Working Ethernet cable? (Not from Best-Tronics)

J

joegold

Fractal Fanatic
Hi

Has anybody found a decent Ethernet cable to use with their MFC-101 that wasn't made by Best-Tronics?

I don't have time to go into the details right now about why I'm ruling out BT in this question.

Another facet of this is that my Axe-FXII is a MKI and the female Ethernet jack on the MKIs is recessed approx 1mm in from the chassis.
Many current CAT5 and CAT6 cables have extra plastic built up around their male jacks that makes it so these jacks won't insert properly into the Axe-FXII MKI's because of the recessed female jack.
I've already tried a few cables that don't have this issue but although they boot the MFC they don't establish any midi communication at all.
I'm assuming this is because they don't have all 8 wires wired up.

So if anybody knows of an easy to find CAT5 or CAT6 cable that they know *from experience* works with an Axe-FXII MKI and an MFC (MKI II or III), that info would be really helpful to me right now.

There's a long story behind all of this but no time for that now.

Thanks
 
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If it's just the boot on the male end you can usually pull that back so it doesn't interfere. If you have tried other cables without success sounds like something else is going on. Have you validated your MFC has AxeFx Mode=II and port configured for Expansion vs Midi?
 
jjozwia said:
If it's just the boot on the male end you can usually pull that back so it doesn't interfere. If you have tried other cables without success sounds like something else is going on. Have you validated your MFC has AxeFx Mode=II and port configured for Expansion vs Midi?
Click to expand...

It's not just the boot on the newer commercial cables.
On most of them nowadays the whole jack housing is built up with a plastic surround and the surround makes it so the recessed female Ethernet jack on the Axe can't fully accept the cable's male jack.
"Oooo. You're too big" she said.

I've tried many other cables w/o full success.
As stated earlier, many of them simply won't fit properly into the Axe-FX MKI's recessed Ethernet port.
Several of the ones that did fit would enable the MFC to boot up but they wouldn't do midi at all.

But I've also tried a small number that do work.
I've got one that a local tech made up for me.
I've got another that only works when one of it's ends but not the other is plugged into the Axe.

The MFC is incredulously finicky about the cables used for 2-way midi communication and phantom power (7-pin cables included).
This really shouldn't be this hard.
Don't even get me started on the 7-pin midi thing.
I've had a Support Ticket going on that one since mid January when I first received my MFC.
Fractal Support finally thinks they know what's going on but I'll believe it when I see it.
Best I don't say any more about that here.

But it looks like I just got lucky and can stop freaking out for the time being about being ready for this show I start on Tuesday because I just found a commercial Ethernet cable that seems to be working.
GE CAT 5e Ethernet Cable, 14' | Canadian Tire
Good price too.
The cable's fairly robust as are the jack's.
This one also has a plastic surround but it's a bit more malleable than the others I've tried.
At first I thought it wouldn't fit (on the Axe-FX end) but with a little bit of extra effort it clicked right in.
When I powered up the MFC and saw my Axe Preset's name I was quite relieved.
As long as I have at least 2 working Ethernet cables I'll feel confident enough for this show.
I'll probably pick up another of these GE cables too, just to be safe (assuming it continues to work over the coming days).

Long story short...
I ordered a Best-Tronics Ethernet to Ethercon cable and received it a few weeks ago but my Axe-FX was being looked at by a local tech at the time (trying to troubleshoot my 7-pin phantom power issue) and I wasn't able to test the cable.
When I got my Axe back last Saturday the cable seemed to work great.
Then a few days ago I plugged it in and, although the MFC booted up, there was no midi.
Then it worked.
Then it didn't.
Etc., etc.
Then I found that if I pushed the jack in a bit and then let it go I could establish midi communication again and it would last until I powered down.
But more and more frequently after that, every time I powered up there was no midi unless I did my little trick.
The trick works pretty consistently though.

The BT cable also has a surround but it's made of rubber.
My theory is that what happens is that this surround prevents the jack from going in far enough to make positive contact on all the pins it should be making contact with until I push it in a bit further (but I have to do that while the power is already on).
[I'd expect the midi communication to crap out while power is on at some point as the rubber starts to push the jack back outwards, but for some reason that doesn't seem to happen.
Midi stays strong until after I power down and then try to power up again.]

At any rate, enough about that because I now have a support ticket with BTPA too.
 
My local Guitar Center had 10 each of the 50' and 25' ProCo Ethercon cables on closeout for $10 and $5 each respectively.
I bought every one of them and have had zero issues with them. They're quite sturdy, the connectors are very solid and the cable sheaths are tight and haven't been prone to nicks or cuts.
 
My issues have all been associated with the Ethernet connection and jacks at my Axe-FXII MKI not with Ethercon or Ethernet jacks at the MFC.
 
Sounds like the Jack might be damaged.


--
"The quality remains long after the price is forgotten." -- Sir Henry Royce
 
xrist04 said:
Sounds like the Jack might be damaged.


--
"The quality remains long after the price is forgotten." -- Sir Henry Royce
Click to expand...

It might sound that way.
But my Axe-FX, including its Ethernet jack, has been checked out by 2 different local techs, one of them recommended by Fractal and guided by Fractal Support, and was given a clean bill of health both times.

Since my Ethernet port does work with complete stability with several Ethernet cables I'm sticking with my theory that the Axe/MFC interface is just really finicky about the cables being used.

I think I read somewhere, possibly from Cliff, that many of the commercial Ethernet cable manufacturers don't actually connect all 8 wires to all 8 pins of their Ethernet jacks.
I guess there aren't all that many network devices that utilize all 8 wires, but the Axe/MFC does.
Add that to the issue of the recessed design of the Axe-FX MI's Ethernet jack with the newer Ethernet cables having more built-up plastic surrounding their jacks, and that's the another reason why it's so hard to find Ethernet cables that work with this system.
The Axe MKII and XL both have Ethercon connecters which, if they're anything like the Ethernet connecter on my MFC-101 MKIII, don't have the recessed jack issue.
 
xrist04 said:
Sounds like the Jack might be damaged.


--
"The quality remains long after the price is forgotten." -- Sir Henry Royce
Click to expand...

Actually, I'm starting believe that you might be right.
I've discovered a few little other oddities today, including the fact that another one of the exact same 14' GE Ethernet cables that I just bought as backup needs to have it's jack jiggled too at the Axe-FX side in order to do midi.
Then I rechecked both jacks on the other GE cable and sure enough one of its jacks also needs to be jiggled.
It's like there's some play of about 1mm inside the female jack which allows the male jack to be slid forwards or backwards.
Until it's slid forward while the power is actually on I don't get any midi.
The jiggling must be done at a time when the "Axe-FX Name Timeout!" message is not showing on the MFC too or it doesn't work.
Midi stays on until I power down but when I power up again there's no midi until I jiggle.

Most of the male jacks on the other Ethernet cables I've tried have also had this approx 1mm of jiggle room.
The Ethernet cable that Mike Vegas of NiceRack Canada made up for me is the only cable that has worked perfectly every time I've plugged it in no matter which end of the cable goes on which device.
But it also has the jiggle room, so maybe the jiggling isn't even relevant.
Although this cable works real well, it doesn't seem all that robust, especially at the jacks.
I think I can get by in the meantime with these 2 GE cables and the MV cable, but I sure don't feel all that secure about it.

I worry about what's going to happen if I sub out of the show and my sub, an old-school guy who's never really used any type of tech like this, has to deal with any of these issues.
It could be really bad.
I'm pretty much committed to using this Axe-FX till the end of November on this show.
So I wouldn't be able to send it to Fractal for service until then unless I figure out another amplification/FX system for this show which I really don't want to do at this point.
I've got a call in to Mike Vegas to see if he can make me up another one of his Ethernet cables and/or if he has the electronics chops to replace the Ethernet port/jack on my Axe-FX.

As a last resort I could plug the MFC's adapter directly into it and use a 5-pin midi cable, but I don't trust those adapters to take much abuse if anybody trip[s over it etc.
If I go that route I guess I should try to order some replacement adapters from Fractal.

In the words of my people: Oiy.
 
Update:
I just exchanged the 2nd GE cable for a 3rd one and this appears to be working, neither ends needing jiggling, at least for now.
 
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