Cable Drums

Bulk cable by the drum for making up your own assemblies: Titanex and Elumen8 H07RN-F rubber mains cable from 1.5mm three core up to heavy single cores, multicores for lighting hookups, plus Elumen8 TOUR and INSTALL speaker cable, screened microphone cable and DMX pair cable on 100m and 500m drums.

Sizing is the whole game. Conductor cross-section sets both current capacity and voltage drop, so match it to the load and the run length rather than to what you bought last time. A cable that is comfortable at ten metres can be marginal at fifty, and the symptom is equipment misbehaving at the far end rather than anything obviously electrical. For most fixture and audio feeds, 1.5mm and 2.5mm cover the work; the heavy single cores are for supplies and distro tails.

Jacket type is the second decision and it is not interchangeable. H07RN-F is the rubber-jacketed standard for temporary event power because it survives being dragged, coiled wet and handled in the cold, where PVC hardens and splits. For fixed installation, LSZH speaker and signal cable matters for a different reason: low smoke zero halogen jackets are what building specifications increasingly require for cable routed through public spaces and escape routes, and a specifier will ask. TOUR ranges sit at the other end, built for repeated coiling and truck life.

Data cable deserves the same care. DMX belongs on 110 ohm pair cable, not on microphone cable, and buying it by the drum is how most workshops make that switch permanently.

Termination is on you, so order connectors from the Connectors section at the same time, and allow for waste: stripping, mistakes and the last metre that will not reach add up, and drums run out faster than the spreadsheet says.

The cable care guide covers coiling, testing and storage once the assemblies are made, the connector guide covers what goes on the ends, and the event power guide covers the supply side.

Cable Drum FAQs

What size conductor do I need? Cross-section sets current capacity and voltage drop, size to the load and the run length, not to what you bought last time. A cable comfortable at ten metres can be marginal at fifty; the symptom is kit misbehaving at the far end.

Which drum for which job? H07RN-F rubber mains for power assemblies, TOUR or INSTALL speaker cable by environment, screened mic pair for audio and true 110 ohm pair for DMX, never mic cable for data.

100 m or 500 m? Price per metre falls with the big drum, worth it the moment lead-building is regular rather than occasional.