, then her Christmas present is bigger, better, and more expensive ! ?

[k6ccc]

2 hours ago, Richard Hamilton said:

I don't bother..... The wife has learned that if she goes and lays out all the extension cords for me, then her Christmas present is bigger, better, and more expensive ! ?

Happy Wife, Happy Life!

 

[airborneSRT]

I love zip ties as much as the next person but if you want something that is less permanent, or that you have to cut and replace every year....

velcro zip ties:

 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075XSHF5L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and/or cable management velcro:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GCS77TU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1