What are IEEE 1394 Connectors?

Meet the Connector: IEEE 1394 Connectors

IEEE 1394 is a high-speed serial bus that supports both asynchronous and isochronous communication between a computer and a peripheral. It is also known as FireWire, a now-retired Apple interface. It has largely been replaced by USB connectors but is still used with older equipment. This low-cost connector is used between cards on the same backplane, cards on other backplanes, and external peripherals.

Apple originally released FireWire in the 1990s. That version, now known as FireWire 400 for its then-speedy 400 megabits-per-second data rate, gave way to FireWire 800, before Apple replaced it with Thunderbolt, and then USBs. The last Apple computer to include the interface was released in 2012. In 2025, Apple announced that beginning with OS Tahoe, it would no longer support FireWire. Legacy equipment users will have to maintain older hardware to use this interface.

TE Connectivity IEEE 1395 connectors in various configurations.

Design Notes 

Standards:

This standard follows the command and status register (CSR) architecture of IEEE Std 1212-2001. IEEE SA provides specifications up to the 2008 revision.

Mounting type or types: Plug and socket

Mating cycles: One FireWire bus can connect as many as 65 different devices, allowing huge variations in application.

Positions: Right-angle, straight, horizontal

Contacts:

Pins: FireWire has 4 pins, FireWire 400 has 6 pins; FireWire 800 has 9 pins

Pitch: 2 mm

Termination: Solder or plug-in

Cable: For FireWire 400, the maximum cable length that can be used between devices is 4.5 meters. FireWire 800 can transfer data from a cable length as long as 100 meters.

Electrical properties:

Voltage AC/DC

Current (Amps) 1.5 A to 500mA

Markets and Applications 

Consumer, Industrial, Datacom, Automotive

The 1394 standard is used to connect computers with peripherals, such as home theater systems, video editing systems, car audio systems, and high-speed devices requiring large digital data transfers.

Molex IEEE 1394 Connectors 2mm socket from Mouser

Suppliers 

Due to the obsolesce of this connector, many manufacturers no longer produce it, but it remains available from distributors. Manufacturers and distributors include Avnet, DigiKey, Molex, Mouser Electronics, TE Connectivity

Related Products

USB

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