Cable Selector

3.5mm

There are a few different configurations for a 3.5mm connector. They differentiate by the number of conductive sections on the connector.

TS – Tip-Sleeve

3.5mm TS cables are not very common, having only two contacts they do not support stereo or microphone. They are usually found on consumer microphones, infrared controllers and musical instruments.

TRS – Tip-Ring-Sleeve

3.5mm TRS cables are the most common configuration. Having three contacts they can support stereo sound. They are often used to connect AUX devices, speakers and headphones.

TRRS – Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve

3.5mm TRRS cables are becoming more common. Having four contacts they can support stereo sound as well as a microphone. You are likely to find them on headsets that have a built-in mic or headphones that connect to a mobile phone.

6.35mm or 1/4 Inch

Like the 3.5mm connector there are a couple of different configurations for this connector. They differentiate by the number of conductive sections on the connector.

TS – Tip-Sleeve

6.35mm TS cables are very common, having only two contacts they do not support stereo or microphone. They are generally used as either a speaker cable or an instrument cable, depending on the construction of the cable. Speaker cables generally have two cores and no shielding while instrument cables have a single core surrounded by shielding.

TRS – Tip-Ring-Sleeve

6.35mm TRS cables are also a very common configuration. Having three contacts they can support stereo sound or a balanced audio signal. They are often used with speakers, audio mixers and amplifiers.

RCA

RCA connectors get their name from the Radio Corporation of America. The connectors can be used to transmit a number of different audio / video signals including:

• Mono Audio (1x RCA – Audio)
• Stereo Audio (2x RCA - Audio)
• Composite (3x RCA - Video)
• Component (3x RCA - Video)

RCA works by using one cable for the left audio, one cable for the right audio and one cable for the video signal. The different types of signals are usually colour coded.

A typical colour coding would be:

• Left Audio – White/Black
• Right Audio – Red
• Video – Yellow

Although this can change with different signal formats.

3-Pin XLR (XLR3)

XLR stands for eXternal Line Return, the XLR connector is usually used for balanced audio transmission. The 3-pin version of the XLR connector is often found on microphones and mixing desks.

We stock a range of XLR3 cables and adapters including:

TOSLINK (EIAJ Optical)

TOSLINK gets its name from Toshiba Link. It is mostly used as a consumer level audio signal. It is often found on TVs and soundbars.

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is also a type of consumer digital audio that has the option to be transmitted over a fibre-optic cable using TOSLINK.

D-Subminiature 9 (DE-9)

The most common use for the D-Sub 9 was as a Serial connector, it was also used as a video connection and for joysticks / game controllers. This connection has largely been replaced by USB.

Because this connection was used for many different applications there are several different wiring specs. It is always worth double checking the wiring to ensure you receive the correct cable.

D-Subminiature 15 (DA-15)

D-Sub 15 connectors were often used as joystick connectors on the PC as well as many older game consoles. This connection has largely fallen out of use and has been replaced by USB.

We stock a small range of adapters and soldered connectors including:

D-Subminiature 25 (DB-25)

The D-Sub 25 connector was used for a number of different applications including SCSI, Serial and Parallel. This connection has largely been replaced by more modern standards including USB and SAS.

36-Pin Centronic

The 36-Pin Centronics port is also known as IEEE 1284. It allowed bi-directional parallel communication between computers and devices, usually printers.

The standard configuration for a Parallel printer cable was a DB25 connector connected to the host computer and a 36-Pin Centronics connector connected to the printer.

Half-pitch Centronics 36 (HPCN36)

The Half-Pitch Centronics 36 connector is also commonly referred to as a 36-Pin Mini / Micro Centronics connector. It is the IEEE 1284 Type C connector and often used to connect devices such as printers and faxes.

PS/2 (6-Pin Mini-DIN)

The name PS/2 originates from the IBM Personal System/2 computers. It is a 6-pin mini-DIN connector used for connecting keyboards and mice to a PC. The connections are often colour coded, purple for keyboard and green for mouse. The standard has largely been replaced by USB.

AT (5-Pin DIN)

The name AT is an abbreviation of Advanced Technology and was first used with IBM computers in the early 80’s. It is a 5-pin DIN connection used to connect keyboards to computers. It was replaced by PS/2 which in turn has been largely replaced by USB.

SATA Data

The name SATA is an abbreviation of Serial AT Attachment, it replaced (P)ATA as a method of connecting storage devices to a computer motherboard. You will often find the connection on optical drives, hard disk drives and solid-state drives.

Because Internal drives are sometimes located in tricky to access locations in a computer case, right-angled SATA connectors have become very common.

There are three main specifications of SATA cable:

• SATA v1 (1.5Gbps)
• SATA v2 (3Gbps)
• SATA v3 (6Gbps)

eSATA

eSATA is a version of the SATA connector designed for external devices. eSATA cables are designed to have additional shielding that standard SATA cables do not need.

FireWire (IEEE 1394)

FireWire, also known as IEEE 1394 is a high-speed interface standard similar to USB. It was created by Apple in the 80’s and was mostly used for connecting to devices such as external storage and video cameras.

FireWire has two main versions:

FireWire 400 operates at up to 400 Mbps and uses a 6-Pin connector

FireWire 800 operates at up to 800 Mbps and uses a 9-Pin connector.

Also, Sony created a version of FireWire 400 without the two power pins.

RJ45

RJ45 stands for Registered Jack 45, it is an eight-position, eight-contact (8P8C) connector. It is the most commonly used connector in networking and can reach speeds up to 10 Gbps.

BNC

BNC stands for Bayonet Neill-Concelman, it is a twist to lock style coaxial connector. They were commonly used in Ethernet networking before RJ45 became the standard. They were also widely used with radio systems and a video connector.

RP SMA

SMA stands for SubMiniature version A and is a screw in style coaxial connector. The Reverse Polarity SMA is a variation of the SMA connector that reverses the gender of the interface.

They are mostly used to connect antennas to networking equipment.

LC

LC stands for Lucent Connectors; it is one of the most used fibre connectors in networking today. Its compact design makes it ideal for data centres and cabinets where space is at a premium.

SC

SC stands for Standard Connectors or Subscriber Connector; it is a widely used fibre connector but is slowly being replaced by the smaller LC connector.

ST

ST stands for Straight Tip; these connectors provide a secure, robust connection but they are largely being replaced by the LC connector.

International plug types

The different types of plugs and sockets used around the world are classified by Type. For example, Type A and Type B are used in the USA and Canada. Type C is used in Europe. We stock a range of cables that use these connections:

Type A - NEMA 1-15 Ungrounded (US Plug)

NEMA-1-15 plugs are mainly used in the USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan.

They have two parallel blades and are rated 15 A at 125 volts. This type of US plug is not grounded and is usually found with cables that have an ungrounded IEC connection such as the IEC C7.

Type B - NEMA 5-15 Grounded (US Plug)

NEMA-5-15 plugs are mainly used in the USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan.

They have two parallel blades and are rated 15 A at 125 volts. This type of US plug is grounded and is usually found with cables that have a grounded IEC connection such as the IEC C13.

Type C - CEE 7/16 Alternative II (Europlug)

Europlugs are mainly used in Europe, South America, and Asia.

The Europlug has two pins almost parallel pins. This plug is not grounded and is usually found with cables that have an ungrounded IEC connection such as the IEC C7.

Type E/F - CEE 7/7 (Schuko plug)

The CEE 7/7 plug is used in most of mainland Europe including Germany, France, Sweden, Finland, Portugal and Spain.

The CEE features two pins similar to the Europlug. It also has earthing contacts on the top and bottom of the plug. The plug is grounded and is used with a wide range of IEC power leads.

Type G - BS 1363 (UK Plug)

The plug has three rectangular pins and a fuse to protect the power cord from overload. This plug is grounded and used with a wide range of IEC connectors up to 13A.

IEC socket types

We stock a wide range of IEC connectors that cover equipment such as TVs, servers, laptops and games consoles. IEC connections have a different name depending on the gender of the connector.

For example, the C5 connector is a male Cloverleaf connector usually found on the cable. The C6 connector is a female Cloverleaf connector usually found on the device.

IEC C5

The IEC C5 connector is often found in laptop power adapters as well as many other external power adapters. It is sometimes called “Cloverleaf" or "Mickey Mouse" connector due to its unique shape.

IEC C7

The IEC C7 connector is often found in A/V equipment such as TVs, radios and games consoles. They are also found in double insulated external PSUs. It is sometimes called "Figure of Eight".

Please note, there is a similar polarized connector that has one square side. You can potentially damage equipment using these connectors together.

IEC C13/C14

The IEC C13 connector is commonly used with computers, printers, network switches and other peripherals. It is sometimes called a “Kettle Lead”, although the IEC C15 hot condition plug would be more likely to be found on a kettle.

IEC C15

This connector is often found in networking equipment and high-temperature settings/equipment such as kettles. The connector is very similar to the C13 connector but features a notch at the bottom.

IEC C19/C20

This connector is often found in high power server equipment that draws more power than a C13/C14 connector can support.

Mate-n-Lok (Molex)

The Mate-n-Lok power connector was released in the 60’s by AMP. When it was released, it was similar to a design by a company called Molex. The name Molex has always been linked with this connector.

The connector was mostly used to connect internal storage devices such as an optical drive or hard disk drive to a computer's power supply unit. The release of SATA power and more lately the M.2 form factor has largely impacted the use of this connector.

SATA Power

SATA is an abbreviation for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. The power connector was designed to be a replacement for the older Mate-n-Lok (Molex) connector and was used to connect internal storage devices such as an optical drive or hard disk drive to a computer's power supply unit.

20-Pin / 24-Pin ATX

ATX stands for Advanced Technology Extended and the 20/24 pin ATX power cable is one of the two cables that typically connect to a modern motherboard from a computer PSU. (The other being the P4/EPS cable that supplies power to the CPU.)

Originally released with 20 pins it was later updated with an additional 4 pins to make a 24-pin connector. Many PSUs will be supplied with a modular 20/24-pin cable where you can select how many you need.

P4 / 6-Pin EPS

The P4 cable is one of two cables that typically connect to the motherboard from a power supply. (The other is the 20/24-Pin ATX cable.) The P4 connector is designed to provide power to the CPU.

There are also more modern 6-Pin and 8-Pin EPS cables for higher powered CPUs. Although they look similar, these connectors are not the same as the ones found on graphics cards.

6-Pin PCIe

The 6-Pin PCIe was commonly found on mid-range graphics cards and is capable of supplying 75W of power.

The connector looks very similar to the 6-Pin EPS connector, but the connectors are not compatible. You can tell the difference by the top middle pin, as shown below.

TX3 (3 Pin Fan)

The TX3 connector is mostly used to connect and power case fans in computers. Unlike the more common 4-Pin version, these do not support PWM.

D-Subminiature 25 (DB-25)

The D-Sub 25 connector was used for a number of different applications including SCSI-1, Serial and Parallel. This connection has largely been replaced by more modern standards including USB and SAS.

50-Pin Centronics (CN-50)

The 50-Pin Centronics connector was commonly used in SCSI-1 applications, usually to connect to external devices. This connection has largely been replaced by more modern standards including USB and SAS.

Half-Pitch DSUB 50-Pin (HD50)

The 50-pin half-pitch DSUB is a SCSI-2 connector. This connection has largely been replaced by more modern standards including USB and SAS.

Half-Pitch DSUB 68-Pin (HD68)

The 68-pin half-pitch DSUB is a SCSI-3 connector. This connection has largely been replaced by more modern standards including USB and SAS.

VHDCI

VHDCI is an abbreviation of Very-High-Density Cable Interconnect. It is a 68-pin SCSI-5 connector. This connection has largely been replaced by more modern standards including USB and SAS.

RJ10

The RJ10 connector is a 4 Position 4 Conductor (4P4C) connector. It is not an official Registered Jack connector and is also referred to as RJ10 and RJ22. It is commonly used on telephone handset cables.

RJ11

The Registered Jack 11 is a 6 Position 4 Conductor (6P4C) connector. It is commonly used for telephone, ADSL and modem connections. There is also a very similar connector that has all the pin positions populated (6P6C) called RJ12.

RJ11 cables are available in a number of specifications including:

• RJ11 to RJ11 – Modem cable, this has a straight through wiring configuration
• RJ11 to BT – Modem cable, this has a full rolled-over wiring configuration
• RJ11 to BT – Crossover cable, it features crossed over pairs 2/3 and 4/5
• RJ11 to BT – Two wire cable, similar to the crossover cable but only 2 lines are connected

RJ45

RJ45 stands for Registered Jack 45, it is an eight-position, eight-contact (8P8C) connector. It is the most commonly used connector in networking and can reach speeds up to 10 Gbps.

BT (431A / 631A)

The BT telephone connector, officially called BS 6312 431A (for a 6P4C connector), and 631A (for a 6P6C connector). It has been the standard connector in Great Britain since the early 80’s.

TYPE A

USB Type A is the original Host connector and is still the most common type of USB connector found today. It is used to connect everything from keyboards and mice to scanners and printers. The connector was updated with the USB3.0 specification, these will have an extra 5 pins arranged behind the standard 5 pins and commonly will have a blue colour.

The most commonly used USB-A cables are:

• USB Type A to Type B, often used to connect printers
• USB Type A to Micro B, mostly used to connect to older mobile phones
• USB Type A to Type C, this is used in more modern phones

TYPE B

USB Type B is the original Device connector and is still commonly found on printers. The connector was updated with the USB3.0 specification, an extra section was added that contains 5 additional pins and it commonly will have a blue colour.

The most commonly used USB-A cables are:

• USB Type A to Type B, used to connect printers to computers
• USB Type C to Type B, used to connect printers to laptops

MINI B

The USB Mini B connector is not commonly used any more, it was often found on cameras and sat navs. The Mini B connector wasn't updated with USB3.0.

The most common USB Mini B cables are:

• USB Type A to USB Mini B, used to connect cameras to a computer

MICRO B

The USB Micro B connector was very common on mobile devices such as mobiles phones, it has largely been replaced by USB Type C. The connector was updated with the USB3.0 specification, an extra section was added to the side that contains 5 additional pins.

The most common cables types for this connector are:

• USB2.0 Type A to Micro B - This was commonly used with mobile phones
• USB3.0 Type A to Micro B - This was used with Samsung phones before USB-C was created

TYPE C

USB Type C connectors are the latest and fastest connector in the USB standard. It is the first USB connector that is reversible, meaning you can plug it in either way up, eliminating the common problem found with the Type A connector.

DVI

Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed in 1999 by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). It was designed to transmit a video signal between your computer and your monitor. The standard was intended to be a replacement for the aging SVGA. it has since been surpassed by the HDMI and Displayport standards.

The main specifications of DVI cable are:

• DVI-I (integrated, combines digital and analogue in the same connector; digital may be single or dual link)
• DVI-D (digital only, single link or dual link)
• DVI-A (analogue only)

DVI-I Dual Link

 

The DVI-I Dual Link connector has all 24 data pins populated as well as the 4 analogue pins around the spade connector and is capable of transmitting either a digital signal or an analogue signal. It features two TMDS links for a maximum bandwidth of 9.9 Gbps, supporting resolutions up to 2560 x 1600p.

Please note: While the cable will support digital or analogue signal, will not convert between the two.

DVI-I Single Link

 

The DVI-I Single Link connector has 18 data pins populated as well as the 4 analogue pins around the spade connector and is capable of transmitting either a digital signal or an analogue signal. It features a single TMDS link for a maximum bandwidth of 4.95 Gbps, supporting resolutions up to 1920 x 1080p.

Please note: While the cable will support digital or analogue signal, will not convert between the two.

DVI-D Dual Link

 

The DVI-D Dual Link connector has all 24 data pins populated but is missing the analogue pins around the spade connector, so it is only capable of transmitting a digital signal. It features two TMDS links for a maximum bandwidth of 9.9 Gbps, supporting resolutions up to 2560 x 1600p.

DVI-D Single Link

 

The DVI-D Single Link connector has 18 data pins populated but is missing the analogue pins around the spade connector, so it is only capable of transmitting a digital signal. It features a single TMDS link for a maximum bandwidth of 4.95 Gbps, supporting resolutions up to 1920 x 1080p

DVI-A

 

The DVI-A connector has 12 data pins populated as well as the 4 analogue pins around the spade connector, it is capable of transmitting an analogue signal only.

HDMI

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia interface) is currently the standard audio /video interface for connecting to TVs, monitors and video projectors.

There have been a few revisions of the HDMI standard since its release in 2002. Not all revisions changed the specifications of the cable, a few notable revisions are:

HDMI v.1 (Standard)
This is the original version of HDMI and is rarely seen anymore. It supported a maximum bandwidth of 4.95Gbps and supported video resolutions up to 1080p @ 60Hz.

HDMI v1.3 (High Speed)
HDMI v1.3 increased the bandwidth to 10.2Gbps and allowed support for 2160p @ 30Hz video resolutions.

HDMI v2.0 (Premium High Speed)
HDMI v2.0 increased the maximum bandwidth to 18Gbps allowing support for 2160p @ 60Hz video signals. It also brought with it the Premium HDMI Cable certification program. This provided additional and enhanced cable testing as well as authentication via a QR code supplied with the cables.

HDMI v2.1 (Ultra High Speed)
HDMI v2.1 increased the maximum bandwidth to 48Gbps allowing support for 8K 60Hz video signals. There is also an updated version of the Premium cable scheme.

There are currently five HDMI connectors

HDMI Type A - Standard

This is the standard HDMI connector found on TVs, monitors. We stock a very large range of standard HDMI cables.

HDMI Type B – Dual Link

We have never seen this connector.

HDMI Type C – Mini

This connector is similar to the standard HDMI connector, but quite a lot smaller. It was commonly found on smaller devices such as cameras and tablets. It has fallen out of use in favour of USB-C recently.

HDMI Type D – Micro

This connector is much smaller than the mini connector and looks a little like a USB 2.0 Micro B connector. This connection was found on mobile phones, tablets and action cameras. It has fallen out of use in favour of USB-C recently.

HDMI Type E – Automotive

This connector is only used in the automotive industry, we do not sell any products that use this connector.

Coaxial TV Connector

The Belling-Lee connector is more commonly called the Coaxial TV connector. It is an RF connector used to connect TV aerials to televisions and set-top boxes.

F Connector

The F connector is a coaxial RF connector similar to the Belling-Lee connector. It is commonly used to connect satellite dishes to set-up boxes.

3.5mm TRRS

3.5mm TRRS cables are usually used for stereo audio and mic connections on headsets. For mor information on this see the audio section.

They can also be connected to 3x RCA connectors to carry a Composite A/V.

3x RCA

RCA connectors get their name from the Radio Corporation of America. The connectors can be used to transmit a number of different audio / video signals including:

• Mono Audio (1x RCA – Audio)
• Stereo Audio (2x RCA - Audio)
• Composite (3x RCA - Video)
• Component (3x RCA - Video)

RCA works by using one cable for the left audio, one cable for the right audio and one cable for the video signal. The different types of signals are usually colour coded.

A typical colour coding would be:

• Left Audio – White/Black
• Right Audio – Red
• Video – Yellow

Although this can change with different signal formats.

DisplayPort is a digital AV signal developed by VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association). It is most commonly used to connect a computer to a monitor and is slowly replacing the older VGA and DVI standards.

The DisplayPort standard has seen a number of updates, some notable versions are:

DisplayPort v1.0
DP v1.0 was released with a maximum bandwidth of 10.8Gbps and supported RBR (Reduced Bit Rate) and HBR (High Bit Rate) transmission modes.

DisplayPort v1.2
DP v1.2 upgraded the maximum bandwidth to 21.6Gbps and added support for the HBR2 (High Bit Rate 2) transmission mode.

DisplayPort v1.3
DP v1.3 upgraded the maximum bandwidth to 32.40Gbps and added support for HBR3 (High Bit Rate 3) transmission mode.

DisplayPort v2.0
DP v2.0 upgraded the maximum bandwidth to 80Gbps and added support for UHBR10 (Ultra High Bit Rate 10), UHBR13.5 (Ultra High Bit Rate 13.5) and UHBR20 (Ultra High Bit Rate 20) transmission modes.

The DisplayPort Wikipedia page has an excellent guide listing the maximum resolutions and refresh rates each transmission mode is capable of. You can view it here.

Mini DisplayPort

Mini DisplayPort is a smaller version of the DisplayPort connector designed to be used on smaller devices such as laptops. The MiniDP connection was also used for Thunderbolt 1 and 2.

Mini-DVI

The Mini-DVI connector is a smaller version of the DVI connector that was found on Apple computers and laptops. It was replaced by Mini DisplayPort, which itself has been replaced by USB-C.

VGA / SVGA (HD15)

The VGA (Video Graphics Array) connector has been a common video connector found on computers since the 80’s.

The VGA connector most commonly refers to a high-density 15-Pin D-Sub (HD15) connector, although other connectors have been used to carry VGA-compatible signals, such as the D Subminiature 9 (DE-9) and BNC. The HD15 connector is sometimes referred to as DE-15 or DB-15(HD).

Early VGA cables didn’t have all pins connected, pins 9, 12 and 15 were added to enable DDC (Display Channel Data) which enabled two-way communication between the source and display.