1.
BNC connector
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The BNC connector is a miniature quick connect/disconnect radio frequency connector used for coaxial cable. It features two bayonet lugs on the connector, mating is fully achieved with a quarter turn of the coupling nut. BNC connectors are used with coaxial cable in radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments. The BNC was commonly used for computer networks, including ARCnet, the IBM PC Network. BNC connectors are made to match the impedance of cable at either 50 ohms or 75 ohms. They are usually applied for frequencies below 4 GHz and voltages below 500 volts, similar connectors using the bayonet connection principle exist, and a threaded connector is also available. The BNC was originally designed for use and has gained wide acceptance in video. The BNC uses a slotted outer conductor and some plastic dielectric on each gender connector and this dielectric causes increasing losses at higher frequencies. Above 4 GHz, the slots may radiate signals, so the connector is usable, both 50 ohm and 75 ohm versions are available. The BNC connector is used for signal connections such as, analog, the BNC connector is used for composite video on commercial video devices. Consumer electronics devices with RCA connector jacks can be used with BNC-only commercial video equipment by inserting an adapter, BNC connectors were commonly used on 10base2 thin Ethernet network cables and network cards. BNC connections can also be found in recording studios, digital recording equipment uses the connection for synchronization of various components via the transmission of word clock timing signals. Typically the male connector is fitted to a cable, and the female to a panel on equipment, cable connectors are often designed to be fitted by crimping using a special power or manual tool. Wire strippers which strip outer jacket, shield braid, and inner dielectric to the lengths in one operation are used. The connector was named the BNC after its bayonet mount locking mechanism and its inventors, Paul Neill, Neill worked at Bell Labs and also invented the N connector, Concelman worked at Amphenol and also invented the C connector. A backronym has been applied to it, British Naval Connector. Another common incorrectly attributed origin is Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation, the basis for the development of the BNC connector was largely the work of Octavio M. Salati, a graduate of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1945, while working at Hazeltine Electronics Corporation, he filed a patent for a connector for coaxial cables that would minimize wave reflection/loss, the patent was granted in 1951
2.
Electronic test equipment
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Electronic test equipment is used to create signals and capture responses from electronic devices under test. In this way, the operation of the DUT can be proven or faults in the device can be traced. Use of electronic test equipment is essential to any work on electronics systems. ATE often includes many of instruments in real and simulated forms. Generally, more advanced test gear is necessary when developing circuits, designing a test system’s switching configuration requires an understanding of the signals to be switched and the tests to be performed, as well as the switching hardware form factors available. The following items are used for measurement of voltages, currents. Voltmeter Ohmmeter Ammeter, e. g. Galvanometer or Milliameter Multimeter e. g. VOM or DMM RLC Meter e. g and these systems are widely employed for incoming inspection, quality assurance, and production testing of electronic devices and subassemblies. The General Purpose Interface Bus is an IEEE-488 standard parallel interface used for attaching sensors, GPIB is a digital 8-bit parallel communications interface capable of achieving data transfers of more than 8 Mbytes/s. It allows daisy-chaining up to 14 instruments to a system using a 24-pin connector. It is one of the most common I/O interfaces present in instruments and is designed specifically for instrument control applications, the IEEE-488 specifications standardized this bus and defined its electrical, mechanical, and functional specifications, while also defining its basic software communication rules. GPIB works best for applications in industrial settings that require a connection for instrument control. The original GPIB standard was developed in the late 1960s by Hewlett-Packard to connect, the introduction of digital controllers and programmable test equipment created a need for a standard, high-speed interface for communication between instruments and controllers from various vendors. This standard was revised in 1978 and 1990. The IEEE488.2 specification includes the Standard Commands for Programmable Instrumentation, SCPI ensures compatibility and configurability among these instruments. The IEEE-488 bus has long been popular because it is simple to use and takes advantage of a selection of programmable instruments. Large systems, however, have the limitations, Driver fanout capacity limits the system to 14 devices plus a controller. Cable length limits the distance to two meters per device or 20 meters total, whichever is less. This imposes transmission problems on systems spread out in a room or on systems that require remote measurements, primary addresses limit the system to 30 devices with primary addresses
3.
Test probe
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A test probe is a physical device used to connect test equipment to a device under test. Test probes range from simple, robust devices to complex probes that are sophisticated, expensive. Specific types include test prods, oscilloscope probes and current probes, a test probe is often supplied as a test lead, which includes the probe, cable and terminating connector. Voltage probes are used to measure voltages present on the DUT, to achieve high accuracy, the test instrument and its probe must not significantly affect the voltage being measured. This is accomplished by ensuring that the combination of instrument and probe exhibit a high impedance that will not load the DUT. For AC measurements, the component of impedance may be more important than the resistive. The handle allows a person to hold and guide the probe without influencing the measurement or being exposed to dangerous voltages that might cause electric shock, within the probe body, the wire is connected to a rigid, pointed metal tip that contacts the DUT. Some probes allow an alligator clip to be attached to the tip, test leads are usually made with finely stranded wire to keep them flexible, of wire gauges sufficient to conduct a few amperes of electric current. The insulation is chosen to be flexible and have a breakdown voltage higher than the voltmeters maximum input voltage. The many fine strands and the thick insulation make the wire thicker than ordinary hookup wire, two probes are used together to measure voltage, current, and two-terminal components such as resistors and capacitors. When making DC measurements it is necessary to know which probe is positive, depending upon the accuracy required, they can be used with signal frequencies ranging from DC to a few kilohertz. When sensitive measurements must be made shields, guards, and techniques such as four-terminal Kelvin sensing are used, tweezer probes are a pair of simple probes fixed to a tweezer mechanism, operated with one hand, for measuring voltages or other electronic circuit parameters between closely spaced pins. Spring probes are spring-loaded pins used in electrical test fixtures to contact test points, component leads, oscilloscopes display the instantaneous waveform of varying electrical quantities, unlike other instruments which give numerical values of relatively stable quantities. Scope probes fall into two categories, passive and active. Passive scope probes contain no active parts, such as transistors. Because of the high frequencies often involved, oscilloscopes do not normally use simple wires to connect to the DUT, flying leads are likely to pick up interference, so they are not suitable for low-level signals. Furthermore, the inductance of flying leads make them unsuitable for high frequency signals, instead, a specific scope probe is used, which uses a coaxial cable to transmit the signal from the tip of the probe to the oscilloscope. Although coaxial cable has lower inductance than flying leads, it has higher capacitance, consequently, a one-meter high-impedance direct coaxial probe may load the circuit with a capacitance of about 110 pF and a resistance of 1 megohm
4.
Loudspeaker
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A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer, which converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. The most widely used type of speaker in the 2010s is the speaker, invented in 1925 by Edward W. Kellogg. The dynamic speaker operates on the basic principle as a dynamic microphone. Besides this most common method, there are several technologies that can be used to convert an electrical signal into sound. The sound source must be amplified or strengthened with a power amplifier before the signal is sent to the speaker. Speakers are typically housed in an enclosure or speaker cabinet which is often a rectangular or square box made of wood or sometimes plastic. The enclosures materials and design play an important role in the quality of the sound, where high fidelity reproduction of sound is required, multiple loudspeaker transducers are often mounted in the same enclosure, each reproducing a part of the audible frequency range. In this case the individual speakers are referred to as drivers, drivers made for reproducing high audio frequencies are called tweeters, those for middle frequencies are called mid-range drivers, and those for low frequencies are called woofers. Smaller loudspeakers are found in such as radios, televisions, portable audio players, computers. Larger loudspeaker systems are used for music, sound reinforcement in theatres and concerts, the term loudspeaker may refer to individual transducers or to complete speaker systems consisting of an enclosure including one or more drivers. To adequately reproduce a range of frequencies with even coverage, most loudspeaker systems employ more than one driver. Individual drivers are used to different frequency ranges. The drivers are named subwoofers, woofers, mid-range speakers, tweeters, the terms for different speaker drivers differ, depending on the application. In two-way systems there is no mid-range driver, so the task of reproducing the mid-range sounds falls upon the woofer and tweeter, home stereos use the designation tweeter for the high frequency driver, while professional concert systems may designate them as HF or highs. When multiple drivers are used in a system, a network, called a crossover. Loudspeaker driver of the type pictured are termed dynamic to distinguish them from earlier drivers, or speakers using piezoelectric or electrostatic systems, or any of several other sorts. Johann Philipp Reis installed an electric loudspeaker in his telephone in 1861, it was capable of reproducing clear tones, alexander Graham Bell patented his first electric loudspeaker as part of his telephone in 1876, which was followed in 1877 by an improved version from Ernst Siemens. In 1898, Horace Short patented a design for a loudspeaker driven by compressed air, he sold the rights to Charles Parsons
5.
Plastic
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Plastic is a material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable and can be molded into solid objects. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships. They have already displaced many traditional materials, such as wood, stone, horn and bone, leather, paper, metal, glass, and ceramic, in most of their former uses. In developed countries, about a third of plastic is used in packaging, other uses include automobiles, furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the ratios may be different - for example, the worlds first fully synthetic plastic was bakelite, invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland who coined the term plastics. Toward the end of the century, one approach to this problem was met with wide efforts toward recycling, the word plastic is derived from the Greek πλαστικός meaning capable of being shaped or molded, from πλαστός meaning molded. The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, used for insulating parts in electrical fixtures, paper laminated products, thermally insulation foams. Problems include the probability of moldings naturally being dark colors, One of the most expensive commercial polymers. It forms the basis of artistic and commercial acrylic paints when suspended in water with the use of other agents, polytetrafluoroethylene – Heat-resistant, low-friction coatings, used in things like non-stick surfaces for frying pans, plumbers tape and water slides. It is more known as Teflon. Urea-formaldehyde – One of the aminoplasts and used as an alternative to phenolics. Used as an adhesive and electrical switch housings. Early plastics were bio-derived materials such as egg and blood proteins, in 1600 BC, Mesoamericans used natural rubber for balls, bands, and figurines. Treated cattle horns were used as windows for lanterns in the Middle Ages, materials that mimicked the properties of horns were developed by treating milk-proteins with lye. In the 1800s, as industrial chemistry developed during the Industrial Revolution, the development of plastics also accelerated with Charles Goodyears discovery of vulcanization to thermoset materials derived from natural rubber. Parkesine is considered the first man-made plastic, the plastic material was patented by Alexander Parkes, In Birmingham, UK in 1856. It was unveiled at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London, parkesine won a bronze medal at the 1862 Worlds fair in London
6.
Ground (electricity)
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Electrical circuits may be connected to ground for several reasons. In mains powered equipment, exposed parts are connected to ground to prevent user contact with dangerous voltage when electrical insulation fails. In electrical power systems, a protective ground conductor is an essential part of the safety Earthing system. Connection to ground also limits the build-up of static electricity when handling flammable products or electrostatic-sensitive devices, in some telegraph and power transmission circuits, the earth itself can be used as one conductor of the circuit, saving the cost of installing a separate return conductor. For measurement purposes, the Earth serves as a constant potential reference against which other potentials can be measured, an electrical ground system should have an appropriate current-carrying capability to serve as an adequate zero-voltage reference level. In electronic circuit theory, a ground is usually idealized as a source or sink for charge. Where a real ground connection has a significant resistance, the approximation of zero potential is no longer valid, stray voltages or earth potential rise effects will occur, which may create noise in signals or if large enough will produce an electric shock hazard. This is usually a large conductor attached to one side of the power supply which serves as the return path for current from many different components in the circuit. Long-distance electromagnetic telegraph systems from 1820 onwards used two or more wires to carry the signal and return currents. During dry weather, the ground connection often developed a high resistance, an electrical connection to earth can be used as a reference potential for radio frequency signals for certain kinds of antennas. The part directly in contact with the earth - the earth electrode - can be as simple as a rod or stake driven into the earth. Because high frequency signals can flow to earth due to capacitative effects, because of this, a complex system of buried rods and wires can be effective. An ideal signal ground maintains a fixed potential regardless of how much current flows into ground or out of ground. Some types of transmitting antenna systems in the VLF, LF, MF, sometimes a counterpoise is used as a ground plane, supported above the ground. Electrical power distribution systems are connected to ground to limit the voltage that can appear on distribution circuits. A distribution system insulated from ground may attain a high potential due to transient voltages caused by arcing, static electricity, a ground connection of the system dissipates such potentials and limits the rise in voltage of the grounded system. In a mains electricity wiring installation, the ground conductor typically refers to three different conductors or conductor systems as listed below. Equipment earthing conductors provide a connection between non-current-carrying metallic parts of equipment and the earth
7.
Wire
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A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads or electricity and telecommunications signals, Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Wire gauges come in standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a gauge number. The term wire is used more loosely to refer to a bundle of such strands, as in multistranded wire. Wire comes in solid core, stranded, or braided forms, edge-wound coil springs, such as the Slinky toy, are made of special flattened wire. In some cases, strips cut from metal sheet were made into wire by pulling them through perforations in stone beads and this causes the strips to fold round on themselves to form thin tubes. This strip drawing technique was in use in Egypt by the 2nd Dynasty, from the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE most of the gold wires in jewellery are characterised by seam lines that follow a spiral path along the wire. Such twisted strips can be converted into solid round wires by rolling them between flat surfaces or the wire drawing method. The strip twist wire manufacturing method was superseded by drawing in the ancient Old World sometime between about the 8th and 10th centuries AD, there is some evidence for the use of drawing further East prior to this period. Square and hexagonal wires were made using a swaging technique. In this method a metal rod was struck between grooved metal blocks, or between a punch and a grooved metal anvil. Swaging is of great antiquity, possibly dating to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE in Egypt and in the Bronze and Iron Ages in Europe for torcs, twisted square-section wires are a very common filigree decoration in early Etruscan jewelry. In about the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE, a new category of decorative tube was introduced which imitated a line of granules. True beaded wire, produced by mechanically distorting a round-section wire, appeared in the Eastern Mediterranean and Italy in the seventh century BCE, a forerunner to beaded wire may be the notched strips and wires which first occur from around 2000 BCE in Anatolia. Wire was drawn in England from the medieval period, the wire was used to make wool cards and pins, manufactured goods whose import was prohibited by Edward IV in 1463. The first wire mill in Great Britain was established at Tintern in about 1568 by the founders of the Company of Mineral and Battery Works, apart from their second wire mill at nearby Whitebrook, there were no other wire mills before the second half of the 17th century. Despite the existence of mills, the drawing of wire down to fine sizes continued to be done manually. Wire is usually drawn of cylindrical form, but it may be made of any desired section by varying the outline of the holes in the draw-plate through which it is passed in the process of manufacture
8.
Phone connector (audio)
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A phone connector, also known as phone jack, audio jack, headphone jack or jack plug, is a common family of electrical connector typically used for analog signals, primarily audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically two, three, four and, recently, five contacts. Three-contact versions are known as TRS connectors, where T stands for tip, R stands for ring, similarly, two-, four- and five- contact versions are called TS, TRRS and TRRRS connectors respectively. The phone connector was invented for use in telephone switchboards in the 19th century and is widely used. In its original configuration, the diameter of the sleeve conductor is 1⁄4 inch. The mini connector has a diameter of 3.5 mm, specific models are termed stereo plug, mini-stereo, mini jack, headphone jack and microphone jack, or are referred to by size, i. e.3. 5mm or 6. 35mm. In the UK, the terms jack plug and jack socket are commonly used for the male and female phone connectors. In the US, an electrical connector is called a jack. Phone plugs and jacks are not to be confused with the similar terms phono plug and phono jack which refer to RCA connectors common in consumer hi-fi, the 3.5 mm connector is, however, sometimes—but counter to the connector manufacturers nomenclature—referred to as mini phono. Modern phone connectors are available in three standard sizes, the original 1⁄4 in version dates from 1878, when it was used for manual telephone exchanges, making it the oldest electrical connector standard still in use. The 3.5 mm or miniature and 2.5 mm or sub-miniature sizes were originally designed as two-conductor connectors for earpieces on transistor radios since the 1950s, the standard still used today. The 3.5 mm connector, which is the most commonly used in application today, was popularized by the Sony EFM-117J radio which was released in 1964. It became very popular with its application on the Walkman in 1979, the 3.5 mm and 2.5 mm sizes are sometimes referred to as 1⁄8 in and 3⁄32 in respectively in the United States, though those dimensions are only approximations. All three sizes are now available in two-conductor and three-conductor versions. Four- and five-conductor versions of the 3.5 mm plug are used for certain applications, a four-conductor version is often used in compact camcorders and portable media players, and sometimes also in laptop computers and smartphones, providing stereo sound plus a video signal. Proprietary interfaces using both four- and five-conductor versions exist, where the conductors are used to supply power for accessories. The four-conductor 3.5 mm plug is used as a connector on handheld amateur radio transceivers from Yaesu. It is also used in some amps like the LH Labs Geek Out V2+ for a balanced output, the most common arrangement remains to have the male plug on the cable and the female socket mounted in a piece of equipment, the original intention of the design
9.
RCA connector
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An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or Cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals. The connectors are sometimes casually referred to as A/V jacks. The name RCA derives from the Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design by the early 1940s for internal connection of the pickup to the chassis in home radio-phonograph consoles. It was originally a low-cost, simple design, intended only for mating, refinement came with later designs, although they remained compatible. However, quarter-inch phone connectors are common in professional audio. The connections plug is called an RCA plug or phono plug, the name phono plug is sometimes confused with a phone plug which may refer to a quarter-inch phone plug – Tip/Sleeve or Tip/Ring/Sleeve connector – or to a 4P4C connector used for a telephone. In the most normal use, cables have a plug on each end, consisting of a central male connector. The ring is often segmented for flexibility, devices mount the socket, consisting of a central hole with a ring of metal around it. The ring is smaller in diameter and longer than the ring on the plug. The jack has an area between the outer and inner rings which is filled with an insulator, typically plastic. Its use as a connector for video signals is extremely common. RCA connectors and cable are commonly used to carry S/PDIF-formatted digital audio. Connections are made by pushing the cables plug into the jack on the device. Continuous noise can occur if the plug partially falls out of the jack, breaking ground connection, some variants of the plug, especially cheaper versions, also give very poor grip and contact between the ground sheaths due to their lack of flexibility. They are often color-coded, yellow for composite video, red for the audio channel. This trio of jacks can be found on the back of almost all audio, one or more sets are often found on TV sets to facilitate connection of camcorders, other portable video sources and video game consoles. Varying cable quality means that a cheap line-level audio cable might not successfully transfer component video, cables should meet the S/PDIF specification as defined by the international standard IEC 60958-3 for assured performance. The male plug has a pin which is 3.175 mm in diameter
10.
XLR connector
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The XLR connector is a style of electrical connector, primarily found on professional audio, video, and stage lighting equipment. The connectors are circular in design and have between 3 and 7 pins and they are most commonly associated with balanced audio interconnection, including AES3 digital audio, but are also used for lighting control, low-voltage power supplies, and other applications. XLR connectors are available from a number of manufacturers and are covered by a standard for dimensions. They are superficially similar to the older and smaller DIN connector range, a smaller version, the Mini XLR Connector, is used on smaller equipment. The XLR connector was invented by James H, there was also an XLP series which used a hard plastic insulation, but was otherwise the same. ITT Cannon originally manufactured XLR connectors in two locations Kanagawa, Japan and Melbourne, Australia, the Australian operation was sold to Alcatel Components in 1992 and then acquired by Amphenol in 1998. ITT Cannon continues to manufacture XLR connectors in Japan, the Switchcraft corporation later started manufacturing compatible connectors, followed by Neutrik. These improvements have made Neutrik the most popular brand of XLR connector, unbranded XLRs are also made by East Asian manufacturers. Originally these were copies of the Cannon or Switchcraft designs, XLR connectors are available in male and female versions in both cable and chassis mounting designs, a total of four styles. This is slightly unusual as many other connector designs omit one of the styles, the female XLR connectors are designed to first connect pin 1, before the other pins make contact, when a male XLR connector is inserted. With the ground connection established before the lines are connected. As of 2016, XLR connectors are available with up to 10 pins, XLR connectors from different manufacturers will intermate, with the exception of Switchcraft six-pin models, which use a non-standard arrangement for the pins. Three-pin XLR connectors are by far the most common style, and are a standard for balanced audio signals. The great majority of microphones use the XLR connector. In previous years, they were used for connections, for instance by Trace Elliot in its bass enclosures. The XLR could accept 14 AWG wire with a capacity of 15 amps, suitable for most loudspeakers. The Speakon connector accepts larger wire and carries current, and it provides a better shield for the contacts. Three-pin XLR connectors are used to interconnect powered speakers with line-level signals and this use is commonly seen in PA system applications and seems to be growing more common
