What are TCA connectors? Meet the Connector: TCA Connectors  TCA connectors, or thermal compression anisotropic (TCA) connectors, are technically not connectors, but rather a termination technique. This seldom-used process was devised in the 1970s for use in electronics and telecommunications applications. TCA connectors use a liquid strip or solid pad of conductive material to createRead More

What are automotive terminals? Meet the Connector: Automotive Terminals Automotive terminals are used for connecting fuses, battery terminals, and vehicle sensors. They are found in cars, trucks, motorcycles, motorhomes, off-road and construction vehicles, and electric vehicles. Today’s automobiles contain about a mile of wire and thousands of electrical connections. These connections power and control theRead More

What are MICE connectors? Meet the Connector: MICE Connectors MICE connectors are a category of ruggedized connectors designed for harsh industrial environments that require robust and reliable connections. MICE is an acronym for Mechanical, Ingress, Climatic, and Electromagnetic protection. The concept of MICE gained traction in the late 20th century as industries began to askRead More

What are memory modules? Meet the Connector: Memory Modules Memory modules provide temporary data storage for computers and servers. They give laptops or other devices the ability to access and retrieve information quickly for processing tasks. Also known as RAM sticks, memory modules are essentially PCBs mounted with integrated circuits for random access memory. MemoryRead More

What is multimode cable? Meet the Cable: Multimode Cable Multimode cable is a type of fiber optic cable designed to carry multiple light modes or paths simultaneously, enabling high-bandwidth data transmission over relatively short distances, commonly used in data centers and local area networks. Optical fibers were first developed in the 1950s and 1960s byRead More

Meet the Connector: 4.3-10, 2.2-5, 1.5-3.5 Connectors The size of the connectors has often determined the footprint of antennas and base stations. As demand for miniaturization increased, the 4.3-10 connector system was designed to be smaller, while maintaining excellent electrical performance and lowering passive intermodulation (PIM). 2.2-5 and 1.5-3.5 followed as even smaller versions forRead More

What are EWIS connectors? Meet the Connector: EWIS Connectors EWIS connectors and cables are components used in the Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS) of an aircraft. The EWIS represents a unified approach to aircraft wiring design that encompasses all the wiring, connectors, terminals, and related devices necessary for transmitting electrical power and signals, and carries informationRead More

What are heat sinks? Meet the Connector: Heat sinks Heat sinks provide thermal management in electronic or mechanical devices for components that can’t sufficiently dissipate heat to moderate temperature. For example, they are used to cool central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) in computers, with power transistors and other high-power semiconductor devices,Read More

What are Push-pull Connectors? Meet the Connector: Push-pull Connectors Push-pull connectors are circular connectors that have a spring-action cylindrical sleeve surrounding — or within — the integral connector housing that self-latches during mating. The connection is released through a squeeze-and-pull, rotate-and-pull, or other specific unlocking action that prevents accidental disconnection. Push-pull circular connectors are availableRead More

What are loopback cables? Meet the Connector: Loopback Cables  A loopback cable is a diagnostic tool for testing the functionality of a physical port in networking systems. They are used to assess and resolve any issues with a network interface or network interface card (NIC) without linking to an external device. The loopback cable simulatesRead More

What are EN3645 and EN3646 Connectors? Meet the Connector: EN3645 and EN3646 Connectors EN3645 and EN3646 connectors are named for European technical standards (EN). They are similar to MIL-DTL-38999 Series III and MIL-DTL-26482, respectively. They have additional requirements, specifically in terms of performance under lightning strikes and resistance to fluids. Scoop-proof EN3645 connectors were createdRead More

Meet the Connector: HSL/High-Speed Link Connectors What are HSL/high-speed link connectors?  HSL/High-speed link connectors are used to facilitate high-speed data communication between different components within electronic systems, such as computers, servers, telecommunications equipment, and other digital devices. The term HSL refers to a broad category of high-speed, high-performance interconnects that are capable of supporting dataRead More