mjg lead extension

[blazerman]

I have a ton of the 3' firewire initiators and would like to get them further from my firing modules. I have a ton of category 5 data cable, will this work reliably to extend those leads? If so how would you splice them together?

[jamisonlm3]

This is why I tell people to get the 7ft over the 3ft. Not because they won't work, but they're so short and not that much cheaper. The first time I used my little cheap 12 cue system, I cut up an old cat5 cable to lengthen the 1ft igniters that came with it. It worked just fine. The MJG wires themselves are basically the same AWG anyway. I think 22AWG solid core is usually used or preferred though since there's less resistance. Are the ones you have quick plugs? You'll just have to cut and strip both sides of your extension and the wire of the MJG where you made the cut. Just twist them together well and wrap in tape to insulate them.

[Arclight]

Sure, you could use CAT5 as scab wire. I would just pull the jacket off, separate the pairs and then use each pair individually. You could either twist the wires to the MJGs or use some Scotchlock connectors.

[Engineer Cat]

Indeed. I actually install network cabling for a living so I always have a bunch of Cat6 around.

6258

[blazerman]

cool, thanks guys! I just wanted to make sure I heard it from someone who had done it successfully

[Engineer Cat]

When I first tried it I took like a 100 foot piece of cable and connected a 3ft initiator to test it. Worked fine.

I agree with jamisonlm3. I now only by 7, 10 & 15 foot initiators.

[cduesman]

There are lots of variables (firing voltage, cable length and wire size/awg), the number of initiators and how you are wiring them (parallel vs series).

Good CAT 5 is should be 24AWG copper. Better or CAT 6 might be 23AWG.

There's a website https://calc.easypyro.com that should give you a pretty good ballpark if you supply the variables.

Testing should be done as well.

Chris

[Engineer Cat]

There are lots of variables (firing voltage, cable length and wire size/awg), the number of initiators and how you are wiring them (parallel vs series).

Good CAT 5 is should be 24AWG copper. Better or CAT 6 might be 23AWG.

There's a website https://calc.easypyro.com that should give you a pretty good ballpark if you supply the variables.

Testing should be done as well.

Chris

Awesome tool! Thanks

[Jay_]

Man I love the shorty igniters and I believe that they have their place.

Over the years I have found that 7' and 3' igniters are ideal for me on 4x4 cake boards with slats in most situations.

My favorite single effect igniter is the 20" Liuyang pieces. I bought mine back in April when they were really cheap, but now (closer to season) they are a little more expensive. For slats on compact single effect boards, they are fantastic.