Locality Switch

If you’re up to date with the latest trends in broadcasting, you ought to know that everything is going digital. Massive multi-pair cables are being replaced with inexpensive Cat6*. All the latest digital audio consoles interconnect with Cat6, and the only analogue audio in sight is converted to digital through an A/D converter anyway.

So, why is Cat6 so popular? One word: cost. Cat6 can be bought cheaper than $0.50 per meter. Compare that to bucket loads of multi-pair cable with Krone IDC blocks on every end, and Cat6 is suddenly very attractive. Not to mention the advantages you get by running all your audio over a Cat6 network – audio coming from any source can be instantly routed to any destination you like, without leaving your chair.

I love Cat6, and the advantages it has. However, there is one small problem which every piece of Cat6 in the world has – RJ45.

You want to know the problems with the humble RJ45? The problem is that it is cheap, and very easy to break. But the main thing which breaks is the little plastic clip which secures it in. I don’t know how many of these things have been broken in studios, and have come out half way through a song, leaving a very problematic situation. I am, quite frankly, fed up with having to re-crimp these things.

Surly the broadcast world would have woken up to this problem, and found a solution. After all, we are the people who have been favouring those robust XLR connectors for as long as they have been around! Surly someone would have a solution?

But wait, there is! It’s called EtherCon, and is manufactured Neutrik. EtherCon is a wonderful concept. Here’s a pic:

See, it’s a RJ45 turned XLR! Wonderful! It’s just what I’ve always wanted. I would happily replace every RJ45 in the building with one of these EtherCon wonder plugs. But there’s a bit of a problem:

I can’t find a single network switch, network card, or patch panel which supports the EtherCon connector! Sure, they will sell me a EtherCon connector to solder onto a PCB, but that isn’t what I really want. What I want is a range of devices already with the EtherCon plug on it.

The only things I have found with EtherCon built in are expensive live audio consoles (of the PA variety), such as the beautiful-but-expensive Allen & Heath iLive series. Digital live consoles have EtherCon built in, but the broadcasting world hasn’t quite caught up. Neither has the world of Network Interface Cards.

So, for now, it’s back to re-crimping those broken RJ45 connectors for me.

* I have been using the term Cat6 throughout this post for simplicities sake – Cat5e could be substituted into this post without any trouble.