#CABLE CONNECTOR PROFESSIONAL#

When ordering, there are three differentiating characteristics of a barrel connection- inner diameter (the diameter of the pin inside the jack), outer diameter (the diameter of the sleeve on the outside of the plug), and polarity (whether the sleeve voltage is higher or lower than the tip voltage). Make sure to check out the product image and specs to find what you are looking for!īarrel connectors provide only two connections, frequently referred to as 'pin' or 'tip' and 'sleeve'. Depending on where your get these connectors, the jack can be referred to 'male' barrel connector due to the pin in the center and vice versa for the plug. Heads up! There are varying opinions on the gender of the jack and plug for these low power coax connectors. Below are a few audio jacks that SparkFun carries in the catalog. Some cell phones will provide a 2.5mm tip-ring-ring-sleeve (TRRS) jack for connecting to headphones that also include a microphone for hands-free communications. 1/8' tip-ring-sleeve (TRS) is very common as the connector for headphones or audio output signals on MP3 players or computers.

#CABLE CONNECTOR PROFESSIONAL#

¼' size connectors find a lot of use in the professional audio and music community- most electric guitars and amplifiers have 1/4' tip-sleeve (TS) jacks on them. These connectors actually come in three common sizes: 1/4' (6.35mm), 1/8' (3.5mm), and 2.5mm. You'll probably immediately recognize the 1/8' version of this connector as a the plug on the end of a pair of headphones. While these can't truly be considered to be of the same family, as the various USB connectors are, we'll consider both of them to be in the same vein. Molded strain relief - All USB cables have plastic overmolding at the connector to prevent strain on the cable that could potentially damage the electrical connections.Īnother familiar connector group are those used for audio-visual applications-RCA and phono.All USB connectors are designed with this in mind. Robust power connection - It's important for the power pins to make connection before the data lines, to avoid trying to power the device over the data lines.

This is important to keep the signal intact in environments with a lot of electrical 'noise'. Shielding - USB connectors are shielded, such that a metal shell which is not part of the electrical circuit is provided.USB connectors are designed to transmit 5V, up to 500mA. These are for power, ground, and two data lines (D+ and D-). Four contacts - All USB connectors have at least four contacts (although some may have five, and USB 3.0+ connectors have even more).It may be possible to force a connector in wrong, but that will result in damage to the device. Polarization - A USB connector can only nominally be inserted one way.However, all USB connectors will have some things in common: In the USB standard, there is a difference between the two, and the connectors on cables and devices reflect this. USB connectors come in two flavors: host and peripheral. We'll discuss this more in the examples section for each individual connector. The term 'mount' can refer to several things: how the connector is mounted in use (panel mount, free-hanging, board mount), what the angle of the connector is relative to its attachment (straight or right-angle), or how it is mechanically attached (solder tab, surface mount, through hole). Mount - This one has the potential for being confusing. It's important that you select a connector with a suitable life for the application. A USB connector may have a lifetime in the thousands or tens of thousands of cycles, while a board-to-board connector designed for use inside of consumer electronics may be limited to tens of cycles. Datasheets usually present that information in terms of mating cycles, and it varies widely from one technology to another.

Mating cycles - Connectors have a finite life, and connecting and disconnecting them is what wears them out. The pitch of the pins on the headers on a standard Arduino is.

Cable connector