Combining the power cable

with USB Extender cables in the same bundle - loom?

We are presently using several CAT 5e cables to extend MIDI, for instance, using Kenton LNDR Line Driver MIDI Range Extenders over shielded CAT 5e cables.

https://www.perfectcircuit.com/kenton-lndr-midi-line-driver.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkrDcr-6r5AIVCP_jBx0WqwREEAQYBCABEgKLL_D_BwE

As well one AVB signal also using a shielded CAT 5e cable. All of these CAT 5e cables are bundled together in a flexible fabric loom which together acts as the console's "umbilical" cord. This combination of cables connects to the console. From there these cables connect via connectors on a wall plate to CAT 5e cables to their final destination. The AC power and the CAT 5e cables run beyond that point thru separate conduits.

In addition to these signal, cables, there is an AC power cord for console power. Relatively low current, just a few amps. The request has been made to have the power cord in the same loom as these digital signal CAT 5e cables. Presently the AC cord runs near the signal cables, but not as close as would be if it was bundled very close in the loom. I'm thinking it would be OK but also have a few reservations. .

(This "umbilical" cord is approx 25 ft long.)

One of my reservations is as a result of some damage done to other equipment in the bldg, not the organ, but to the lighting and the HVAC control systems after some recent (active lightning) storms. One thought was to possibly use a shielded AC power cord. The whole idea behind this combining request is to have just a single cable assembly via the loom) for the organ as in making it neat and pretty..

Any thoughts?

Rgds,
Ed

I have the power cable bundled with Cat5 over 60 feet. I am using the Cat5 for balanced line level audio since the USB sound card is at the console and the amps are near the speakers. I tried running 2 x 30 feet powered USB cables to the sound card near the amps but the fridge in the kitchen would sometimes knock them out!

I have protected the power cable with a spike/surge suppressor. My theory is that, if a lightning strike is near enough to induce a spike in the power cable itself, then it will induce a similar amplitude spike in the Cat5 anyway and so shielding the mains cable is not going to make a significant difference. However, others may see this differently...

We have surge suppression in the console on the AC mains as part of the UPS thru which the organ computers get their power. Another part of the concern is that the organ computers which live in the console, are running 24/7. So the CAT 5e cables form an antenna network.

We had considered putting surge protection devices on the CAT 5e cable prior to their Ethernet port connection. But after reading the following article along with some others, concluded that not to be a good strategy.

https://incompliancemag.com/article/designing-ethernet-cable-ports-to-withstand-lightning-surges/

As this article points out - The irony of this is that if the protection devices had not been installed, there would have been no mechanism to cause a differential surge to appear on the port. For Ethernet ports, this is an important concept to understand. Adding protection devices between the cable and ground can actually create more problems than it solves.

However the question remains can Ethernet Surges Be Coming from the AC Mains?

Again quoting from the above article Many people who are studying Ethernet surge failures have begun to suspect that somehow, surges that originate on the AC mains are getting onto Ethernet cables. Since the power distribution network uses very long cables in highly exposed environments, surges on the AC mains can be quite large. Surges in the range of 5 kV to 10 kV are somewhat common.

Rgds,
Ed

The comments in this post above make very interesting reading.

Ethernet runs at a low DC voltage and each end normally connects to an integrated circuit driver, running on probably 5 and/or 12V DC. These components are very sensitive to any significant overvoltage and are likely to fail if subjected any voltage significantly above their normal voltages.

Electronic equipment may be subjected to both spikes and surges - the two are very different.

Surges are relatively low voltage but could last, may be, a second. Most power supplies will be able to cope with modest surges without damage.

Lightning could induce spikes which may be VERY high voltages and last a millisecond or so.

Spikes can damage every kind of electronic equipment. Mains cables my be subject to both spikes (usually associated with lightning) and surges (usually originating in the power transmission equipment).

There is not a lot (short of housing your equipment in a faraday cage) you can do about spikes. If you get significant spikes your equipment is likely to get damaged eventually. Spark suppressers installed where the mains power enters the property may be beneficial but simple precautions like the commonly available surge suppressers will usually not be effective.

Thus it is probably best to do what most of us do and not to worry about either spikes or surges.

csw900

The transmission of Ethernet over different media is summarized in the Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_physical_layer. Using Cat 5e running alongside power cables is not usually a problem though regulations normally prohibit enclosing power and other cables (such as Cat 5e) in the same partition of a cable enclosure. Cat 5e is often delivered to desks in the same trunking as the mains supply, but in a separate partition of the trunking and works without problems. The differential transmission used over the Cat 5e is immune from most spikes in power lines.

Where cat 5e cables run outside a building, lightning can be a problem... best to avoid this.

Iain