This week’s Product Roundup highlights audio/video connectors for consumer applications from leading suppliers. Audio/Video Connectors for Consumer Applications The Neutrik SpeakON line of lockable loudspeaker/amplifier connectors, supplied by Allied Electronics & Automation, now features the standard SpeakON, SpeakON SPX, and SpeakON STX series. The SPX series features 4-pole cable ends that are cost-effective and availableRead More

This week’s Product Roundup highlights fiber optic MIL/Aero cable assemblies from leading suppliers. Fiber-Optic MIL/Aero Cable Assemblies Amphenol Aerospace offers a comprehensive line of single-mode and multi-mode cable assemblies in a variety of cable configurations, from simplex jumpers to multi-fiber custom assemblies. High quality polishing processes meet and exceed industry standard specifications for insertion loss,Read More

The well-attended event featured coax and waveguide technology for 220 GHz applications, plus presentations and exhibits on terahertz and quantum technologies. The International Microwave Symposium (IMS), the foremost symposium for high frequency communications, test equipment, and microwave IC/chips, met in person at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver June 19-24 as part of MicrowaveRead More

Meet the Connector: Configurable Connector Systems Configurable connector systems, also called build-your-own, semi-custom, or modular connectors (not to be confused with modular RJ45s), are available from many suppliers as an alternative to costly fully custom connector products. In cases in which an existing connector is close, but not quite right for a particular application, theseRead More

Meet the Connector: SMP Connectors Subminiature push-on (SMP) connectors are highly shielded, very small interconnects commonly used in miniaturized high frequency coaxial modules and high data rate applications such as antennas, broadband installations, Test & Measurement, and quantum computing. The product was developed by Gilbert (now Corning Gilbert) in the late 1980s and marketed asRead More

Meet the Connector: Interposers Interposers, or interposer connectors, are compression-mounted interconnect devices that are positioned between boards or sockets to allow an electrical signal to pass through very quickly. They have a wider pitch than a traditional connector, thus enabling the easy rerouting of connections, and provide designers with a flexible, removeable interface. The wideRead More

Meet the Connector: MPO Fiber Optic Connectors MPO (Multi-fiber Push-On) connectors evolved from mechanical transfer (MT) technology developed by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Corp. (NTT) in 1986. NTT developed the first MPO connector as a compact, physical contact (PC) solution that offered a simple push/pull operation for connecting and disconnecting a plug and adapter. PriorRead More

Connector companies demonstrated high-speed, high-performance systems, co-packaged optics, over-the-board cable solutions, and next-generation interconnects at an industry gathering that was nearly normal — except for its April dates.  The 27th edition of DesignCon proved to be the latest example of hope that the world is nearing a new normal post-Covid era. The masks mostly cameRead More

The COBO MWIS Working Group aims to advance the increase of bandwidth and reduce power consumption for printed circuit board interconnect systems.     As streaming video, IoT technologies, industrialized automation, and the rapid addition of billions of new connected devices push data center workloads to exponentially higher levels, the need to move activity fromRead More

Meet the Connector: Mezzanine Connectors As electronic equipment became more complex in the 2000s, mezzanine connectors were developed in response to the increasing demand for space on PCBs. These high-speed, board-to-board connectors connect two parallel PCBs in a stacking configuration. Many of these are defined in an industry standard such as the PCI Mezzanine CardRead More

This week’s Product Roundup highlights edge card connectors from leading suppliers. Edge Card Connectors   Smiths Interconnect’s Eclipta connector series incorporates an innovative, double-ended, edge card contact system featuring a PCB as the contact on the disposable connector side. This eliminates the cost of the contact system on that side. In addition, its plug-and-play design providesRead More

Wearable consumer-grade technology provided valuable diagnostic information, which led to a successful therapeutic treatment that saved my life. In mid-February, one of my doctors detected an irregular heartbeat during a routine office visit and suggested I see a cardiologist. The cardiologist requested approval from my medical insurance provider for a routine resting electrocardiogram (ECG) andRead More