Where to buy ribbon cable

[Andyboy90]

I am looking for ribbon cable to hook up my actuator to asc1. The cable I have is falling short for permanent routing. I looked on ebay and other online sources but wasn’t able to find anything

 

[Magic Static]

No ribbon cable sold any longer. You can use sprinkler wire for the motor and shielded security system wires for the sensor. You do not want the sensor and motor wires in the same shield. Motor noise can affect sensor signals.

 

[Peter Parker]

maybe I do not understand what you want but when I google it I get several hits.

 

[FTA4PA]

It is still available from here:

CommScope - Uniprise 18 AWG Solid Copper TVRO Satellite Ribbon Cable - Coaxial - CommScope - Uniprise 8136

Unfortunately it is sold in 12000 ft lengths. Perhaps they will sell lesser amounts if you contact them directly.

 

[Magic Static]

Anyone actually bought ribbon cable lately?

 

[MikeI]

Rick had ribbon cable last year

Sent from my LM-G710VM using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[Andyboy90]

No ribbon cable sold any longer. You can use sprinkler wire for the motor and shielded security system wires for the sensor. You do not want the sensor and motor wires in the same shield. Motor noise can affect sensor signals.

I have a shielded 18/2 wire which I can double up and use. Wasn’t sure if 18 AWG would be enough for power wires over 50ft.

 

[Brct203]

I have a shielded 18/2 wire which I can double up and use. Wasn’t sure if 18 AWG would be enough for power wires over 50ft.

18 AWG is probably too thin for the motor. I would suggest 14 gauge, maybe you can get by with 16 since it’s only 50 ft, but not 18 gauge. A good choice would be landscape wire (sold for low-voltage landscape lights), or maybe speaker wire (but stay away from the aluminum wires)

 

[primestar31]

18 gauge doubled at 24 volts dc equals about a 15 gauge. However, depending on length a better gauge such as 14 might be better. I'm using 18 gauge sprinkler wire doubled at a bit over 100 feet with a Sadoun V-box, and it works perfectly. That's with an 8ft dish, and a Venture 24" ball screw actuator.

It's not as if you are going to have your dish pinwheeling across the sky constantly.

 

[FTA4PA]

I have a shielded 18/2 wire which I can double up and use. Wasn’t sure if 18 AWG would be enough for power wires over 50ft.

Doubling up 18 AWG conductors effectively gives you 15 AWG.

Wire Combination Calculator

When I installed my dish several years back I wanted to use 14 AWG wire but could not find anything locally so I doubled up the 18 AWG conductors of the cable I could get to make 15 AWG. The run is over 100 feet and it has worked fine for several years. Still, if you can get 14 AWG do so.

I see primestar31 was a bit quicker!

 

[Andyboy90]

Thanks for the input primestar31 and FTA4PA. Based on your suggestions I will buy the 14/2 wire from home depot for +/- and use the shielded 18/2 wire I already have for pulse control.

 

[thedishking]

Here is what I used for motor drive cable:
Parts and Accessories
It is sunlight resistant and worked great.