SF Cable Blog - Get Expert Tips & Advice on Cables & AccessoriesIn our blog, we educate customers on the various types of cables, components and accesscories for computer, laptops and mobiles. Find More Blog
|
|
SF Cable Blog - Get Expert Tips & Advice on Cables & AccessoriesIn our blog, we educate customers on the various types of cables, components and accesscories for computer, laptops and mobiles. Find More Blog
|
|
If you thought that the NEMA ratings are just meant for NEMA power cords, you might be wrong. The NEMA association also has ratings for electrical enclosures. Electrical enclosures are nothing but the cabinets or boxes in which we mount switches and knobs for the electrical products to work right. Through these ratings, you can define the type of environment in which electrical enclosures can withstand themselves.
NEMA undertakes strict testing requirements to check if the enclosure is protective against dust, oil immersion, water, external ice etc. All the NEMA ratings come with different specifications and these ratings help to protect property, personnel as well as electrical components from damage.
The Significance of NEMA Ratings
Just like you check your NEMA power cable with its ratings, it is important for you to check the ratings of the enclosure before mounting it. And why is it important? Well, there are 3 important reasons behind it.
1. These ratings enable the users to decide if the enclosures are safe, compatible, and reach up to the functioning standards.
3. If you go through application guides and other technical papers, you will find 600 standards that will provide you with insights about functionality and product safety of enclosures.
Certification of Enclosures under NEMA Ratings
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association comes up with enclosure standards and publishes it. However, it does not mean it checks products or works with any testing laboratories. Let’s take an example of a NEMA certified product.
If the manufacturer creates a cord, it is voluntary for him to follow NEMA standards. Some manufacturers also go with third party certifications. But if a cord reads itself as “NEMA cord,” it means it follows the NEMA standards. Although NEMA does not test the products, it provides with the list of testing laboratories that offer the testing services.
Take a look at the types of NEMA enclosures:
NEMA Type 1
NEMA 1 enclosure needs minimum amount of protection and keeps prevented against dangerous parts. It also offers some amount of protection against other alien objects like dust and dirt. The indoor applications of these enclosures include junctions, switches, utility boxes etc.
This type is used majorly for outdoor and indoor for protecting the personnel against dangerous parts. Its rating offers protection against falling dirt as well as dust. The Type 3 rating is depictive of the fact that the enclosure is rain, dust and sleet tight. Also, that ice-formation on its exterior will not affect it.
You can utilize enclosures having these ratings in the same surroundings as mentioned above. They offer protection against dangerous parts and can withstand snow, rain, windblown snow particles as well as ice formation. Mostly, you can use them in utility boxes, meter cabinets and filtered fans.
These enclosures are used for industrial applications like operator consoles, wiring enclosures as well as hydraulic. They are watertight and offer protection from snow, ice formation, splashing from water, sleet etc. To stop the contaminants from entering the unit, it is important for these enclosures to use a closed loop cooling system.
Just like the specification of NEMA Type 4, Type 4X provides a great protection against corrosion. You can find these enclosures in marine environments, food processing industries, paper manufacturing units and water treatment plants. Based on the environment’s temperature, it is okay to use air heat exchangers and conditioners for this type.
Be it enclosures or NEMA power cords, it is advisable to go for certified products as they can prevent several accidents and mishaps from happening. You can find these products from online vendors at good prices.
0 Comments
Entertainment! We all love it. There are days when we start watching TV series and lose the track of time. During such times of pure indulgence, a TV screen going dark can prove to be a nightmare. It can be quite frustrating. And then follows the, aftermath of finding someone who can come and check the troubles with your entertainment systems! Well, “Self Help is the Best Help” - they say. If you do not want to ruin your day, you can overcome the problem yourself. Whenever there are such issues, it the troubles are mostly with your HDMI cable connection. If you are not a technical person, you might not have any knowledge about how HDMI cable works. So, we are here with some remedies to help you get over your HDMI connection problems. HDMI Handshake HDMI is one of the major connections used in all home theatre setups and the HDMI Cord connects all the components. These components recognize each other and communicate through the copy protection. Professional refer to this phenomenon as - HDMI handshake. So, if you cannot see anything on your TV screen, you can assume that the connected components are not receiving HDMI encrypted signal. And this might happen if something goes wrong with the handshake. Take a look at some home remedies you can apply to overcome the connection problem: Look into Your HDMI Cable Connection HDMI Wires do not have tight grip. These are unlike the composite or component video connections. So, even if you slightly move your HDMI connected device, the wire may slip out of the equipment. In order overcome this problem, HDMI self-lock might come of help. Try A Reverse Switch- On Pattern People usually have a have the habit of switching on TV and the HDMI source component thereafter. Now, try out the reverse mechanism. See if that solves your connection problem. And if it does, make a habit of switching on the same way thereafter. “What the hell!” - you may say if the reverse trick too does not work. Relax! What you can do now is keep the TV and the component turned on and simultaneously try to fix the cord to some other input on the TV. Now move back to HDMI. If it works, just pen it down for your future reference. Check Equipment’s Video Resolution Setting When you can see nothing on your entertainment media screen, you need to check its video settings Menu. If the video resolution menu setting shows an ‘auto’ mode, you might have found the problem. The video settings should be more stable. You need to reset it from ‘Auto’ mode to a native resolution that matches with your entertainment media. You can get a perfect matching resolution if you find these matches. (720p, 1080p or 4K for your Tv or video projector or 4K capable TV or Video Projector, respectively). ‘The Eliminate Approach’ When none of the above remedies work, the last resource that can be used is to ‘Eliminate’. Eliminate the by-passes and directly connect your HDMI source cord to your TV. If this trick completes the task, one can catch the main culprit. There must be problem with the eliminated by-passer which is home theatre receiver/ HDMI source component/ Home Theatre receiver combination. One can use this elimination method in inevitable circumstances. Otherwise, it’s not an efficient method for using permanently. The High-Definition- Resolution Issue The luxurious lifestyle defines HDR entertainment medias. If you have it, you may consider that as a glitch factor. When you connect HDR TV or video projector to HDMI Wire, a connection indicator should appear on the top left or right on the screen corner. When you don’t get this indicator, it means there is a connection issue. You can resolve this issue by following these tips: Ensure you have a Hi-Speed HDMI Cord ranging from 10.2 to 18 Gbps. 18Gbps is most preferred. Home theatre receiver must be compatible to your HDR TV screen Change your video resolution setting from ‘Auto’ mode to ‘4K/2K’ if required. DVI-HDMI Connection DVI screens are now a passé but if you still have a DVI connection that you need to conjoin to HDMI enabled device, what you need is HDMI to DVI conversion cable. It has HDMI on one end and DVI on the other. Or you may get DVI/HDMI adapters and cables. Laptop to TV HDMI Cable Connector We often watch what our cable providers broadcast. But what if you are at a party and you prefer to see your picnic pictures on the Big TV screen? Well, it’s simple. Connect your Laptop/PC which has the pictures stored in it to your TV using HDMI. When you get laptop to TV HDMI connection trouble, use any of the 3 ways to overcome the connection error-
The End We hope these remedies helped you to overcome the difficulties. If not, look up into the electronic communities and you might find issues and their solutions given by the experts. As a last resort, you can get in touch with a professional who might be able to help. Happy binge watching!
After the release of HDMI 1.4, the new HDMI 2.0 standard was released. It brought along several changes and enhancement with the specification. However, for those who are wondering what changes have come in after HDMI 1.4, we have come up with certain features and specifications. So, here we go about understanding them:
Things you must know about HDMI 2 Improved Frame Rates and Full 4K Support The framerate of HDMI version 1.4 was up to 30 frames per second at high resolution. As and when the TV industry started asking for 4K Ultra HD resolutions support, the need for HDMI support also increased. This is when 2.0 version came to the rescue. It supports 4K resolutions up to 60 frames every second. Now this, is a drastic improvement. When it comes to movies, frame rates are of less important as there are 24 frames per second. But it offers great resolutions to content like video games and media streaming. Hardware Support – No New Cables Required As HDMI 2.0 offers the enhancements according to the device, most of the new devices are compatible with HDMI cables. In case you have purchased a new hardware, it is obvious that they will work with the latest cables. And you do not even need to check that. However, if you are using an HDMI cord with old devices, you might want to check the version you are using. Software Support Can you upgrade your old/existing device to version 2.0 from the previous version? Well, this is a debatable issue. The software download might work with some brands and might not work with others. For example, for products like Sony, software-based upgrades are not universal. Also, many manufacturers are not able to upgrade to the latest version without direct upgrade to firmware. So, how do you find out if your device is supportive of the 2.0 standard? It’s simple. Just get in touch with an online manufacturer that sells HDMI cables. Backward Compatibility The best part about the new version of hardware is the cross compatibility as well as backward compatibility with all the devices. So, if your current cables are compatible with 2.0 version, it is obvious that it will be compatible with all the standards including 1.4. These devices include PCs and gaming consoles that are compatible with HDMI 2.0 Improved Bandwidth The change in specification has brought a huge transition in the bandwidth. You can use an HDMI cord to transfer large quantity of data at a very high speed. Due to high bandwidth, the number of data frames go up and the support for 4k resolutions also increases. Concluding… Although we have been using the 2.0 version, we have been quite ignorant about its usage. But it has added a lot of value with data transmission and resolutions as we mentioned before. All you need to do is buy an HDMI wire and the device that supports the latest standard and you are done! Do you have any questions or comments about it? If so, please feel free to share with us.
For all those who are unaware, “NEMA” is an abbreviation of National Electrical Manufacturer’s Association. It is an an association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers and its mission is to build and and promote safe electrical standards as well as products.
If a plug is labelled “NEMA”, you can consider it to be an industry standard for safety. NEMA offers a wide array of plugs. But when it comes to lighting fixtures for industrial and commercial purposes, there are several confusions as to which type of NEMA power Cord should be used for what purpose.The basic functionality of these power plugs is to ensure proper connection for different electrical equipment and curb the risk of accidents. This article will acquaint you with the most commonly used NEMA power plugs which connect lighting fixtures to the receptacles. These power plugs are covered by ANSI/NEMA WD-6 standard which is set by National Electrical Manufacturers Association, abbreviated as NEMA. Specifications about NEMA Power Power Cords The wiring devices standardized by NEMA have a current rating of 15 to 60 amps, and voltage rating of 125 to 600 volts. This standardization is done based on orientation, shapes and blade widths. NEMA Plugs ensure that the equipment needing a particular voltage and current is not plugged into a wrong electrical system. Usually 15 and 20 amp NEMA plugs with both straight-blade and twist-lock varieties are used for with lighting fixtures. Here’s a breakdown to each of these power plugs and their features. NEMA 5-15 Receptacle used: 125 V Plug: 15A NEMA 5-15 is used with 120V lighting system. It is a standard grounded straight blade plug used in North America, Canada and different parts of Mexico. NEMA L5-15 Receptacle used: 125V Plug: 15A NEMA L5-15 is a twist-lock version of 120V plug. Such plugs are commonly used to stop unintentional disconnects and with industrial applications that likely to vibrate. NEMA L7-15 Receptacle used: 277V Plug: 15A NEMA L7-15 plugs are the most popularly used twist-lock plugs with 277V lighting systems. NEMA L7-20 Receptacle used: 277V Plug: 20A The 277V lighting systems often use NEMA L7-20 plug. You can identify the difference between 20A and 15 A by looking towards the direction of locking ground tab. 20A points outwards whereas 15A points towards the center. You can look into various charts and images in order to identify different plugs and sockets. The plug usually has curved or straight blades that stick out from the plug body. This part is considered to be the male end of the connection. And sockets or receptacle having corresponding slots are considered to be the female end of connection.
HDMI, also known as High Definition Multimedia Interface is an advanced technology that is used for transmitting digital data between two digital devices. This technology was developed by leading electronics manufacturers like Philips, Toshiba, Hitachi, Sony etc. Ever since it was introduced, it has become quite popular. Its latest version, 2.0, was introduced in September 2013.
If you are new to HDMI Cables or HDMI adapters and want to know more about it, take a look at some frequently asked question and their answers. These will give you more insights about HDMI cables and their working. What is the purpose of HDMI technology? HDMI technology is mostly utilized to transmit multichannel audio and high definition video data between two digital devices. This process of transmission takes place through a single cable. You will be able to find HDMI technology in all the latest electronic equipment including AV receivers, personal computers, set top boxes and camcorders. How does it work? An HDMI cable utilizes the Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) technology for transmitting data between two digital devices. It also takes care of the fact that the data doesn’t get compromised when it gets transferred from one device to another. Due to HDMI cables, there is no need to convert data for making it compatible. And as no conversion takes place, images and videos look exactly like they should without the quality getting affected. What Is It Compatible With? Since HDMI is an updated version of DVI (Digital Visual Interface), it is compatible with DVI for video only. HDMI and DVI use similar digital signals. So there is no need to convert anything while connecting the two devices. Also there is no compromise with data quality when you use an adaptor. HDMI being the most dynamic technology, it will never have major issues related to compatibility. Does HDMI have competitors? Displayport is one of the primary competitors of HDMI technology. It is a digital display interface which was developed by Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA). It is not compatible with HDMI in anyway and also doesn’t work with any equipment supported by HDMI technology. So DisplayPort cables won’t work with HDMI equipment. Can HDMI Cables Cope with 4K? When you buy an HDMI cable, make sure that it is High Speed rated and has 3D and 4K internet sharing capacity. Long cables might have issues maintaining functionality under certain circumstances. This is because long cables have high electrical resistance and it lowers the available bandwidth. In case you’re using long cables, you would need high quality cables for the bandwidth to be maintained. HDMI has become the most accepted and universal standard of connecting HD devices. It has been embraced by people because of its potential to change with evolving technologies, user-friendliness. It also offers High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection.
You might not have a great chemistry with electronics. But in your day to day lives, you are sure to have come across long wires that power local area networks. These are known as Ethernet Cables. When it comes to LAN technologies, Ethernet technology stands out to be the fastest and the most popular one. Through this blog, we will acquaint you with the ins and outs of Ethernet technology and how it came into being.
History and Evolution of Ethernet Technology Over the years, Ethernet technology has evolved a lot. New versions of these Cables have come up. And customers have bought several off the shelf cables for different purposes. Now, let us peek into the history of this technology. In the year 1972, two engineers, namely D.R. Boggs and Bob Metcalfe developed Ethernet. Based on their work, industry standards were set under the IEEE 802.3 set of specifications. The specifications provide manufacturers with technical details and low-level data transmission protocols. It enables them to build electronic products like cords and network cables. Sneak Peek into the Working of Ethernet Technology The traditional technology supported data transfers at 10MBPS/second. As this speed was not enough for the increasing performance needs, industry experts created specifications for fast Gigabit Ethernet. It surpasses the performance of traditional Ethernet up to 100 Mbps. And of Gigabit Ethernet up to 1000 Megabits per second. You can also find network cables with 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10,000 Mbps). Several organizations and businesses use it for their networks. Ethernet Cables, Their Types, and Purpose Ethernet cables are majorly available in two forms. One, solid and two, stranded. Let us understand both along with their purposes. 1. Solid Ethernet cables: These cables provide users with enhanced performance and better protection against electrical interference. You can use them for wiring office walls, business networks and other fixed locations. 2. Stranded Ethernet cables: These cables are perfect for home networking setups. They are resistant to breaks and physical cracks. Now, let us understand about their types: Category 5, 6 and 7 are the most popular ethernet cables. Out of these, CAT5E and CAT6 cables support Gigabit Ethernet. If you want to connect the ethernet cord to network devices, you can plug it into the ethernet port. Another popular cable type is - crossover cable. And what makes them different than traditional cables? Well, the traditional cables connect one computer to a switch/router. A crossover cable, on the other hand, connects Whereas, the crossover cables connect two computers with each other. Drawbacks of Ethernet Cables 1. Maximum Distance Capacity Just like electric power cords, these cables have a maximum distance capacity. This means, there is an upper limit to their endurance before there is a signal loss. Also, there is an impact on transmission if there is an interference around the cable. 2. Attenuation limit Before attenuation, CAT5 cable can go up to 324 feet. CAT6, on the other hand; can go up to 700 feet. Despite of being longer, these cables might have signal loss if other electrical appliances surround it. 3. CAT6A – When Strength Becomes Weakness CAT6a cables are robust and work great when it comes to limiting interference. But their robustness and size often become a limitation when it comes to moving around. They are more expensive as compared to CAT5 and its subtypes. Conclusion We hope that the above given knowledge about Ethernet Cables and its working will assist you with the further purchase. Make sure you make the right choice!
Any adapter, connector or cable that is used to change female connectors to male connectors and vice versa is known as a gender changer. Be it connecting your television or projector to your desktop, the gender changer is designed to facilitate it without much effort. You don’t need to buy a separate cable for the separate genders. The purchase of a gender changer will do the work. It establishes compatibility among the two gender cables for easy data transmission.
The HD15 Mini gender changer is a perfect coupling device that ensures strong connectivity irrespective of their different features. This gender charger is extensively used for video applications across all devices. HD15 mini gender charger maintains a low profile that will fit into your pocket as well and you can travel anywhere with it. You can quickly change the gender or join the two cables together with this mini device. You can purchase it at an affordable price. This cost-effective gender changer will save you space and all the hassles that you might encounter with your cables. HD15 mini gender changer prevents the interference of the unwanted EMI/ RFI that is being caused by official equipment. So what will be the desired specifications for the perfect HD15 mini gender changer ? Insulated and fully shielded: An un-shielded connector will attract the Electromagnetic signals or radio frequency signals present in the surrounding environment creating disturbance in transmission of data. Therefore before purchasing you should make sure that your mini gender changer is completely cushioned against these signals present in the environment. Nickel coated: Go through its specifications to ensure that the changer is coated with nickel. Apart from adding fancy to the product, the nickel plating provides resistant from corrosion, and protects the cable from wearing off due to frequent use. Warranty: It is advisable to purchase the product from reputed brands as they will generally provide a lifetime warranty on the product. The changer is replaced by the manufacturing brand if found faulty. Weight: Generally these changers have a weight of around .02 lb which comes as handy. Cost: These are basic changers that will save you the cost of buying two different changers that is going to solve your purpose. Portability: These mini changers fits in everywhere so you can move with them anywhere you need be it office or a cafe. Save yourself from the squabbles and get these mini cables to hitch together two existing connectors.
Digital Signal Processing is the process of transmission and production of data that takes place without any interference. This process asks for an Ethernet Cable. Most of the wired networks of today including routers, PCs and switches use Ethernet cables for the smooth transmission of data. These Ethernet Cables are of two types – Shielded and Unshielded. They are also known as STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) and UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair). The question that arises next is - which one out of the two you should buy? To find this out, make sure you know about the environment you need Ethernet cables for.
One of the major reasons behind networks slowing down is - voltage interference. Hence, you must make sure that the electrical line intersects with low voltage communication cable at 90 degrees. Given below are some other factors you should consider before buying shielded or unshielded Ethernet cables. Alien CrossTalk The antenna of Ethernet cables are like the cross-section. During the times of high frequency signal transmission, Alien CrossTalk (AXT) creates major hindrances. To avoid this, you need to know what is causing interference - the near end crosstalk or the foreign interference. Once you find that out, you can decide which cable to use for installation. In order to curb the effects of ATX, one should choose a shielded cable. Even if the shields are electrically bonded, robust grounding is must. Natural grounding can be enabled by appropriate couplers and jacks. Choosing cables for places with heavy machinery When it comes to choosing the Ethernet cable for healthcare facilities or places where heavy machinery is used, Cat 6a STP should be preferred over Cat 6a UTP. Cat 6a STP comes with a shield that keeps the radio frequency interference away from the twisted pair. Installation time for UTP and STP There is no need to discriminate between the two shielded cables on the basis of installation time required. STP’s latest version comes with easy to set up die cast jacks and thus it doesn’t ask for prolonged steps of installation. However, you must keep in mind that you will take some time to detach the general shield from the cable. If you choose UTP, you will take time to test the AXT process. Installing STP, on the other hand, won’t take long. Cost Consideration A shielded Ethernet cable would definitely cost you more than UTP. But considering factors like less testing time and superior quality performance, it may be totally worth buying it. After all, time is money. Keep the future upgrades in mind The field of communication technology is always evolving. Hence, you must make sure that you don’t need to upgrade the cables time and again. Make sure you utilize transmission cables that surpass the current transmission rate of 10 GB/s. Keeping these factors in mind, STP is always a better choice. Bonding process for STP It is believed that installing shielded cables asks for a more robust grounding and bonding process. This might be a myth. STP, just like other cables requires the same kind of grounding provided its shield is attached to the patch panel. The quality of signal that is received at the end of transmission is dependent on the quality of data that is fed to it. So now you know the difference between Shielded and Unshielded cables. While buying Ethernet Cables, keep the above points in mind and you will never have network hindrances. You can also ask the installation experts to guide you in case of any confusion. |
Author
Archives
October 2022
Categories
All
|