Vince,
should the other twist be earth/zero volts? I've used two core twisted shielded data cable
a&b together and never had a problem.
Tony
It doesn't have to be. On my first CNC conversion (I've done 5 now), I installed the 0V and +5V down one pair and had the A and B channels down another pair. I was not able to tune my Gecko 320s. It was Marris who figured out the problem. I just moved each of the A and B channels down their own pair of twisted wires (the other wire in each pair was not connected to anything). I never had another problem. BTW, I have found that 95% of tuning problems with Gecko 320s are caused by encoder noise. Get rid of the noise and you can tune a Gecko by ear in about 5 minutes.
As a test, I used a piece of Cat 5 cable 40' long between the encoder and the Gecko 320 and it worked the same as a 5' length of cable. I'm using US Digital encoders and their web site says the E2 encoders are only good for 6' of cable.
As for solid wire, the strand size in Cat 5 is pretty small, around 24 gauge I believe. It will flex quite a bit. Make sure you have the cable rigidly supported at the terminations so it doesn't flex at that point. Never ring or nick the conductor when stripping the insulation or you will cause a stress riser and it will break at that point. Make sure you have plenty of cable at flex points so the cable bends over a long area, say about 5". If you bend any wire, stranded or not less then 5 cable diameters it will break in short order.
Vince
Vince