Dual MIDI to CAT5 Adapters

[Jidis]

Hi again,

I've been short on MIDI cables the past couple years and finally got a fat bag of cheap 5 PIN DIN plugs off eBay. :)

I'm thinking that instead of trying to figure all the lengths I might want, I'll just make some "Y" adapters with two really short cables (terminated with MIDI plugs) hanging off an RJ45 female socket, and stick them on the end of network cables when I need them.

I'm not looking for the highest quality lines here, and the common transmission will likely be short runs of less than six feet. If you did this, what would be the ideal pins of the 3 DIN lines to stick together in the twisted pairs? Or, would keeping them all separate be the least susceptible to noise (I should have 8 leads to use for the six wires)?

Thanks and sorry if that's a dumb question,

George 

[DrBunsen]

Not really an answer to your question, but with the two extra wires you could implement DC power ;D

[Jidis]

with the two extra wires you could implement DC power

A grand idea. ;)

Don't worry, they probably won't go to waste. I was planning to do a couple oddballs with pinheaders or ribbons sticking off too.

I've done a couple dual MIDI over CAT5's here before, but they terminate in a heatshrinked mess, which splits directly to two 3-conductor segments with DIN plugs on them. Never had any trouble with the data, but I'd like to get a standard pinning for this junk, so I can make other stuff to go with them later on, like if I wanted to stick an RJ45 jack on a Core board or a breadboard project, I could plug directly into it and get both my MIDI runs (and DC now that you mention it :)) on one lightweight connector.

The twists always seem to be associated with a balanced pair, so they'll both get the same induced noise and it'll get knocked out by the electronics at the other end. Just wondering what the effect is of having a data line and either a ground (free at one end I guess) or that 5v current line thing twisted together for the run.

Thanks,

George