Page 15 - Blog

Dealing with Impedance Mismatching

When selecting coax cable or certain types of coaxial connectors and adapters there are a variety of factors to consider such as jacket type, shielding, and loss.  Today we want to focus on impedance, specifically what to do if you encounter differing impedances.

In coax, there are two categories of impedance 50 Ohm and 75 Ohm.   Ohm is the measurement of electrical resistance.  The physical properties of the cable determine if it's impedance.  The hallmarks of 50 Ohm coax are high power handling and low attenuation and are used in RF applications.  75 Ohm coax is designed for low power, signal transmission efficiency, which is typically used in audio/video applications.

An easy-to-overlook aspect of cable choice is impedance.  In alternating current (AC) circuits, impedance (measured in ohms) represents how effectively voltage may be transmitted through the cable, before meeting the counterforces of resistance, inductance, and capacitance.

MPO Fiber Optics

As the need for bandwidth speed outpaces the capabilities for physical expansion, networks are evolving by offering higher density higher throughput solutions. This allows for increased data rate performance without having to invest in new physical locations. MPO cables provide high-density termination capabilities and are an ideal choice for delivering the fastest link and enabling high-speed interconnects.

Multi-fiber push-on connectors (MPO) are multi-fiber cables terminated in a single connector. They are typically available in 8, 12 or 24 fibers and are common for data center and LAN en- environments. They ease cable management and allow faster deployment in duplex 10 Gig fiber applications.

You may also see the term MTP used interchangeably with MPO connectors, but the term MTP is a registered trademark of US Conec to describe their brand’s offered connector. Moving forward in this article, we will be using the term MPO, which offers the same benefits.

MPO

Work From Home Solutions

Navigating the new work environment, we are all experiencing is challenging enough; connecting your equipment shouldn’t be. But we have all experienced frustration as the ports on our laptop don’t mate with our monitor, or are cable isn’t long enough to reach, or are new “co-workers” ala our pets and children interrupt our conference call. We can’t help you with everything, but navigating connectivity issues is our specialty.

Our sales and support team are here to help you find the tools you’ll need to expand your workspace, connect your laptop, adapt old equipment to new equipment, remotely connect to your office network while powering everything from your peripherals to your PC. No experience is required on your end. Just send us some pictures, and we can quickly identify what you need.

Here are a few of the most popular work from home solutions.

Mult-Port Adapters

Multi-Port adapters take a single port and adapt it to more than one port. This is very common

The Importance of Cybersecurity

November 30th marks Computer Security Day, and in today’s world, technology plays a large role in most of what we do both professionally and personally. Much of our private information is shared electronically on various websites. It’s important to remember that the data stored on our computers and mobile devices must be kept secure and safe. However, taking steps to ensure our private materials doesn’t have to be overwhelmingly daunting. 

Here are four tips to ensure you’re up-to-date when it comes to protecting yourself online.

Always use strong passwords.

You’ve heard it before: it’s not wise to use password as a password. It’s also not in best practice to use words, dates, or phrases that others might be able to guess, such as the names of your children, your anniversary, or your address. Using these elements in your password opens your information to being hacked or stolen. Strong passwords require a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols that

Networking takes shape in many different environments and not just in clean, dry server rooms. Many industries, including automation, robotics, and alternative energy must have access to networks but are out in the field quite often. The products used to build these networks must withstand harsh environmental factors for the long haul. Our new M12 cables manufactured by L-com provide secure connections for all of your industrial networking application needs.

What is an M12 cable?

M12 cables from ShowMeCables are category-rated ethernet cables with two connectors on either end. These circular connectors have 12mm locking threads to ensure an established connection and a tight seal. Specifically, the twelve pins within the cable meet industrial signal requirements and keep you connected to a secure network. 

What makes an M12 cable special?

The difference between traditional category-rated ethernet cables and M12 ethernet cables is the environment in which they can perform. Traditional ethernet

Bulk cable solutions from ShowMeCables enable technology and establish connections. Every building, wireless system, and communication network across the frequency spectrum requires wired infrastructure. Although, cabling might not be the focus of many tech projects, when cabling isn’t working the entire system grinds to a halt causing downtime and service disruption.

Understanding the thank-less yet critical role infrastructure cable plays, we prioritize performance, reliability, and availability with our bulk cabling solutions. Using carefully curated product offerings from trusted manufacturers and spec-equivalent generic products we give you the options you need to get the job done. ShowMeCables bulk cable offerings are trusted by millions.

Here are four advantages of purchasing bulk cable from ShowMeCables:

• We cut cable. From testing purposes to huge installations, ShowMeCables can cut your order to exactly what you need. This huge benefit to you helps to reduce waste, save money,

What is a Cat6a Slim Patch Cable?

A Cat6a slim patch cable is an ethernet cable, which is used with wired networks and connect devices like computers, routers and switches with a local network. Patch cables normally travel short distances (a maximum of 100 meter or 330 feet), and can be used to wire offices and server closets. This cable provides a reliable, high-speed data connection to your home or office network, and is good to keep on hand!

What Makes a Slim Cat6a Patch Cable Special?

Here are a few differences between the Cat6a slim patch cable and the Cat6 patch cable.

It is 40% thinner than its predecessor. This allows for more airflow as well as more flexibility within the cable itself. What this means for you is a tighter turn radius and less congestion, and the ability to do more in smaller spaces.

Better blocking of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radiofrequency interference (RFI) occurs. If you are seeking a cable that needs to be next to other cables or machines that

Wire mesh cable trays have been gaining in popularity over the past decade.  It is becoming the preferred cable support choice of installers, integrator and construction companies.  Here are a few of the advantages of wire mesh cable tray vs. closed cable tray or conduit.

Material & Cost Savings

Due to the nature of wire mesh having openings, it requires less raw materials to make, which is better for the environment and reduces manufacturing costs.  There is both less steel and less steel waste for wire mesh trays than solid steel trays or cable ladder trays. This savings is passed on to the customer. As a whole wire mesh cable tray (also referred to as cable baskets) is less expensive than other solutions.

Solutions for All Industries

Cable trays are used in all types of industries including fiber optic installations in data centers, data cabling in offices, tray cable for manufacturing or harsh environment industries such as oil and gas.  Wire mesh cable trays options include

“4k” is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days, particularly pertaining to TVs and HDMI cables. Consumers constantly see packaging and marketing saying things like “Supports 4k” or “4k image quality”. If you buy a new TV at a big-box electronics store, employees there may tell you to remember to get a 4k HDMI cable to go with it only to tell you that that cable costs $100. The correct answer to that question is, “No, thank you.” All HDMI cables built to modern standards today support 4k, from cost-effective $3 cables and up. Many general stores will sell them much more expensively simply because most consumers do not know that and will buy them even when they are horrendously overpriced.

This article will cover why a $3 HDMI cable at ShowMeCables is just as good as a $100 one at a big box store by explaining what 4k is and what the legitimate differences are between low-end and high-end HDMI cables.

What is 4k?

Most people know that 4k means a TV, monitor, or other display

The end of an RJ45 Ethernet connector (left) vs. an RJ12 phone connector (right)

Ethernet and telephone cables look fairly similar and it is not uncommon to get the two mixed up. The key difference between the two is the size of the plastic connectors on the ends of the cable. Telephones use an RJ11/RJ12 connector whereas Ethernet uses RJ45. RJ11/RJ12 only uses 4-6 pins whereas RJ45 uses 8 pins. As a result, RJ11/RJ12 is physically smaller than RJ45 since it does not need to contain as many pins. See the RJ11 to RJ45 wiring diagram for more info.

Modular Connectors

Both Ethernet and telephone cables are made using modular connectors. These are connectors that were designed to be used with registered jack (RJ) twisted-pair cables. The original modular jacks were invented by AT&T in the 1960s and used for some telephones. Over time they caught on and eventually became industry-standard in the 1970s.

Each type of modular connector has an RJ designation, but can also be referred