-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
Can I run a 25 foot serial cable to my cutter?
- Thread starter binki
- Start date
SignManiac
New Member
You missed it by a foot. 24' is the max 
showcase 66
New Member
Every cutter I have had has always said not to use a longer cable than what came with the machine. That being said, I have a 12' one for one cutter and it has had no real problems. I was told by a tech a few years ago to not let your cables lay on the floor as a static charge can build up through the cable. The longer the cable, the more static it potentially will have.
Does the 25' cable have a integrated booster in it. I have had problems with long usb's with a booster in them. The cutter I tried to use with one could not bee seen on my computer. Just a thought.
Does the 25' cable have a integrated booster in it. I have had problems with long usb's with a booster in them. The cutter I tried to use with one could not bee seen on my computer. Just a thought.
binki
New Member
I ordered a 15' and it is long enough as the crow flies but as the worm crawls it may be just short. We have another computer and just need a monitor so I may just hook that one up but we really wanted to add another cutter so if the 15' doesn't work we will need to add another computer.
Mainframe
New Member
Just add a USB hub at the end of your 15 foot cable and run a cable from that to your cutter, maybe that will get you there.
briankb
Premium Subscriber
What machine are you trying to hookup via serial port? Both USB and Serial have a length limit do to the resistance in the wire itself that leads to loss of signal.
If there is an option to add a Network card to your equipment that is the best option and you can easily run it hundreds of feet from a switch/router/computer using Cat5 or Cat6 cable.
If there is an option to add a Network card to your equipment that is the best option and you can easily run it hundreds of feet from a switch/router/computer using Cat5 or Cat6 cable.
ddarlak
Go Bills!
Last edited:
choucove
New Member
If what you are needing to use is a standard DB9 Serial Null Modem cable, then you can go with lengths up to or greater than 25 feet. We currently have a CNC router connected to a computer using a serial null modem cable that is 25 ft. and have absolutely no issues. We also have run a Graphtec plotter once off a 25 ft. serial cable for years and had no issues there.
round man
New Member
years ago(1990)I needed a 20 ft cable to run my plotter,...I had to have one made up and all the techs told me it wouldn't work due to line noise problems (electromagnectic disturbances from light ballasts and other shop equipment),...well I ran that plotter off of that 20' serial cable for over ten years before the plotter finally died,...it might be worth a try but You never know maybe I was just lucky,....
Jim Doggett
New Member
Yes (too long), if your cutter has a smaller buffer. The penalty for a cable that's too long is data-loss; it'll cut normally and then go wacky, ruining the vinyl. If 6' works great, buy a small table and keep your cutting station close. Or go long and buy extra vinyl since some will get ruined, I'd bet.
JMO,
Last edited:
CheapVehicleWrap
New Member
Try it see if it works. I've done it many time with no problems.
Techman
New Member
The real problem with long cables of any port type (usb, parallel, serial) is the timing with the signal pulses and cable shielding and the impedance and signal reflection and baud rates.. The signals go in two directions. One signal may be going while the machines sends another back to the computer. If signal one is late getting back the computer will flip out and cause a error.
In the old days cables were limited to about 18 ft. (6 meters) for standard usages. That was the rule of thumb to cover any problems with the old rs232 interface.. And the old lesser quality cables. Also, laying two next to each other sometimes caused a problem because the signals would leak between the two.
However, our cutters usually run at about 9600 baud (slow). And the cables today are shielded very well. Therefor some machines might run with a cable up to about (10 meters) 30 ft or more. This is dependent on the cable shielding the drains and quality etc. Your mileage may vary.
Parallel cables,,,
The old Centronics parallel cables, (1980's) can rarely be more than 15 feet long and still operate correctly, and 9 to 12 feet is a safer limit. Yes, I made a few of those back in the day when you had to make your own.
But the newer IEEE-1284 can go up to 30 feet in length. I know that for a fact because I run a printer in another room on a 30Ft cable.
Terremoto
New Member
Depending on the cable 50' is generally the max but you can go a lot further than that with the right cable.
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-Serial-Console-HOWTO/serial-distance.html
Back in the last millennium we regularly ran 50' cables to serial monitors (POS systems) and never had a problem. Made the cables ourselves.
Dan
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-Serial-Console-HOWTO/serial-distance.html
Back in the last millennium we regularly ran 50' cables to serial monitors (POS systems) and never had a problem. Made the cables ourselves.
Dan
elsignshop
New Member
I run a 100' usb cable to my plotter. Never had problems.
