FieldCast SMPTE PUW-FUW 150m on Drum Hybrid Fiber Cable

Copper, not glass, sets the practical limit on a hybrid camera run. Two single mode 9/125 fibre cores carry the picture across 150 metres at a cost of well under a decibel, while the four tinned copper power conductors inside the FieldCast SMPTE PUW-FUW 150m — rated at 43 ohms per kilometre each — are where the distance is felt. Choosing this drum over the 200 metre version buys back supply headroom at the camera head — margin that counts on a fully rigged camera.

The 150 metres arrive wound on a Schill GT450, a solid rubber reel built for stage and outside-broadcast handling. Its rated capacity at this cable diameter sits above the length on it, so the turns lie flat instead of packing against the flanges. A large winding core keeps the run off tight curves, a bend-resistant infeed protects the jacket at the reel, and the brake holds a half-run cable in place.

Inside the jacket, the Furukawa TV-OM-AMS build puts a galvanised steel strength member down the centre so hand-hauled tension never reaches the glass, lays six HDPE-insulated tinned copper conductors around it — four power, two control — and screens the lot under a tinned copper braid at 85 % optical coverage. The abrasion-resistant sheath works from −20 °C to +75 °C and the cable takes 700 N of pull. Paired with Blackmagic's Camera and Studio Fiber Converters, one line replaces a picture trunk, a power feed and a comms tie at once: 12G-SDI to 2160p60 up, three independent HD return feeds, talkback, tally, camera control and head power down. A rowing finish tower, a boxing apron or the rear stalls of a concert hall becomes a camera position rather than a cabling project.

Both ends carry SMPTE 304 Lemo hardware on the 3K.93C platform, a FUW plug at one end and a PUW socket at the other, so two lengths mate directly and 150 metres becomes 300 without a splice enclosure between them. Stainless steel shells, push-pull latching and an IP68 seal survive repeated rig and derig; gaiters keep bending strain off the ferrules. Power contacts are rated at 600 V and 10 A, control contacts at 42 V. The assembly runs from 5 to 200 metres, loose or on a drum, so a fleet standardises on one connector scheme.