Blackmagic Forum

I'm in the process of creating snakes for our studio. We have 6 Ursa G2s and I was wondering if there was any way to extend the power supply without using an extension cord.

Before you suggest the fiber converters, those are way outside of our budget. However I've done some testing with a short 4 pin cable and I wanted to see if my theory is correct.

Would it be possible to extend the PSU up to 50ft using a 4 pin cable? Are there any other solutions available that doesn't mean me having to have the power supply married to the camera?

A different fiber solution that is less expensive? Or batteries.

But no there are "simple" ways to run very long distance without power to the camera based on low voltage.

I have seen people use 4-pin DC power cables in snakes for BM cameras, but I’m not sure how long the cables can be, and what gauge the power cables should be.

Is there such thing as a “reverse” POE adapter? Something that plugs in to AC power, sends power over Ethernet, then has converter at the camera end changing it back to an Edison AC plug, or a 12v 4-pin DC connector?

Daniel is right, it's not simple.

My solution, for a client where I work as a TD.

Real setup: we use URSA G2, for BOXING transmissions, (using a pair of URSAs, (shoulder) at the sides of the ring.)

After confirming the power specifications(URSA manual page 13.) the input voltage range is between 12 and 20 V DC. I decided to use a power supply of 18V dc x 5A = 90W, analyzing the voltage drop using a 30 ft cable, the cameras have worked without problems.

NOTE, for the extensions (XLR 4 pin) between the power supply and the camera, I used Proel HPC620BK cable (14 AWG). because it is the same gauge that the original URSA power supply uses and also because it is a super flexible cable.

Sure, you will find "adverse" comments about it, I just wanted to share.

My 2 cents

All good information. Just to note the important consideration is the startup current is high requiring a heavy low loss gauge. Once on the steady current is lower. Some users will use a battery to turn on the camera then continue the power with the longer cable. I hope this helps.

Gary

Thanks Gary, for joining the post and "adding" more important information about it