|
0-9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
|
| 0-9 |
Back to Top |
100-BaseT - A baseband, twisted-pair wire that supports a transmission speed of 100 Megabits per second.
10-BaseT - A baseband, twisted-pair wire that supports a transmission speed of 10 Megabits per second.
|
| A |
Back to Top |
Abrasion Resistance - Ability to resist surface wear.
Adapter - A device that provides a change in physical connection from one type to another.
Analog - Representation of data by continuously variable quantities.
ANSI - American National Standards Institute.
ASA - American Standards Association.
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
Attenuation - Power loss in an electrical system.
AWG - American Wire Gauge. A measure of wire diameter.
|
| B |
Back to Top |
Backshell - A housing on a connector that protects the area where cable conductors connect to the connector contacts.
Bandwidth - The difference between the upper and lower limits of a given band of frequencies.
Baseband - A signal transmission measured from zero to its highest frequency.
Baud Rate - A data transmission rate measured in bits per second.
Bit - One binary digit.
BNC - "Bayonet Neil-Concelman". A coaxial cable connector used extensively in video and R. F. applications and named for its inventors.
Boot - A protective covering over a connector that provides strain relief to the cable jacket.
Braid - A fibrous or metallic group of filaments interwoven in a cylindrical form that acts as a shielding covering for an insulated conductor or group of conductors.
Breakout Cable - Also called a Fanout Cable. A conductor or group of conductors that breaks out from a multi-conductor cable to complete circuits at various points along a main cable.
Broadband - A signal transmission handled by more than one channel in a wide range of frequencies.
Byte - A group of eight binary digits.
|
| C |
Back to Top |
CSA - Canadian Standards Association.
Cable Assembly - A length of cable with connectors on one or both ends which is ready to install.
CATV - Community Antenna Television.
Centronics - The parallel interface named for the company, Centronics Data Computer Corporation, who was the first computer printer's manufacturer.
Cladding - The material surrounding the core of a fiber optic cable.
Coaxial Cable - A cable consisting of two cylindrical conductors with a common axis, separated by a dielectric layer.
Component Video - The highest quality type of analog video signal. Consists of two or more separate signals, normally two color signals, and a luminance or chrominance signal.
Component Video cable - A cable that transmits analog video signals. Features RCA or BNC connectors on three separate cables, usually colored red, green, and blue.
Composite Video - The most common analog video signal, in which all the picture information is combined into one signal.
Composite Video Cable - A single cable that transmits picture information. Composite Video Cable are usually yellow, with RCA connectors on both ends.
Conductor - A metallic path capable of carrying an electric current.
Connector - A device used to physically and electrically join two or more conductors.
Cord - A small, flexible insulated cable.
Core - The center of an optical fiber.
Crosstalk - A type of interference causewd by leakage of signals from one channel to another.
CRT - Cathode Ray Tube.
|
| D |
Back to Top |
Decibel (dB) - A unit to express the intensity of sound.
Dielectric - An insulating material between two conductors that permits electrostatic attraction and repulsion to take place across it.
Digital - Representation of data by discrete characters, i.e. 0/1 or high/low.
DIN - The German Institute for Standardization. Also a connector type that uses multiple pins arranged in circular fashion and a round-shaped housing.
Drain Wire - An uninsulated wire laid in a cable shield to make a ground connection.
Drop Cable - The cable pulled from telecommunication central office (CO) to the premises.
D-Subminiature (D-sub) - A connector type that uses multiple pins and a D shaped housing.
DVI - Digital Visual Interface. An interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) for the transmission of uncompressed digital video data to a display.
|
| E |
Back to Top |
EIA - Electronic Industries Association.
EMI - Electro-Magnetic Interference. Undesired energy generated by outside sources of electric and magnetic fields.
|
| F |
Back to Top |
|
FEP - Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene insulation.
Ferrites - Cylinder of magnetized iron placed on the end of data cables to reduce interference.
Fiber - A single, separate optical transmission element characterized by a core and cladding.
Fiber Optics - A technology that uses light transmission through glass or plastic fibers to transmit data.
Fibre Channel - A scalable, high speed, serial data transfer interface.
Firewire - A proprietary name of Apple Inc. for the IEEE-1394 interface, also known as i.Link by Sony. A high speed serial bus interface standard for digital audio, digital video and data storage.
Flat Cable - A multiconductor cable in which wires are arranged in a parallel, flat configuration.
Flexibility - The quality of a cable or a cable component which allows for bending under the influence of outside force.
Foot - One foot equals 0.3048 meter.
FPL - Power Limited Fire Protective Signal Cable (NEC Art. 760).
FPLP - Plenum rated Power Limited Fire Protective Signal Cable (NEC Art. 760).
FPLR - For use between Risers Power Limited Fire Protective Signal Cable (NEC Art. 760).
Frequency - The number of cycles per second.
|
| G |
Back to Top |
Gauge - A term to denote the physical size of a wire.
Gender - The type of connector on a cable (male or female).
Gigabit Ethernet - A network that has a data transmission rate of up to 1000 Megabits per second.
GPIB - General Purpose Interface Bus. An assembly typically used for interconnecting measurement devices.
Ground - A conducting connection between an electrical circuit and earth to make a complete electrical circuit.
|
| H |
Back to Top |
Hertz (Hz) - Number of cycles-per-second as a unit of frequency.
|
| I |
Back to Top |
|
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. An organization of engineers and scientists that develops standards for the computer and electronics industries.
IEEE-1394 - Refers to Firewire.
Impedance - The measure of a material’s resistance to the transfer of electricity. It is a combination of resistance and reactance, measured in ohms.
Insertion Loss - The power loss due to the insertion of a component, connector, or device in a transmission line. Measured in dB.
Insulation - A material having high resistance to the flow of electric current.
Interference - An external disturbance that introduces an undesirable response.
ISO - International Standards Organization.
|
| J |
Back to Top |
Jack - A female receptacle.
Jacket - An outer covering used for protection against the environment.
|
| K |
Back to Top |
|
| L |
Back to Top |
LAN - Local Area Network. A computer network covering a local area.
Loopback - A troubleshooting technique to test functionality in which a device's transmit pin is connected to its receive pin.
Low Loss - Low in signal loss.
LVDS - Low Voltage Differential Signals. An electrical signaling system which runs at very high speeds with reduced on-chip power consumption.
|
| M |
Back to Top |
Matched Impedance - Where the impedance of one circuit equals the impedance of another circuit.
Meter - One meter equals 3.28 feet.
Mode (fiber) - A permitted field pattern within waveguide fiber.
Modular Jack - A female receptacle for RJ-11/12 (6 contact) and RJ-45 (8 contact) connectors, usually found at the end of a cabling drop.
Molded - A type of connector hood that is sealed in PVC plastic by an injection molding process.
Multi-Fiber Cable - An optical cable having move than one fiber.
Multi-Mode (fiber) - An optical waveguide that allows more than one mode to propagate. It is designed to carry multiple light rays concurrently at different reflection angles.
Mylar - DuPont's trade name for a polyester material.
|
| N |
Back to Top |
NIC - Network Interface Controller. A type of computer hardware that enables computers to communicate over a computer network.
|
| O |
Back to Top |
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturers.
|
| P |
Back to Top |
PATA - Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment. A standard 40-pin interface for connecting internal storage devices by a ribbon cable.
Patch Cord - An electrical cable that is used to connect a terminal device and a drop cable.
Pin - A metal contact inside a connector.
Pixel - A single point (picture element) in a graphic image.
Plenum - The area over a dropped ceiling or under a raised floor.
Plenum cable - A cable listed by Underwriters Laboratories as suitable for installation in plenums. The cable is coated with a fire-retardant coating.
PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride. An insulating and jacketing material used on a wide variety of cables.
|
| Q |
Back to Top |
Quad Shield - Shielding that is composed of two foil layers and two braided layers.
|
| R |
Back to Top |
|
RCA - Radio Corporation of America. The RCA connector, also known as a phono connector, is a type of electrical connector which is primarily used for connecting audio and video equipment. It consists of a central male connector surrounded by a cylindrical shield.
Resolution - The number of horizontal pixels by the number of vertical lines in a given area of an image.
Return loss - The ratio of the given power into a cable and the amount of optical power reflected back through the connector. Measured in dB.
RFI - Radio Frequency Interference. Unwanted reception of extraneous signals within the radio frequency band.
RG/U - Radio Government Universal. RG/U is the military designation for coaxial cable that is built to U.S. government specifications.
RGB Red, Green, Blue — The three primary colors.
RJ-11 - A type of registered jack that consists of a modular connector with six positions and two conductors (6P2C).
RJ-12 - A type of registered jack that consists of a modular connector with six positions and four conductors (6P4C).
RJ-45 - A type of registered jack that consists of a modular connector with eight positions and eight conductors (8P8C).
RoHS - Restriction of Hazardous Substances. The name for a directive passed by member nations of the European Union (EU) that restricts the use of certain substances in the production of electrical and electronic equipment.
|
| S |
Back to Top |
SATA - Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. A 7-pin interface that provides a higher signaling rate and data throughput than the legacy ATA standard.
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface. A standard interface for transmitting data between a host controller and devices on a parallel computer bus.
Shield - A nonmagnetic, metallic layer placed around a conductor or group of conductors to prevent electrostatic or electromagnetic interference between adjacent wires and from external sources, usually fabricated from a metallic braid or foil.
Signal - An electrical current used to transmit information.
Singlemode (fiber) - An optical waveguide that allows only one mode to propagate.
Skew - A measurement of the difference in the electrical length of two conductors or pairs of conductors.
Solid Conductor - A conductor consisting of a single wire.
STP - Shielded Twisted Pair. STP cabling features metal shielding over each individual pair of copper wires to protect the cable from external EMI.
Strain Relief - A method of protecting cables against stress at the point where the cabling meets the connector.
Stranded Conductor - A conductor composed of a group of wires twisted together.
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array. A computer display standard that refers to a resolution of 800x600 pixels and higher.
S-video - A video signal in which the chrominance and luminance information are separated.
|
| T |
Back to Top |
Termination - Ending a signal chain by putting a terminator on the unconnected end of a transmission line, or by putting a connector on a wire so that it can be connected to another.
TIA/EIA-568-B - A set of three building requirement standards for telecommunication cabling.
Tinned Wire - Copper wire that has been coated with a layer of tin or solder to facilitate soldering.
Transmission Loss - The loss in power during transmission of energy from one point to another.
Twisted pair - Two conductors twisted together to reduce crosstalk from neighboring wires and cancel out EMI from external sources.
|
| U |
Back to Top |
UL - Underwriter's Laboratories. An organization that provides a listing service for electrical and electronic materials and equipment.
USB - Universal Serial Bus. A plug-and-play serial bus interface to connect peripherals to a computer. A single host controller can support up to 127 USB devices in a daisy-chained configuration. The USB interface can provide a data transmission rate of up to 12 Mbps.
USB 2.0 - Universal Serial Bus Version 2.0. USB 2.0 supports transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbps and is fully backward-compatible with older USB devices.
USOC - Universal Service Ordering Codes.
UTP - Unshielded Twisted Pair. The most common cabling used in data networking.
|
| V |
Back to Top |
VGA - Video Graphics Array. A computer display standard that refers to a resolution of 640x480 pixels.
VHDCI - Very High Density Cable Interconnect. A 0.8mm 68-pin connector for next-generation Ultra-SCSI applications.
|
| W |
Back to Top |
WAN - Wide Area Network. A computer network that covers a broad geographical area, such as the Internet.
|
| X |
Back to Top |
|
| Y |
Back to Top |
|
| Z |
Back to Top |
|
