Thread: What kind of wire to use with an actuator?

Bought the actuator and the V-Box is on the way. I've searched the discussions and have seen that some folks use sprinkler timer wire for the purpose, but in most discussions people don't talk about the specific wire/gauge. Since I have a hundred foot run from the dish to my living room, and wire is no longer cheap, I want to make sure I have the right stuff the first time.

Two questions for the more informed:

Do I have to worry about line loss with a slightly over hundred foot distance?

What do you use to wire your actuator?

Thanks in advance!

Its not cheap!but for the cable made for the job! satellite ribbon cable is what you want.I shopped around and this is the cheapest i could find unless you can find someone who has some to get rid of.
Volunteer Satellite Distributors /Coax, big dish satellite wire, RG 6, RG 11 - CABLE & WIRE - Volunteer Satellite Distributors

P/S just bought 100 ft of it a few weeks ago!It took about a week to get by ground.I wouldnt worry about sig loss with the amount your thinking of using.

I've been using telephone wire since 2006, 118ft run moving a 6 ft unimesh with no problems. the black burial type.

I use sprinkler wire from Lowes or Home Depot.

I use Cat-5 cable. Haven't had a problem yet. It's easy to get a hold of and very very cheap (if not free). Good Luck!

110' of 4c#18 belden cable(shielded).No probs with it over the last ten years. The original ribbon cable looks bigger,like #12 or #14. No doubt there is a voltage drop, or a bigger voltage drop than the proper cable but the dc motor in the dish mover should not draw more amps to fry the power supply. Just move slower I suppose.

Originally Posted by bidaw

I use Cat-5 cable. Haven't had a problem yet. It's easy to get a hold of and very very cheap (if not free). Good Luck!

Would Cat-5e or Cat 6 work just as well? Do you use this for the 36V too or just the sensor?

Originally Posted by signal.quest

Would Cat-5e or Cat 6 work just as well? Do you use this for the 36V too or just the sensor?

Shouldn't pose a problem. You won't need all of the wires. Just 4. 2 for the power and 2 for the sensor.

So many options to choose from. I may checkout the Lowes sprinkler wire option.