UTP

RJ45 Connectors on UTP cable HOWTO.mkv

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• published: 25 Feb 2012
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Modular connectors come in four sizes: 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-position, where a position is a location for a contact. Not all of the positions may have contacts installed. When contacts are omitted, they are typically done so from the outermost pair of contacts inward, such that the number of contacts is almost always an even number. The insulating plastic bodies of 4P and 6P connectors have different widths, whereas 8P or 10P connectors share an even larger body width. The connector body positions with omitted contacts or contacts unattached to wires are unused for the electrical connection, but ensure that the plug fits correctly. For instance, RJ11 cables often have connectors with 6 positions and 4 contacts, to which are attached just 2 wires. The connectors are designated with two numbers that represent the quantity of positions and contacts, with each number followed by a "P" and "C", respectively: for example, "6P2C" for a connector having 6 positions and 2 contacts. Alternate designations omit the "P" and "C" while separating the position and contact quantities with either an "x" ("6x2") or a slash ("6/2"). Internally, the contacts have sharp prongs that when crimped, pierce the insulation and connect with the wire conductor, a mechanism known as insulation displacement. Ethernet cables, in particular, may have solid or stranded wire conductors and the sharp prongs are different in the 8P8C connectors made for each type of wire. A modular plug for solid (single strand) wire often has three slightly splayed prongs on each contact to securely surround and grip the conductor. Modular plugs for stranded or tinsel wire have prongs that are designed to connect to multiple wire strands. Connector plugs are designed for either solid or stranded wire; a plug for one wire type might not make reliable contact when crimped to a cable with wires of the other type.