STCABresearch 1
STCABresearch 1
STCABresearch 1
STRUCTURED CABLING
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1.TRANSMISSION LINES
1
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
1.1 TERMINOLOGY
All transmission lines have two ends (see figure 3-1). The end of a two-wire
transmission line connected to a source is ordinarily called the INPUT END or
the GENERATOR END. Other names given to this end are TRANSMITTER
END, SENDING END, and SOURCE. The other end of the line is called the
OUTPUT END or RECEIVING END. Other names given to the output end are
LOAD END and SINK.
You can describe a transmission line in terms of its impedance. The ratio of
voltage to current (Ein/Iin) at the input end is known as the INPUT
IMPEDANCE (Zin). This is the impedance presented to the transmitter by the
transmission line and its load, the antenna. The ratio of voltage to current at
the output (Eout/Iout) end is known as the OUTPUT IMPEDANCE (Zout). This
is the impedance presented to the load by the transmission line and its source.
If an infinitely long transmission line could be used, the ratio of voltage to
current at any point on that transmission line would be some particular value of
2
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
3
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
4
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
The principal advantage of the shielded pair is that the conductors are
balanced to ground; that is, the capacitance between the wires is uniform
throughout the length of the line. This balance is due to the uniform spacing
of the grounded shield that surrounds the wires along their entire length.
The braided copper shield isolates the conductors from stray magnetic
fields.
5
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
The rigid coaxial line consists of a central, insulated wire (inner conductor)
mounted inside a tubular outer conductor. This line is shown in figure 3-6. In
some applications, the inner conductor is also tubular. The inner conductor
is insulated from the outer conductor by insulating spacers or beads at
regular intervals. The spacers are made of Pyrex, polystyrene, or some
other material that has good insulating characteristics and low dielectric
losses at high frequencies.
The chief advantage of the rigid line is its ability to minimize radiation
losses. The electric and magnetic fields in a two-wire parallel line extend
into space for relatively great distances and radiation losses occur.
However, in a coaxial line no electric or magnetic fields extend outside of
the outer conductor. The fields are confined to the space between the two
conductors, resulting in a perfectly shielded coaxial line. Another advantage
is that interference from other lines is reduced.
6
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
than in previously mentioned lines, they are still excessive enough to limit
the practical length of the line.
Flexible coaxial lines (figure 3-7) are made with an inner conductor that
consists of flexible wire insulated from the outer conductor by a solid,
continuous insulating material. The outer conductor is made of metal braid,
which gives the line flexibility. Early attempts at gaining flexibility involved
using rubber insulators between the two conductors. However, the rubber
insulators caused excessive losses at high frequencies.
7
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
The discussion of transmission lines so far has not directly addressed LINE
LOSSES; actually some line losses occur in all lines. Line losses may be any
of three types - COPPER, DIELECTRIC, and RADIATION or INDUCTION
LOSSES.
NOTE: Transmission lines are sometimes referred to as rf lines. In this text the
terms are used interchangeably.
One type of copper loss is I2R LOSS. In rf lines the resistance of the
conductors is never equal to zero. Whenever current flows through one of
these conductors, some energy is dissipated in the form of heat. This heat
loss is a POWER LOSS. With copper braid, which has a resistance higher
than solid tubing, this power loss is higher.
8
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
The atomic structure of rubber is more difficult to distort than the structure
of some other dielectric materials. The atoms of materials, such as
polyethylene, distort easily. Therefore, polyethylene is often used as a
dielectric because less power is consumed when its electron orbits are
distorted.
9
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
2. ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY
Electromagnetic compatibility, EMC is the concept of enabling different electronics
devices to operate without mutual interference - Electromagnetic Interference, EMI
- when they are operated in close proximity to each other.
10
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
In the early days of electronics systems, pops, bangs and general noise received
by radios were taken as being part of "experience" of listening to a radio - even if
they were man-made from other local electrical equipment.
Later the risks to electronics equipment associated with ESD became visible. Not
only did these damage the electronics equipment, but they could also set false
triggers.
During the 1970s the use of logic circuitry grew rapidly, and with this the switching
speeds increased. The opened up these circuits to the effects of EMI, and
realisation grew of the need for EMC precautions to be incorporated into the
design if these items were to work satisfactorily in the real world.
11
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
The aim of employing EMC measures is to ensure that a variety of different items
of electronics equipment can operate in close proximity without causing any undue
interference.
EMC standards
With the growing awareness and need to maintain high standards of electromagnetic
compatibility many standards have been introduced to help manufacturers meet the levels
they need to maintain full electromagnetic compatibility.
Many years ago the levels of EMC were low and interference often occurred - taxis driving
past a house whilst using their radio telephone were quite likely to disrupt the operation of a
television, and there were many other instances.
As a result, it became necessary to introduce EMC standards to ensure the required levels of
compatibility were attained.
EMC is now an integral part of any electronics design project. With standards now
implemented and enforced across the world, any new product needs to meet and have been
tested to ensure it meets the relevant EMC standards. While this presents an additional
challenge to the electronics design engineer, it is essential that good EMC practices have
been employed and that the EMC performance of the product is sufficient to ensure it operates
correctly under all reasonable scenarios.
12
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
Computer cables are confusing to most users. Here’s a visual guide to help you
quickly identify all the common cable and connectors that came bundled with your
computers, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. You may also refer to this
guide for ideas on how to hook different devices using commonly available
connectors and converters.
You can use USB cables to connect most new devices to your computer including
flash memory sticks, portable media players, internet modems and digital
cameras.
The other end of the USB cable may have different connectors including USB-B (a
square connector commonly used with printers, external hard drives, and larger
devices) or smaller connectors such as the Mini-USB and Micro-USB that are
commonly used with portable devices such as media players and phones.
13
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
Additionally, many other connectors have USB-A connectors at the end that
connects to the computer, and a device-specific connector at the other end (e.g.
the iPod or a Zune). Then you have USB Male to Female connectors for extending
the length of a USB cable.
Many other non-USB cables can also connect to your computer via a USB
converter; these cables have the standard USB-A connector on one end while the
other end could have connections for other ports such as Ethernet or audio.
Most speakers and microphones can connect to the computer with these audio
cables. The microphone port on your computer is usually pink while the speaker
port, where you insert the stereo audio cable, is colored green. Some computers
14
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
have additional TSR audio ports colored black, grey, and gold; these are for rear,
front, and center/subwoofer output, respectively
For high-end audio, like when you want to connect the output of a DVD player or a
set-top box to a Dolby home theater, you need the TOSLINK (or S/PDIF)
connector.
These are fiber optic cables and can therefore transmit pure digital audio through
light. Some laptops and audio equipment have a mini-TOSLINK jack but you can
use a converter to connect it to a standard TOSLINK (Toshiba Link) port.
One of the most common video connectors for computer monitors and high-
definition TVs is the VGA cable. A standard VGA connector has 15-pins and other
than connecting a computer to a monitor, you may also use a VGA cable to
connect your laptop to a TV screen or a projector.
15
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
Converter cables are lso available to let VGA monitors connect to newer
computers that only output HDMI or DVI signals. A smaller variant of VGA, Mini-
VGA, is available on some laptops but with the help of a converter, you can
connect any standard VGA monitor to a Mini-VGA port of your laptop.
A DVI cable has 29 pins, though some connectors may have less pins depending
on their configuration. DVI’s video signal is compatible with HDMI, so a simple
converter can allow a DVI monitor to receive input from an HDMI cable.
Additionally, DVI to VGA converters are also available for connect your new
graphics card to old monitor that supports only VGA mode.
16
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
3.3.1.3 - S-Video
Standard S-Video connectors are round in shape and may have anywhere
between 4-9 pins.
17
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
picture than composite because the video signal is split in different signals while in
the case of composite, everything is transferred through a single yellow plug.
Uses of RCA Connectors - The RCA cables are usually used for connecting your
DVD player, stereo speakers, digital camera and other audio/video equipment to
your TV. You can plug-in an RCA cable to the computer via a video capture card
and this will let you transfer video from an old analog camcorder into your
computer’s hard drive.
HDMI is the new standard that provide both audio and video transmission
through a single cable. HDMI support a maximum resolution of 4096×2160p
(HD is only 1920×1200) with up to 8 channels of digital audio and are used for
connecting Blu-Ray players to an HDTV.
Standard HDMI cables can be up to 5 meters long, but higher quality ones can be
up to 15 meters long, and the length can be further increased with amplifiers.
HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI so you can use a converter to watch
video on a DVI device through the HDMI cable though you will have to use another
cable for the audio.
18
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
3.4.4.3 - DisplayPort
A
combined digital video and audio cable that is more commonly used in computers
is DisplayPort and the smaller derivative Mini DisplayPort. Both support
resolutions up to 2560 × 1600 × 60 Hz, and additionally support up to 8
channels of digital audio.
19
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
Firewire typically has 6 pins in its connector, though a 4 pin variety is common as
well.
While SATA cables are used internally for connecting the hard
drive to the computer’s motherboard, eSATA cables are designed for portable
hard drives, and can transfer data faster than USB or FireWire.
However, the eSATA cable cannot transmit power, so unlike USB, you cannot
power an external hard drive with eSATA. The eSATA cable is somewhat different
from the internal SATA cable; it has more shielding, and sports a larger connector.
20
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
The telephone cable, otherwise known as RJ11, is still used around the world for
connecting to the Internet through DSL/ADSL modems. A standard phone cable
has 4 wires and the connector has four pins.
The connector has a clip at the top to help maintain a tight connection.
The Ethernet connector, likewise, has 8 pins and looks similar to a phone plug, but
is actually thicker and wider. It too has a clip to help maintain a tight connection
like a phone connector.
4. WORK AREAS
Work-Area Components
21
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
22
ACLC COLLEGE TAGUIG
FTI Complex, Taguig City
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES
V. REFERENCES:
http://www.rfcafe.com/references/electrical/NEETS-Modules/NEETS-Module-10-3-1-3-10.htm
https://www.dintek.com.tw/index.php/Articles/Structured-cabling-installation-practices-part-two-
structured-cabling.html
https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/analogue_circuits/emc-emi-
electromagnetic-interference-compatibility/what-is-emc-basics-tutorial.php
https://www.labnol.org/gadgets/visual-guide-to-computer-cables-
connectors/10694/#1-usb-cables-and-connectors
23