Data Connectors
Data connectors serve as crucial links that ensure both the safety and reliability of the connections established between devices that need to exchange data. These connectors accomplish this in a diverse array of applications, such as in telecommunications, computing, industrial automation, and consumer electronics. And they do this with an enormous number of different types and configurations of connectors.
The USB connector, whether USB-A, USB-B, or USB-C, is by far the most common computer connector. It connects computer peripherals, like keyboards, mice, printers, or external storage devices, and sometimes acts as an additional power source for charging. This ubiquitous cable, in its several varieties, multiplies what our computers can do. It’s 40 times faster and offers 80 more circuits than standard cords. It can carry more power and must be able to withstand more use.
D-sub connectors, identified by their D-shaped metal shield, see use in various settings, including serial and parallel ports, providing an array of pin configurations to meet different data and signal transmission requirements. Meanwhile, fiber optic connectors like SC, LC, and ST are a mainstay in long-distance, high-speed data transmission. They ensure not only an absence of electromagnetic interference but also unheard-of, at least until now, bandwidth.
Serial Communication Basics
In telecommunications, the process of sending data sequentially over a computer bus or communication cable is known as serial communication. Serial communication transmits data one bit at a time. Parallel communication transmits bits simultaneously over multiple communication lines in a single bus or cable. While it may seem that parallel communication would be the preferred method, this is not true in many situations.
Because of the increased complexity and data transmission, serial communication has faster speeds than parallel communication. The speed at which serial is communicated can be altered by adjusting what is known as the BOD rate, which simply increases the number of the bits that can be transmitted per second. This is one of the reasons serial communication methods have remained such a common method for basic communication in much of computer based hardware used today.
Some of the most common standards that have been created to take advantage of serial based communication in the industrial space would be RS 232 and RS 485. The earlier RS 232 standard was very common in computing in many different industrial, commercial and residential applications. It had lower transmission speeds, short maximum cable lengths and large voltage swings, making it useful only in certain situations. RS 485 is an improved standard that is still found in many of the same applications today. It resolved many of the issues the earlier RS 232 standard had by allowing longer cable lengths, higher transmission speeds and other improvements that increased its usability and performance.