Radial Catapult Mini RX 4-Channel Cat 5 Audio Snake Receiver, XLR Outputs

Radial Catapult Mini RX: Four Channels of Audio Down One Cat 5 Cable

The Radial Catapult Mini RX is a compact, passive four-channel analog audio snake that receives four balanced signals sent over a single shielded Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable and breaks them out to four male XLR connectors. It is the receive end of a Catapult Mini system: plug the incoming Ethernet cable into its RJ45 port and four channels of clean analog audio appear on XLR tails ready for a mixer, stage box, or recording interface. For the location sound mixer, broadcast tech, or AV installer who needs to move multiple channels across a room or across a stage using cable they already have, the Mini RX turns a length of Cat 5 into a rugged, professional snake.

How Four Channels Travel Over One Ethernet Cable

A Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable contains four twisted pairs of copper conductors, and a balanced audio channel needs exactly one pair. That math is the whole trick: four pairs carry four balanced channels, with each twisted pair keeping its channel's signal tight and noise-rejecting along the way. The Catapult system simply maps four balanced audio channels onto those four pairs at the send end and unpacks them at the receive end. Because Ethernet cable is inexpensive, long, and often already run through a building, it becomes an ideal transport for multichannel audio.

RX Is the Receive End

The Mini RX is specifically the receiving half of the system, and knowing that is the key to using it correctly. Its RJ45 port is an input that takes the incoming Cat 5 run, and its four male XLR outputs on cable tails plug directly into the female XLR inputs of a console, stage box, or interface. It pairs with a Catapult Mini TX at the other end, which collects your four sources and sends them down the cable. Choose the Mini RX when you need to land four channels as XLR outputs; choose the TRS version instead when your gear uses 1/4-inch TRS connections.

Fully Analog, No Conversion, No Latency

The Mini RX keeps the audio entirely in the analog domain from end to end. There is no analog-to-digital conversion, no clocking, and no network stack, which means there is zero latency and none of the digital artifacts a networked audio system can introduce. It is completely passive, drawing no power at either end, so there is no supply to plug in and nothing to fail on a remote run. What goes into the send unit comes out of the Mini RX as the same analog signal, just carried on a different kind of cable.

Built for Long Runs and Rough Handling

The Catapult Mini system can send audio up to roughly 300 feet over shielded Cat 5, and the balanced signal path rejects common-mode noise by more than 103 dB along the way, so the audio stays clean across the distance. The Mini RX is housed in 16-gauge powder-coated steel and its cable tails are wrapped in Expando mesh sheathing that protects them from abrasion, while color-coded heatshrink labels identify each of the four channels at a glance. It is small enough to tuck into a bag or clip to a camera cart, yet tough enough to live on a working stage.

Where the Mini RX Earns Its Keep

The Mini RX shines wherever multichannel audio has to travel and space or weight is tight. On a film set, a location mixer sends four channels from the sound cart to video village or an IFB transmitter down a single light Cat 5 run. At a broadcast camera position, it delivers multiple feeds without dragging a heavy analog snake. In a fixed AV install, it uses the building's existing Ethernet infrastructure to move audio between rooms. On a compact stage, it links a submixer to the main console without a bulky multicore. Anywhere four channels need to get from here to there cleanly, the Mini RX does it on cable anyone can find.

Who the Radial Catapult Mini RX Is For

The Mini RX is for the location sound and broadcast professional who needs to move channels light and fast, and for the AV integrator who wants to run audio on the Cat 5 already in the walls. If you need a rugged, passive, four-channel analog snake that receives audio over a shielded Ethernet cable and breaks it out to XLR, the Catapult Mini RX is the compact receiver built for the job.