Members Coaster Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 got a big pile of cables that are getting ends swapped on or replaced, or are being brought out of retirement. some have had the speakons removed and are bare, others have one speakon, maybe some 1/4" and two have FXLR. after i biamped my tops and went 4 wire cable, i went Black=Hot based on i am using electrical cable, carrying lots of volts and i am getting tired of trying to remember what i am doing. so my pile of cables are getting black=hot treatment. rainy day projects may include swapping around my currently in use cables which are white or red hot. store bought ones seem either or, mostly black = cold. i dont think i have any store bought ones anymore, all mine are off of spools at this point or are repurposed store bought ones. never understood the audio = black/cold and electrical black/hot thing. drives me batty. what say you? how do you wire your cables? my biamped ones are black/white and red/green. black and red are hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dennis a Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 my biamped ones are black/white and red/green. black and red are hot. One time someone told me that was the same color code used by Rat Sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lifeloverwg Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 When I make up ends they are black + too from wiring my houses before I got into sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 I usually use black/white for pair 1 and red/green for pair 2, black and red are hot. The other common scheme is red/black for pair 1 and white/green for pair 2. Either one is reasonably common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 I refer to this often (actually I have copies of this printed out and hanging all-over in my shop): http://whirlwindusa.com/media/uploads/downloads/manuals/wwcolorcode.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KellyMainEvent Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 thats so weird, I've always heard (around here) that the lighter color is +. So, if it's white and black, white = Positive. I've heard that since I started learning. All of my NL2, NL4, XLR, TRS, etc. are wired lighter color +. Its weird, but I always remembered it backward from electrical. My assistant has always wired that way too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 I've never seen anything wired black hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 I always tell people, "black as death, white angel wings are gonna save your butt" when it comes to wiring electrical supply. Easy to remember that way. Green/ground/earth is the easiest yet. Problem is AUTOMOTIVE wiring has RED positive/supply and BLACK negative/ground. And MANY enter into PA world after experience with auto sound systems. That's where any confusion enters in. On a safety note, Home Despot sells an AC voltage detector for about $6-8, single point plastic covered sensor, adjustable sensativity. You can check for a hot wire WITHOUT penetrating the sheathing. Looks like a fat green pen. GREAT if you are working "knob & tube" in older homes, no fun cutting into a hot wire ;>( Says it'll detect 12v-1000V AC 50-500Hz. Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 This thread is a good illustration that you can't assume anything with electricity, or audio phase. If you don't know, you better check it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 27, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 here is where it gets real confusing: in a black = hot wired system, black goes to red and white goes to black into the speaker. this is one reason i did not go with this method for so long; but since i am deep enough in this mess to the point of where i have difficulty holding an electrical cable in my hand and trying to think about whether black should be hot or not depending on cable end type - its time to just pick one and stick to it. i just checked my cables at work and they are all black = cold. those arent mine and i dont think i will change them; i'm not sure about my various patch panels whether they are wired black = hot; probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 27, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 I refer to this often (actually I have copies of this printed out and hanging all-over in my shop):http://whirlwindusa.com/media/uploads/downloads/manuals/wwcolorcode.pdf this basically backs up my premise; they state exactly the method i am talking about for NL4 connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 Where there is a black and a red, red is always positive. Red and white, red is positive. Black and white, black is positive. Good rule of thumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members banddad Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 I started with automobiles and electronics, where black is negative and hooked to ground (like the speaker illustration).Then I bought a house, and found out black is hot in AC electical power wiring.Confusing? Yes! It's good to know the conventions for each industry - thanks for the insights here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 27, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 I started with automobiles and electronics, where black is negative and hooked to ground (like the speaker illustration).Then I bought a house, and found out black is hot in AC electical power wiring.Confusing? Yes!It's good to know the conventions for each industry - thanks for the insights here! there are a few positive ground vehicles in history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsn62 Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 Where there is a black and a red, red is always positive. Red and white, red is positive. Black and white, black is positive.Good rule of thumb. noted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 "Where there is a black and a red, red is always positive. Red and white, red is positive. Black and white, black is positive. Good rule of thumb." This is the standard everywhere I have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members banddad Posted May 27, 2011 Members Share Posted May 27, 2011 "there are a few positive ground vehicles in history." ...had one of those too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jasps Posted May 29, 2011 Members Share Posted May 29, 2011 FWIW: I always wire 4-conductor NL4 and 6-8 conductor NL8 with black as hot, using SJ cable. You will actually see how the cable lines up at one end of a speakon connector. Black 1+White 1-Red 2+Green 2- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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