Ethernet Category Ratings
For the uninitiated, terms like Cat 3, category 5, category 5e, etc mean nothing. But when it comes to setting up a network, the category rating of the components can mean everything! Check out this primer for L-com’s category rated products, including a look at Industrial Ethernet rated products at the bottom. This is a good source of category rated Ethernet products.
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Warning: Counterfeit Cables!
When you’re looking to set up a wired system of any kind (like a LAN, for instance), the source for the cables doesn’t matter so long as you have the right active equipment, right? Wrong! More and more companies out there are offering counterfeit cabling equipment, like in this picture where they substituted copper-clad-aluminum for actual copper. These cost-saving measures can have real consequences for buyers who don’t realize the dangers. At best, you might need to rip out and replace all the cabling you ran in a building at great expense. But cables that fake UL ratings or jacket materials can also be terrible fire hazards. Read this brief article on L-com’s web site about the issue.
UTP, STP
Just about every commercial building needs telecom/modular wiring and setups nowadays. It is a difficult and expensive process, but the rewards of building in modular cabling are great! It’s also great if you can go to a single source for all the quality components you need!
Lightning Doesn’t Strike Twice… It Doesn’t Have To!
The simple fact is one strike is enough to do plenty of damage to electrical equipment. And it doesn’t even have to be a direct strike; near strikes are also enough to dangerously overload low-voltage signal systems. Yes, that means you’ll have the expense of buying all new equipment once the old is fried, but you’ll also have downtime that could derail your business or processes. Do yourself a favor! Get lightning protection!
Learn about fiber optic products
It seems clear that the future of wired signal electronics is light. That is to say, instead of low-voltage electrical signals, we may one day soon be using pulses of light to send information along fiber optic cables. L-com posted a great newsletter about the technology and products for this field a few years ago. Though things have already changed a lot since then, the basic concepts are the same and the newsletter is a good source of information of how fiber optic technology is changing the communication industry.
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L-com RJ45 Termination Infographic
This infographic just appeared on the L-com web site. It shows step-by-step the process to terminating an RJ-45 jack. Since this is such a popular application, often used in Ethernet in-wall installation or installing an Ethernet port at a drop point, I thought it was pretty interesting! L-com also posted a video on the same page which shows the process in detail. Pretty useful to have!
Information about Lightning and Surge Protectors
Any time you run conductive material (such as the copper inside signal-grade cables) outside, and especially if the run is long, you risk damage from lightning strikes. This damage is not limited to the item or area struck; surges can travel down cables to blow out all of the expensive electrical equipment they are connected to. One way of reducing this risk is to use Lightning Protectors on all cable lines. Lightning protectors are designed to stop electrical surges from continuing on a cable to sensitive equipment. They do this without significantly damaging the signal itself. There are lots of different types of lightning/surge protectors available, with models for various applications and connector types, different power protection ratings, and indoor/outdoor capabilities. If you have any cables from outside your building connected to equipment inside your building, strongly consider protecting that equipment with a lightning protector.
Laser Optimized 10 Gig Fiber Cable
10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) products usually use single mode 9/125 type fiber cables. The cables and laser equipment are very expensive. As an alternative, some products use more inexpensive VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) to specify only a few modes or rays of light sent on laser optimized fiber cables. Because of the limited modes, the Modal Dispersion of the fiber cable is reduced, thereby allowing greater bandwidth for information. Unfortunately, this also limits the effective length of the cable to about 300 meters, but for short runs within a building, 10 gig fiber cable is an excellent choice.
The Versatile D-Subminiature Connector
D-Subminiature connectors are not cutting edge technology any more. They are rapidly being replaced with newer standards for serial and video communication. However, they have such a track-record of reliability that they are still being used in OEM and custom applications world-wide. For that reason, L-com carries a large breadth of D-Sub products, including cables, connectors, adapters, and much more. In addition to the passive connectivity equipment, L-com also carries major-brand serial converter products. And on top of that, L-com has an excellent custom product department that can make custom D-Sub solutions. This one-stop shop gets you everything you need to make the D-Subminiature standard work for you.
