Abbreviation for braid.
Brown & Sharpe Gauge. A wire diameter standard that is the same as AWG.
See also AWG.
British Approvals Board for Telecommunications
A type of PCB used on a daughterboard or motherboard.
Usually refers to the terminating end of a metal terminal.
When a connector is mounted from the inside of a panel or box with its mounting flanges inside the equipment.
A backbone is a larger transmission line that carries data gathered from smaller lines that interconnect with it. At the local level, a backbone is a line, or set of lines, that local area networks connect to for a wide area network connection or within a local are network to span distances more efficiently (for example, between buildings). On the Internet, or other wide area network, a backbone is a set of paths that local or regional networks connect to for long-distance interconnection. The connection points are known as network nodes or telecommunication data switching exchanges (DSE's).
Portion of cable pathway system for the main cables of the network.
See also Front End.
An interconnection assembly configuration which has terminals on one side, connector receptacles on the other side, and provides point-to-point electrical interconnections. The point-to-point electrical connection may be printed wiring.
An interconnection panel into which PC cards or other panels can be plugged. These panels come in a variety of designs ranging from a PC motherboard to individual connectors mounted in a metal frame.
A mold used to create a covering over the backshell of a connector or plug after it is connected to a cable.
A coupler that has an even ratio of power splits i.e. 1x4 - 25/25/25/25.
Also known as a Double-Ended Transmission Line or Cable. A cable having two identical signal conductors, one on which resides a signal and on the other its complement (in polarity), both balanced in absolute voltage difference, referenced to ground, as equal and constant, independent of voltage polarity, which yields a mutual coupling of the electromagnetic fields between the signals. Twin-ax (coax with a signal pair of conductors) is an example of a balanced line.
A continuous circumferential bank applied to a conductor at regular intervals for identification.
Pins that are held in a chain form on a brass or steel carrier called a bandolier. The purpose of this carrier is for the orientation of the pins during selective plating and assembly. The bandolier is discarded after assembly.
See Locking Spring.
A PC board which has been printed, etched, plated and drilled, but has no components mounted on its surfaces.
A conductor not covered with insulating material.
The back end portion of a terminal or contact that is crimped to the conductor or insulation or both. When designed to receive the conductor, it is called the wire barrel. When designed to support or grip the insulation, it is called insulation barrel.
A manufacturing process for overall tin plating loose pins/ terminals. The pins/terminals are placed in a barrel which is agitated and moves from one solution tank to the next based on a pre-set program. The total process for one tank takes approximately 1.5 hours; but we can have 6-12 barrels plating at the same time. One operator required per shift to operate.
Dielectric material that insulates electrical circuits from each other or from ground.
See Terminal Block.
The electrostatic field strength of the "dipoles" across the depletion layer (a charge carrier-free zone) or interfacial junction created by bonding two different semiconductor types together.
See also Depletion Layer, Semiconductor, Diode.
A continuous section of dielectric material which insulates electrical circuits from each other or from ground.
See Header.
The insulating material upon which the conductive pattern of a PC board may be formed. The base material may be rigid or flexible.
Metal from which the connector, contact or other metal accessory is made and on which one or more metals or coatings may be deposited. Sometimes called basis metal.
Digital networking approach in which all signals are sent at the same frequency. Almost all current LANs are baseband LANs, though Ethernet, in configurations no longer popular, can ride as one of many communications channels on a broadband LAN. Broadband ISDN is a baseband communications technique.
See also Broadband ISDN.
See also Broadband LAN.
A fixed radio transmitter/receiver, which electronically relays signals to and from mobile voice and data terminals and handsets.
A VoB access node for voice over a wireless broadband network.
See also VoB.
A direct current voltage source, consisting of two or more cells connected together, which converts chemical, nuclear, solar, or thermal energy into electrical energy.
The number of bits per second.
A quick coupling device for plug and receptacle connectors, accomplished by rotation of a device designed to bring the connector halves together.
Bare copper or bell cord.
See Berryllium Copper.
A United States Telecom Standards association that tests products and establishes recommended standards that telecom manufacturers should abide by. Although companies are not required to follow them, many customers will insist that the products they buy meet these specifications. Bellcore only deals with products sold in the US, so international companies selling in the US pay close attention to these standards. Bellcore standards are slowly being replaced with international specs from the IEC.
Flared or a tapered/widened entrance to a connector crimp barrel permitting an essentially smooth stress transition zone between the highly compressed, crimped wire within the barrel and the wire (uncompressed, uncrimped) outside of the barrel, thus preventing micro-cracking of both the barrel and the wire.
A connector contact that is a flat spring folded to provide uniform spring rate over the full tolerance range of the mating contact.
A form of increased attenuation caused by either having the fiber curved around a restrictive radius of curvature, or microbends caused by minute distortions in the fiber imposed by externally induced perturbations. Excessive bend loss may result from poor drawing or cable manufacturing techniques.
Radius a fiber can bend before the risk of breakage or increase in attenuation.
Bit Error Rate. The probability of error per bit in a digital communications system.
A connector metal that is lighter than aluminum, non-magnetic, and is characterized by good electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. The most important use for beryllium is in alloys, especially beryllium-copper alloys.
A relatively expensive contact material with properties superior to brass and phosphor bronze. It is recommended for contact applications that require repeated extraction and reinsertion because of its resistance to fatigue at high operating temperatures.
Building Entrance Terminal. A device used to provide cross-connection and protection at or around the building entry point.
The current gain of a transistor, symbolized by the Greek letter B (ß). The ratio of collector current to base current in a transistor, when the collector-to-emitter voltage is kept constant. May be DC or AC ratio for small or large signals.
One billion electron volts.
The movement of optical signals in opposite directions through a common fiber cable.
Describes lengthwise slotting of a flat spring contact, as used in a PC connector, to provide additional independently operating points of contact.
A hermaphroditic connector containing fork-shaped mating contacts.
Spring contact that has been split lengthwise to provide two independent contact surfaces. This redundancy assures two points of contact with the mating conductor element.
A system of numerical representation using only, two symbols: "0" and "1".
The binary equivalent of the decimals 0 to 9 arranged in words of four bits.
A thread or tape used for holding wire groups together within a larger cable. The usual binder group for twisted pair is 25.
A fixed support, generally screw-type, to which conductors are connected.
Bipolar semiconductors are still one of the oldest and longest lasting technologies used to manufacture transistors and other semiconductors. Bipolar semiconductors are still very popular because of their low price and and their fast switching times.
A defect in stranded wire where the strands in the stripped portion between the covering of an insulated wire and a soldered connection (or an end-tinned lead) have separated from the normal lay of the strands.
Binary Digit. A bit can have a value of either 0 or 1. In the BCD system, four bits represent one decimal digit.
An electronic system approach to electronic circuits which concerns itself only with the input and output, and ignores the interior circuit elements.
A flat male contact designed to mate with a flat female contact (blade on beam), also known in the industry as leaf style contacts.
A manufacturing operation where the designed scrap is cut/ punched out from the material. This process is usually used in gold plated parts to save gold being plated on the portion of the material that is going to be scrapped.
A term that describes the mating of rack-and-panel connectors via guide or key pins that assure correct mating.
A via which extends from one or more inner layers to the surface of a substrate or board.
A raised area on the surface of a molded part caused by the pressure of gasses inside on its incompletely hardened surface.
Connector housing.
A diagram of the electrical essentials of a circuit of an electronic system which is graphically displayed in the form of blocks of black boxes, each depicting a subsystem.