Plugs and Sockets

An electrical connector is a conductive device for joining electrical circuits together. The connection may be temporary, as for portable equipment, or may require a tool for assembly and removal, or may be a permanent electrical joint between two wires or devices. There are hundreds of types of electrical connectors. In computing, an electrical connector can also be known as a physical interface. Plugs are ones of those hundreds of types of connectors. Commonly used plug connectors are 8P8C, DE-9 and Universal Serial Bus connectors.

Plug and socket connectors are usually made up of a male plug and a female socket, although hermaphroditic connectors exist, such as the original IBM token ring LAN connector. Plugs generally have one or more pins or prongs that are inserted into openings in the mating socket. The connection between the mating metal parts must be sufficiently tight to make a good electrical connection and complete the circuit. When you work with multi-pin connectors, it is helpful to have a pinout diagram to identify the wire or circuit node connected to each pin.

8P8C is short for “eight positions, eight conductors”, and so an 8P8C modular connector (plug or jack) is a modular connector with eight positions, all containing conductors. The 8P8C modular plugs and jacks look very similar to the plugs and jacks used for FCC’s registered jack RJ45 variants, although the true and extremely uncommon RJ45 is not really compatible with 8P8C modular connectors. It neither uses all eight conductors (but only two of them for wires plus two for shorting a programming resistor) nor does it fit into 8P8C because the true RJ45 is “keyed”. The connector is probably most famous for its use in Ethernet and widely used on Cat 5 cables. (Cat 5 is a twisted pair cable type designed for high signal integrity.)

The DE-9 (9 pin D-shell connector) is a type of D-subminiature electrical connector most commonly used for the RS 232 serial port on the IBM AT and compatible computers. DB-9 is a common misnomer for the DE-9. (A true DB-9 connector would have 9 pins in a connector the shape and size of a DB-25, the other 16 pins would just be missing.) The DE-9 connector is used in many different applications, for computers, telecommunications, and test and measurement instruments. A few examples are older monitors (MGA, CGA, EGA), the Commodore 64, MSX, Apple II, Amiga and Atari joysticks and mouses, and game consoles such as Atari, Sega and Amiga.

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to interface devices, founded in 1996. It is currently widely used among PCs, Apple, Macintosh and many other devices. There are several types of USB connectors, and some have been added as the specification has progressed. The most commonly used is the (male) series “A” plug on peripherals, when the cable is fixed to the peripheral. If there is no cable fixed to the peripheral the peripheral always needs to have a USB “B” socket. In this case a USB “A” plug to a USB “B” plug cable would be needed. USB “A” sockets are always used on the host PC and the USB “B” sockets on the peripherals. It is a 4-pin connector, surrounded by a shield. There are several other connectors in use, the mini-A, mini- B and mini-AB plug and socket (Added in the On-The-Go Supplement to the USB 2.0 Specification).

8. Answer the questions.

1) What is an electrical connector? 2) How an electrical connector can also be known? 3) What are commonly used plug connectors? 4) 4. What do usually plugs have? 5) Where 8P8C plug is used? 6) What is DE-9? 7) Where DE-9 connector is used? 8) What is the USB? 9) What is most commonly used type of USB connector?

9. Are these sentences true or false? If false, give the correct version.

1. The connection may be permanent, as for portable equipment.

2. Plug and socket connectors are usually made up of a female plug and a male socket.

3. When you work with multi-pin connectors, it is helpful to have a pinout diagram.

4. The DE-9 is a type of O-subminiature electrical connector.

5. The DE-9 connector is used for older monitors, joysticks, mouses, and game consoles.

6. USB was founded in 1969.

7. The most commonly used is (female) series “B”.

10. Fill the gaps with correct words or phrases.

1. An electrical connector is ______________ for joining electrical circuits together.

2. In computing, an electrical connector can also be known as __________________.

3. Commonly used _________ are 8P8C, DE-9 and Universal Serial Bus connectors.

4. Plugs generally have one or more ____________ that are inserted into openings in the mating socket.

5. When you work ____________, it is helpful to have a pinout diagram to identify the wire or circuit node connected to each pin.

6. An 8P8C ____________ is a modular connector with eight positions, all containing conductors.

7. The DE-9 connector is used in many different applications, for ____________, and test and measurement instruments.

8. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to ____________, founded in 1996.

9. The most commonly used is the (male) series “A” ____________, when the cable is fixed to the peripheral.

10. ____________ are always used on the host PC and the USB “B” sockets on the peripherals.

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