User:STXX0267

Jon Boisvert & Judy St. Ores

CNT2300-91 Service Project

Ben Franske

May 2010

A Guide to Cables, Connectors, Wires and Ports

Because there are so many cables, connectors, wires and ports both internally and externally used for a computer, we thought it would be useful to have a guide with pictures and descriptions of the different types used.

Different wires have different voltage, are made of different materials and are colored differently.

A twisted-pair cable is a copper cable used for phone lines and Ethernet networks. A pair of wires forms a circuit that can transmit data. The two wires are twisted to prevent crosstalk. The wires are encased in color coded plastic insulation.

There are two types of twisted-pair cables. Generally they have two or four pairs of wires combined together and encased in an outer jacket.

Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) – has a range of 328 ft.

Shield twisted-pair(STP) – is wrapped in metallic foil to shield the wires from noise.