How do we know how much cable to order?

Measure nothing. Tell us the rig, the room and where the power and the mix position are, and we will write the cable list, including spares. If you are hiring the kit from us as well, the list writes itself and everything arrives in one delivery.

What is the difference between a DMX lead and an XLR lead?

They look similar and are not the same. DMX is a data cable built for lighting control at the right impedance; audio XLR usually has three pins and carries sound. Our 5-pin DMX runs cannot be confused with 3-pin audio, which is one reason we hold both rather than pretending one does everything.

Do you hire powerCON TRUE1 leads?

Yes: TRUE1 extensions from 1m to 20m, a Y splitter, and adaptors in from a 13A plug or a 16A ceeform and back out to a 16A socket or a 13A four-gang; contact us for pricing and tell us the quantity and the dates. What fits what is simple once said. TRUE1 fits TRUE1, on any fixture or lead that carries it, and every generation of the connector mates with every other. It does not fit the older blue and grey powerCON, and they do not fit it. If your speakers, amp rack or older LED fixtures have the blue connector, the lead you want is the 16A to PowerCON adaptor, and that one is switched off at the supply before it is plugged or unplugged. If you are not sure which your kit has, send us a photo of the inlet.

Will an etherCON lead plug into our laptop or the venue’s network point?

Not directly. The metal etherCON plug is a shell around an ordinary RJ45 plug, so it goes into etherCON sockets — desks, stageboxes, lighting nodes, stage panels — but it is too big for the plain socket on a laptop, a network switch or a video extender. A plain RJ45 plug goes the other way, into an etherCON socket, without trouble. The 1m etherCON to RJ45 tail makes the join at the laptop or switch end; keep that end on the table, because a bare RJ45 has only a plastic latch. It is a patch lead for the desk end, not the run between a desk and its stagebox, which stays etherCON at both ends.

Can you crate it all up for us?

Yes. Tell us what the show needs when you enquire and the cable arrives coiled, sorted by type and ready to run out.

Home Services Equipment Hire Power and Cabling Hire

Cable hire — XLR, DMX, power and adaptors, by the length

Nobody ever has enough cable, and the missing length is always discovered at seven o’clock on show night. We hire cable the way it is needed: by the type and the length, from a 1m XLR to a 50m Cat5e reel, with the adaptors that make one standard talk to another — powerCON TRUE1 for LED fixtures and etherCON network leads included. Every lead is coiled and labelled before it goes out, and prices start at 25p a day, so a few spares cost less than needing one. For the newest lines, TRUE1 and Cat6 etherCON among them, contact us for pricing: tell us the quantity and we will quote.

The audio side runs on 3-pin XLR, in lengths from 1m to 20m, with stereo jack instrument leads for keyboards and players, and jack-to-XLR converters in every gender for the awkward connections. Lighting control runs on 5-pin DMX, again from 1m to 20m, plus combined PowerCON-and-DMX leads that feed a moving light with one tidy run.

Power is where shows usually run short. We hold 13A extensions in one, two, four and six-gang versions up to 15m, 15A theatre extensions up to 20m for dimmed circuits, 16A extensions up to 20m for distro runs, and 32A for the feed itself. There is also a 10m three-phase extension with the red five-pin 16A connectors, for the venue or generator that offers a red 16A outlet and for the three-phase kit a visiting production sometimes brings with it. One caution on that lead, because the plugs look alike: a 16A five-pin does not fit the 32A five-pin inlet on our three-phase distro. The distro is fed by the 32A extension, not this one. Send us a photo of the outlet and we will send the lead that fits it.

The adaptor drawer covers the joins: 13A to 16A and back, 15A each way, T and Y splits, and the 5A oddities older venues still hide in their wings. Two newer lines earn their place there. The 16A H splitter turns one 16A socket into three, all sharing the same 16A, which is tidy for a bar of LED battens drawing a few amps each and wrong for three heaters. The 16A to 13A four-gang puts four ordinary sockets at the end of a 16A way for the desk, the laptop and the monitors; the four sockets share one supply, so treat the block as one 13A socket’s worth of power spread four ways, not four times that. For the last metre to the equipment, IEC extensions stretch a kettle lead that falls short, and the 13A to IEC mains lead is the kettle lead itself: a UK plug to the rectangular three-hole connector on desks, amplifiers, projectors and many LED fixtures, for the moment a hired box turns out not to have one. Its equipment end is rated at 10A, so it is for equipment, never for a heater or an urn. PowerCON links handle the fixtures that daisy-chain their power.

Newer LED fixtures — pars, battens, moving heads, haze machines — increasingly take their mains through powerCON TRUE1, Neutrik’s black twist-locking connector. It is rated at 16A, it seals to IP65 when mated, and unlike the older powerCON it can be plugged in and unplugged with the power on, which is why fixture makers moved to it. We hold the whole ecosystem: TRUE1 extensions from 1m to 20m to link fixture to fixture or reach one on a stand, a Y splitter so two fixtures share one feed, adaptors from a 13A wall plug or a 16A distro way into TRUE1, and the reverse — TRUE1 back out to a 16A socket, or to a four-gang of ordinary sockets for the haze machine and the work light at the same position. Whatever feeds the run sets its limit: a 13A plug is 13A for everything downstream of it, however many TRUE1 outlets you chain. One thing to know before you order: TRUE1 and the older blue and grey powerCON are different connectors and do not fit each other, however similar they look. Older active speakers, amp racks and LED fixtures still use the blue type; for those the lead you want is the 16A to PowerCON adaptor in the PowerCON family, and that one must be switched off at the supply before it is plugged or unplugged. For all the TRUE1 lines, contact us for pricing — tell us the fixture count and we will put the right ends in the crate.

Network leads are part of the cable list now. A digital desk talks to its stagebox down one network cable, and a lighting desk or laptop can talk to a DMX node the same way. Our Cat6 etherCON leads, in 3m, 5m and 10m, are for the short hops: an X32 or M32R beside the stage to its S16, S32 or DL32 in the wings, one stagebox cascaded to the next, or a desk or laptop to a lighting node on the front bar. Each end is a locking metal etherCON plug, the stage-proof version of the ordinary computer network plug, which latches in like an XLR and cannot be kicked out. Cat6 is a higher grade of the same cable and fits the same sockets as the Cat5e those desks were designed around, so nothing else changes. For the long haul across a hall the 50m Tourcat Cat5e reel does the job, the etherCON coupler joins a short lead to it when the desk sits further back than the reel reaches, and for an analogue desk there are still two multicores, a 32/4 reel at 50m and a 16/4 loom at 10m. One wrinkle: an etherCON plug is too big for a plain computer socket, so for a laptop, a network switch or a video extender the 1m etherCON to RJ45 tail makes the join. It is a patch lead for the desk end, not the run between desk and stagebox, and its bare RJ45 end belongs on the table rather than the floor, because it has no lock. For the etherCON leads, contact us for pricing.

For video there are HDMI leads to 15m, VGA to 20m for the projectors older halls still own, and BNC to 20m for SDI and antenna feeds. HDMI is a short-range connection by design, so for the long throws — a projector on a balcony rail, a relay screen down a corridor — the picture goes over network cable instead, and the boxes at each end of that run hire on the projector page. A DMX splitter, for when one lighting line has to feed several directions, hires on the lighting desk page rather than here. Tell us the distance and we will send the run that works, not the one that nearly does.

If working out a cable list feels like guesswork, it is our job, not yours. Tell us the rig, the room and where the power is, and we will build the list — including the spares you will be glad of — and crate it up so it arrives coiled, labelled and ready to run out. If you are hiring one of our desks, stageboxes or LED fixtures, say so and the right runs and the right ends go in the same case.

What you get

Every lead labelled with its length before it leaves

Adaptors supplied with sensible pairings — say what you are connecting and we will check the ends

TRUE1, powerCON and IEC leads matched to the fixtures and desks you are hiring — tell us the kit and the right ends go in the crate

Velcro wraps on audio, DMX and network runs, so what goes back in the crate is reusable, not spaghetti

Not included as standard: gaffer tape for dressing runs, and cable ramps for walkways, which hire separately in metre lengths on the cable ramp page

A crated, show-ready cable package built from your kit list, if you would rather not count leads

Good for

Topping up a venue’s own stock for one big show a year

School halls where the sockets are never where the band is

Powering a hired LED rig on powerCON TRUE1 from a distro or a wall socket, with the adaptors to match

Feeding a digital stagebox down one network run instead of a heavy multicore

Short, locking network hops between a digital desk, its stagebox and a lighting node

Outdoor stages and marquees, where every run is longer than it looks

Replacing the one dead lead that stops a whole rig, with spares to hand

Hiring alongside our desks, PA and lighting so everything arrives connected

What you need to know

What it covers: Audio (XLR and jack), lighting control (DMX), mains power at 13A, 15A, 16A and 32A including a 16A three-phase run, powerCON and powerCON TRUE1 fixture power, Cat6 network leads on locking etherCON, speaker runs, multicores and the adaptors between them.
How it is priced: By the lead, per day, from 25p. For a few newer lines — the TRUE1 and Cat6 etherCON leads, the three-phase extension and the H splitter among them — contact us for pricing; tell us the quantity and we will quote. A whole show’s cabling usually costs less than a single fixture.
Lengths: Most types run from 1m to 20m, TRUE1 included; the Cat6 etherCON leads are 3m, 5m and 10m; the multicores and the Cat5e reel cover 50m hauls.
Condition: Tested, labelled and coiled before every hire. A faulty lead is swapped, not argued about.
Who plans it: You, or us: send the kit list and room layout and we will build the cable list with spares, and check that every fixture’s power connector has a lead to match.

Hire rates

Choose the one you need. The photo and price follow your choice.

Rates are per day and exclude VAT. A longer hire costs less per day — tell us your dates and we will price the period exactly. Ask us about delivery and hiring with a technician. Where a line says contact us for pricing, tell us the dates and quantities and we will quote it.

Check availability

See whether this is free for your dates. This is an indication from our current bookings, not a reservation.

Item

First day

Last day

Alternatives

Projectors and signal extenders — the boxes that put HDMI or VGA on a network run, one at each end.

Lighting desks and the DMX splitter — for when one lighting line has to feed several directions.

Cable ramps — the rubber ramps that put a run safely under feet and wheels where a cable has to cross a walkway; they hire in metre lengths.

Power distro — the 32A box that breaks one supply into six protected 16A ways, which these 16A runs and adaptors then carry to the rig.

Full technical specification (10)

Audio	3-pin XLR balanced leads, 1m to 20m; stereo jack instrument leads, 3m and 5m
Lighting control	5-pin DMX leads, 1m to 20m; PowerCON and 5-pin DMX combi leads, 3m and 5m
Mains power	13A extensions in 1, 2, 4 and 6-gang to 15m; 15A to 20m; 16A to 20m; 16A three-phase (red 5-pin, 3P+N+E) at 10m; 32A at 10m
Power CON TRUE1	Neutrik powerCON TRUE1 extensions 1m to 20m; TRUE1 Y splitter; 13A to TRUE1 and 16A to TRUE1 adaptors; TRUE1 to 16A and TRUE1 to 13A 4-gang adaptors. Connector rated 16A 250V, IP65 when mated, may be connected and disconnected live; does not mate with blue/grey powerCON
Speaker	NL4 speakON leads, 2m to 20m
Network	Cat6 leads with locking etherCON plugs at both ends, 3m, 5m and 10m; etherCON to RJ45 tail, 1m; etherCON coupler; Tourcat Cat5e reel 50m
Long runs	32/4 analogue multicore 50m; 16/4 multicore 10m; Tourcat Cat5e reel 50m
Equipment power	IEC extensions (C14 to C13) 1m to 10m; 13A plug to IEC C13 mains lead (equipment end rated 10A); PowerCON link leads 3m and 5m; 16A to blue powerCON adaptor
Adaptors	Jack to XLR in all genders, XLR gender changers, 13A/15A/16A conversions each way, 16A to 13A in 1, 2 and 4-gang, 16A T, Y and 3-way H splits (three 16A ways sharing one 16A feed), 5A adaptors for older venues
Video	HDMI to 15m; VGA to 20m; BNC to 20m

Common questions

Measure nothing. Tell us the rig, the room and where the power and the mix position are, and we will write the cable list, including spares. If you are hiring the kit from us as well, the list writes itself and everything arrives in one delivery.
They look similar and are not the same. DMX is a data cable built for lighting control at the right impedance; audio XLR usually has three pins and carries sound. Our 5-pin DMX runs cannot be confused with 3-pin audio, which is one reason we hold both rather than pretending one does everything.
Yes: TRUE1 extensions from 1m to 20m, a Y splitter, and adaptors in from a 13A plug or a 16A ceeform and back out to a 16A socket or a 13A four-gang; contact us for pricing and tell us the quantity and the dates. What fits what is simple once said. TRUE1 fits TRUE1, on any fixture or lead that carries it, and every generation of the connector mates with every other. It does not fit the older blue and grey powerCON, and they do not fit it. If your speakers, amp rack or older LED fixtures have the blue connector, the lead you want is the 16A to PowerCON adaptor, and that one is switched off at the supply before it is plugged or unplugged. If you are not sure which your kit has, send us a photo of the inlet.
Not directly. The metal etherCON plug is a shell around an ordinary RJ45 plug, so it goes into etherCON sockets — desks, stageboxes, lighting nodes, stage panels — but it is too big for the plain socket on a laptop, a network switch or a video extender. A plain RJ45 plug goes the other way, into an etherCON socket, without trouble. The 1m etherCON to RJ45 tail makes the join at the laptop or switch end; keep that end on the table, because a bare RJ45 has only a plastic latch. It is a patch lead for the desk end, not the run between a desk and its stagebox, which stays etherCON at both ends.
Yes. Tell us what the show needs when you enquire and the cable arrives coiled, sorted by type and ready to run out.

More power and cabling hire

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from £8 / day

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Cable Ramps

Heavy rubber ramps that put a cable run safely under feet, trolleys and wheelchairs.

View & check dates

See the rest of our power and cabling hire stock, or browse everything available to hire.

Talk to us

Tell us the venue, the dates and what the show needs, and we will confirm availability.

Call 0333 404 0621, email [email protected], or send us the details of your production.