Alpha Wire International has revealed that 95% of its 10,000 wire, cable and tubing part numbers will be RoHS compliant by July 2005 and that these can be specified and ordered immediately.
Alpha Wire International has revealed that 95% of its 10,000 wire, cable and tubing part numbers will be RoHS compliant by July 2005 and that these can be specified and ordered immediately. According to Alpha Wire’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Allan Marconi: ‘Our customers’ purchasing and engineering departments have one clear question; are Alpha Wire’s products RoHS compliant, or not?’. ‘The answer, for over 95% of our product range, is a resounding yes’.

‘And the remaining products requiring compliance will be certificated by the third quarter of 2005, one year ahead of the July 2006 deadline’.

To support customers’ engineering and purchasing departments still further, Alpha Wire has launched a number of RoHS initiatives.

For example, when specifying and ordering a product, customers can now log onto Alpha Wire’s new online part number search facility.

By simply entering the Alpha Wire part number, they will instantly be informed of when the part became RoHS compliant.

Alternatively, an Excel spreadsheet listing all Alpha Wire’s products and their compliance status can be downloaded.

Future compliance dates are also provided for current noncompliant products.

When the product is received by a customer, RoHS compliance is referenced on the distributor’s invoice, the packing list and, most importantly, on the product itself.

A certificate of compliance is also included.

This comprehensive listing and labelling is designed to aid product identification and tracking.

In addition, following customer feedback, part numbers remain unchanged, so there is no need for customers to rewrite their bills of materials.

To provide a simple, quick and foolproof means of validating to RoHS compliance its wire, cable and tubing materials, Alpha Wire has invested in an in-house energy disperse X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (EDXRF), which is capable of identifying basic elements and ‘fingerprinting’ the material.

Alpha Wire has re-engineered the chemical composition of any nonconforming materials to guarantee RoHS compliance, while ensuring that the product continues to deliver at least equal or superior technical performance.

Marconi concluded: ‘This means that all our customers based in Europe, and those exporting equipment into Europe, can continue to specify Alpha Wire’s cable, wire and tubing products today, confident that those products not only comply with the RoHS Directive, but that they are now available from their local Alpha Wire distributor’.

Times Microwave Systems has just released its updated SiO2 silicon dioxide brochure containing application-specific product variations.
Times Microwave Systems has just released its updated SiO2 silicon dioxide brochure containing application-specific product variations, including a more flexible copper jacket for high power and high stress installations and stainless steel and Inconel high temperature inner conductors. The copper jacketed product is unique in that the hermetic stainless steel connectors are welded, not soldered, directly to the copper cable. The soft and flexible copper cable is environmentally protected to MIL-T-81490 requirements by a proprietary coating process.

A 0.2in-diameter cable with 20% lower insertion loss than other products of this design and intermediate connectors have also been added.

SiO2 is completely compatible with the company’s Multiport and Minimultiport connector systems, Zero dB and equaliser products, Blind Mate antenna systems, and all of its self-locking, field-replaceable connectors.

A new range of lightweight small-diameter low-fire-hazard cables offers up to 30% weight and up to 50% space savings compared with other standard commercial cables.
Now available from Tyco Electronics is a new range of lightweight small-diameter low-fire-hazard C-Lite cables offering up to 30% weight and up to 50% space savings compared with standard commercial cables from other manufacturers. The new cable range is a true low cost solution with much improved installation and handling capabilities for commercial and offshore applications such as general power, lighting, communication, control and instrumentation. Using a reduced amount of combustible materials and offering low smoke generation, C-Lite cables are constructed from flame retarded, halogen-free cores and Raychem brand Zerohal outer cable sheath, meeting the requirements of SHF2 to IEC60092-350 and IEC60332-3 Category A.

The cables are also approved to Det Norske Veritas Standard (DNV) Specification 6-827.11-1.

C-Lite cables carry a 600V rating and are designed for an operating temperature range from -30 to +90C.

The reduced diameter of the C-Lite cables allows for a smaller bend radius and allows more cables to be accommodated within the same space envelope.

Alternatively, smaller and lower cost cable accessories can be used, resulting in further weight savings, for example smaller cable trays.

Weight savings result in reduced and easier ‘reaving’ (cable pulling) time, allowing more cables to be simultaneously installed, resulting in faster installation times.

An additional benefit is that smaller cables and accessories result in either more ‘available’ weight to be used for additional cabin space or lighter, faster, more fuel-efficient vessels.

Technology rolls on, but broadcast cables and connector paths will always be designed to combat ‘electrical noise’ from EMI, RFI and capacitance variation as this article indicates.
Server based systems in production, post production, news gathering and playout bring increased efficiencies and productivity. Nonlinear editing and news gathering allow users to access the same material across a data network. ‘Digits’ are here and over the next decade will increasingly dictate the form of cables and connectors, from camera through to playout.

Technology rolls on, but broadcast cables and connector paths will always be designed to combat ‘electrical noise’ from EMI, RFI and capacitance variation as this article indicates.

The two most important electrical qualities in audio cables are inductance and capacitance, as they dictate characteristic impedance and propagation rate (the speed at which the signal passes through the conductor relative to the speed of light).

Impedance is the total sum of opposition to the flow of energy through the cable and what really enables different cable designs to achieve different sound quality The ‘balanced audio’, hot-cold-screen concept is the first good reason for twisted pair audio cables.

To combat electromagnetically created voltages (mains hum) the twisted pairs will have varying lay lengths so that the magnetic fields in each pair do not align.

A grounded screen can help reduce/eliminate electrostatic hum and is especially important on long cable runs.

Quality and type of shielding here is very important.

For serious abuse the use of thermoplastic rubber (TPR) sheaths assures flexibility with a good degree of abrasion resistance.

FEP and ETFE materials like those from Calmont Wire and Cable offer additional environmental power, temperature and chemical resistant properties.

Oxygen free copper to DIN40500 Part 4 is fast becoming the norm.

The elimination of oxygen by casting and annealing it in an inert gas produces a product with fewer impurities in the ’skin’ of the conductor where most of the signal will be carried.

Analogue pairs can be quite forgiving of digital signals over shorter runs, but a good digital cable, because of its low capacitance is great for analogue signals.

Digital cables will also ‘futureproof’ an installation while greatly improving signal stability and noise immunity.

The embedding of digital audio with a digital video signal in TV applications requires the use of high quality 75ohm coaxial cables.

Coaxial cables will carry digital audio further than twisted pairs.

However, if you’re not embedding, then the cost of baluns or multiplexers can be the deciding factor in using coax.

Neutrik produces AES/EBU baluns which plug directly into the back of broadcast kit to convert 3-pin 110ohm XLRs to a 75ohm interface.

On the other hand, terminating an embedded coax is simple, because generally only one type of BNC or F connector is involved.

Digital cables must be dimensionally stable, because any change in the designed distance between conductors and screen will alter the capacitance - hence the impedance and the resulting return loss.

Choice of insulating material is important because in a screened audio or video cable the insulator is the capacitor dielectric between core and screen and, the lower the capacitance - the less time it will take a signal to reach full amplitude.

For low noise applications the star quad construction is often used.

A quad is a four-wire construction in which diagonally opposed conductors are used to form two pairs.

These cables are manufactured with low capacitance polymers and fillers so that they keep their shape if bent or crushed.

They are very flexible and well shielded because of the spirally applied (not braided) fine copper wire screens over each quad.

TTL Video has just completed the installation of Bryant’s STR 32A, eight-star quad reinforced cables for the fixed audio feeds in every UK Premier League football ground.

Another popular cable is the AES/EBU, 110ohm, twisted pair digital microphone cable, suitable for use in RS485 data, DMX or mic applications.

Fine oxygen free strands, very low capacitance insulation, precise lay-up, anti-microphony fillers and a tough jacket make for a handleable yet low noise cable.

Because 100% shielding is required, a combination of tape and braid is used.

This construction works well with the recently introduced Neutrik digital XLR connectors which offer 50 times better EMC screening and can be used for electronically hazardous environments and digital audio to AES3.

In the last few years, 270Mbit/s SDI (Serial Digital Interface) video coaxials like Bryant’s BD SD01 range from CDT/Raydex, Belden 1855 and Draka Image 360 have largely superseded the BBC’s PSF 1/3M, because of their high velocity of propagation, low attenuation and considerable associated space savings in MCR and OB applications.

Because braid screens are most effective below 10MHz and tape screens above, and digital signals include both high and low frequencies, these cables have a combination of both, but with solid plain copper cores they are still easily terminated with 75ohm BNC connectors.

For multiple video feeds Bryant has a rugged, multiway MIL-C5015, reverse bayonet locking connector with coaxial contacts.

Available as plugs and sockets in both cable and panel varieties, they offer a cost effective and more resilient alternative to looms terminated with individual BNC connectors.

The current installed base of BNCs for analogue video will largely be the 50ohm type.

However, the quarter wavelength of digital video is circa 1500 times smaller than analogue, so reflections caused by BNC connectors in the ‘digital’ chain will affect return loss and attenuation.

Return loss is not just down to cables - impedance mismatches from unsuitable connectors, patch bays etc can lead to signal reflections at high frequencies, so the use of ‘true’ 75ohm BNCs becomes crucial.

Outside the USA, the de-facto standard for video patching was the 50ohm MUSA connector.

For digital signals, new 75ohm ‘one-piece machined centre conductor’ designs have arrived which maintain backwards compatibility to existing MUSA products.

Basic Fourier analysis of a square-wave signal shows that, in the frequency domain of SDI the fundamental plus the odd harmonics are used to regenerate the signal.

A standard rule of thumb is that for reasonable signal fidelity the fundamental plus the harmonics up to the 7th are included in the passband.

When measured at up to 5GHz (to give a close response to the 7th harmonic) the Bryant MUSA combination of U-link and patch panel (two adapters) is typically 0.6dB for the complete signal path.

A new cable to the hybrid audio/video cables portfolio, specifically to substitute for the old BBC PIF8/1 combined video/audio/power cable type is the BD CMQVP.

This incorporates a screened three-core 6A power supply cable, an SDI video cable and a copper lap screened, audio star quad - all in a single jacket.

Each element is individually sheathed to allow the components to be broken out into their separate audio, video and power connectors.

A large established user base in studio and OB installations means that triaxial cables remain the most widely specified.

Bryant still manufactures or repairs a lot of multiconductor hybrid cables like Sony CCZA, Ikegami, JVC and Thomson for connecting professional cameras to CCUs, VTRs etc.

Despite a lack of HDTV transmission to the home across Europe, the high resolution capture of television programmes in digital, especially of sports events, greatly improves sound and picture quality.

SMPTE has developed a specification SMPTE 311 for high definition camera cables.

A composite cable, with two optical fibres for video, two or four power cores and two control/sound conductors, it enables reliable signal transmission in a relatively small, lightweight cable construction.

Fibre usage is increasing and offers great benefit in terms of bandwidth and higher transmission distances.

Optical dispersion (effectively attenuation) reduces as bandwidth increases so with multimode fibres there is a move back to OM3, high bandwidth 50/125um for high frequency transmission.

Fibre optic connectors must maintain alignment during repeated mating cycles and coupling loss can easily result from misalignment, poor end preparation, mismatched fibres and Fresnel reflection.

Tyco has a patented crimping technology for their ‘LightCrimp Plus’ connectors which makes optical termination a simple mechanical process - without the use of adhesives, polishers, or curing processes.

The mating faces of the connectors are factory polished and contain internal index matching gel to cut down dispersion and offer field terminable performance on a par with standard epoxy connectors.

In the OB field, fully sealed ruggedised hermaphroditic ‘expanded beam’ connectors like Fibreco’s Fibre Cast system offer one- to four-channel configurations using rugged, deployable mil-spec cables which are far better suited to the rigours of riggers.

These connectors use lenses to first expand the light substantially beyond the diameter of the fibre itself and then refocus the light from the incoming fibre to the receiving fibre.

The optical interfaces are protected by what amount to glass windows and hence if coated with water, dust or mud are easier to clean without causing damage.

Designed for 2000 matings minimum, they require no maintenance.

USB devices can transfer data at up to 12Mbit/s, almost 50 times faster than serial connections, and are increasingly used in the broadcast sector in audio and even digital speakers and microphones.

However, within digital post FireWire is the interface of choice.

FireWire is a high-speed serial input/output technology for connecting digital devices such as camcorders and cameras to desktop and portable computers.

FireWire enables patching at 400Mbit/s bandwidth - more than 30 times faster even than USB.

Bryant broadcast offers ‘back to back’ connectors and patch panels for both USB (A to B), and FireWire/IEEE1394a protocols.

Back in 1994, the BBC R and D Department published a paper at the AES International Convention in Amsterdam entitled ‘Twisted-pair cables for AES/EBU digital audio signals’.

It concluded that Cat5 shielded twisted audio pairs offered the highest performance of a range tested, including coax and cables specifically designed for digital audio.

Cat5 was preferred for its flexibility, consistent performance and use for mixed data applications.

It started a trend resulting in a new range of RJ45 type connectors including the Neutrik Ethercon ruggedised Cat5e connectors, as well as back-to-back panel socket versions.

In the OB sector this led to the ‘military’ style RJ45, based on a MIL-C26482 bayonet connector body.

The connector shell retrofits to a preterminated cable, and the panel connector is a bulkhead back-to-back RJ45 unit.

The cable used with them is a Cat6 over sheathed with a rugged PE jacket to resist abrasion, water and trucks running over them.

The AES/EBU 110mohm +/-20% impedance specification is undoubtedly accelerating the use of UTP (unshielded twisted pair) cables in the convergence of broadcast and computer/control systems.

The latest Cat6 UTP types can achieve a -30dB common mode balance.

Consequently they are capable not only of gigabit Ethernet transmission but also ‘multimedia’.

New generation insulations like foamed HD polyethylenes offer low capacitance with the necessary crush resistance to avoid capacitance change.

But, be warned: although Cat6 offers an available bandwidth of 200MHz - twice that of Cat 5e and the RJ45 connectors may look alike - at 100MHz the near end crosstalk (NEXT) of an average Cat5e connector is 43dB whereas that of a Cat6 is 54dB.

So a Cat6 connector couples only about an eighth of the noise, pair to pair that a Cat5e connector couples.

Digital signals are in principle more resistant to interference than analogue, and broadcasters can maximise their bandwidth or satellite capacity through digital compression and multiplexing.

As audio and video VCRs, playout carts etc are increasingly replaced with hard disc server devices then multimedia signals are likely to share the same building infrastructure data wiring as other services.

This may still be in its infancy in ‘copper’ terms as the 100m link length of Cat6 is arguably not a match for coax, but better compression and frame rate techniques will lead to more applications like streaming media becoming commonplace.

Then the higher bandwidth that Cat6 and fibre offers will generate smarter hardware and software in a self perpetuating circle.

Uninet 7150 4P is a futureproof Cat7 (and higher) data cable offering bandwidth reserves of up to 1500MHz, double shielding and a very robust design.
New from Datwyler, Uninet 7150 4P is a futureproof Cat7 (and higher) data cable offering bandwidth reserves of up to 1500MHz, double shielding (PiMF) and a very robust design. The new twisted pair cable is compatible with every standard connector system and has been optimised for the transmission of broadband cable TV signals. It is suitable not only for all applications up to class F but also for multimedia applications.

In addition, the new AWG-22 cable enables the simultaneous transmission of two communication services such as data, voice and TV transmissions over Ethernet (via cable sharing).

Its electrical and mechanical features exceed all existing international standards as well as EMV and CATV requirements (862MHz).

Uninet 7150 has a halogen-free, flame-retardant FRNC/LSOH sheathing guaranteeing highest safety in the event of a fire.

It also fulfils the RoHS guideline, which will be effective from July 2006 and according to which no materials containing lead or heavy metal are allowed.

Datwyler gives a 20-year warranty for the multimedia cable when used within a Unilan Prime Solution (class F), Compact- or Modular Solution (class E).

With a diameter of only 7.8mm, the Uninet 7150 4P is one of the thinnest Cat7 PiMF cables on the market allowing for a high packing density in the cable channel and a small bending radius of 32mm installed.

Due to the combination of foil sheathing and a tinned copper braid screen, the cable offers high near-end crosstalk (NEXT) reserves up to 1200MHz.

Therefore the Uninet 7150 4P is especially suitable for cable sharing.

In addition, even with TV frequencies, a positive ACR (difference between NEXT and attenuation) can be achieved: for example, at 800MHz more than 47dB.

Thanks to a sophisticated and optimised cable design, the highest insulation characteristics (EMV coupling attenuation) for CATV can be achieved.

The excellent insulation effect prevents interference from external sources.

Due to its design, the materials used and the special production process, the cable has a very low delay skew.

The Uninet 7150 is extremely resistant to mechanical influences.

It was tested for its reaction to tension, impact, hammer strokes and lateral pressure and was able to exceed all standard values, for example three hammer strokes, in this field by far.

Therefore it can be guaranteed, that the electrical values of the PiMF cable - usually reacting extremely sensitive to lateral pressure and impact effects - can be sustained without restriction.

Datwyler has also simplified the handling of the wires as they now have longitudinal coloured stripes and can be easily distinguished from each other.

‘This cable offers highest bandwidth reserves, an extraordinary mechanical stability, excellent safety features, and is also very environmentally friendly’.

‘In this respect, it is the ideal cable not only for all requirements today, but also for the high end data world of tomorrow’, says Graham Small, Sales Director at Datwyler UK.

Available for the first time in the UK from In2Connect is the range of cables produced in Italy by GCE Cavi Elettrici.
With a shrinking base of indigenous cable producers, In2Connect is helping to alleviate UK cable supply problems by introducing for the first time to engineers, OEM buyers and distributors the extensive products and services of GCE Cavi Elettrici of Italy. GCE Cavi Elettrici is a medium sized cable manufacturing group with much experience in the design and production of those power, control, electronics, machine tool and custom cables for low voltage applications popular in the UK and In2Connect is a company with over 40 years experience of UK cable and interconnect manufacture. Together they provide the highest levels of service and quality associated with experienced staff, new production plant and quality assurance to ISO9001 and hold numerous approvals and certification by VDE, IMQ, HAR and Desina.

As well as European standard cables, UL and CSA listed, approved and certified types are manufactured.

As a major supplier to the European machine tool industry the GCE factories support the Desina concept of decentralised cabling as a basis for factory standards.

GCE has already adopted the European directive on the use of hazardous substances, EU RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC as a standard across all product ranges.

Cable insulating and sheathing materials used are many and various ranging from PVC to TPR and PUR, and braided copper and/or aluminium foil screens.

To handle HDTV, broadcasters are faced with investing a considerable amount of money in new equipment - a big investment and one that needs to be right first time.
To handle HDTV, broadcasters are faced with investing a considerable amount of money in new equipment, such as cameras, remote broadcast units, control rooms, cables, new titling and editing equipment, new tape machines, new rigs for their new OB vans: it’s a big investment and one that needs to be right first time. For HDTV cables a bandwidth of 750MHz and datarate of 1.5Gbit/s is necessary with good return loss performance at the third harmonic frequency of 2.25GHz (3 x 750). SMPTE 292E details a bandwidth of 2.4GHz.

Insertion losses at HDTV frequencies are much greater than with SDI at 270Mbit/s and need to be kept well below 20dB.

Bryant BD SD11 and Belden 1694A coaxes intended for HDTV applications are currently tested up to 3GHz and have a typical RL of 30dB.

The ‘headroom’ built in to these cables allows up to 6dB below the recommended 20dB.

Bryant broadcast MUSA jackfields (as used in the BBC’s massive new HD OB unit 12) have been independently tested to an unbeatable 5GHz to cover integrity of signals up to and including the seventh harmonic - way beyond current SMPTE requirements.

Bryant coaxial connectors, patch cables and MUSA or BNC patch bays are as close to ‘true’ resistive 75ohm loads as is technically possible to prevent impedance mismatching and signal reflections.

The Switchcraft VPP Video Patchbay with 24 or 26 self-normalling (switching) jacks is rated from DC to 3.0GHz and meets SMPTE 292M specifications.

The Switchcraft MVP mid-size series offers 32 self-normalling (switching) jacks, rated at 30,000 life cycles in either 1 or 2U, complete with cable tie bars.

As with the VPP range, jacks may be terminated or nonterminated to suit.

The rear BNC part of the switching jacks are staggered by row to make installation of BNC cabling much simpler in the confined space of 1U.

Belden’s New RG-179 Type coaxial cable is ideal for HDTV broadcast trucks - weighing about 60% less and taking up to 40% less space than standard Mini RG-59/U type coaxes.

Belden’s new 179DT coax was designed for use in analogue, SDI, HD video and AES/EBU digital audio transmissions.

Brilliance DigiTruck 179DT Coax has a guaranteed return loss of 21dB (minimum) and is sweep tested to 3GHz.

This mimics the return loss performance of Belden’s most popular Brilliance precision video cables, providing 6dB of RL headroom against the SMPTE 292M specification.

179DT features a highly crush-resistant, foamed high-density polyethylene (FHDPE) dielectric to help ensure the durability of the cable - a particularly important characteristic for use on outside broadcast trucks - and a foil/braid shield consists of a unique lightly bonded Duobond tape that can either be left bonded to the insulation to simplify termination with one-piece connectors or removed for use with multipiece designs.

The AMP Netconnect XG Systems Advantage is a comprehensive portfolio that includes multimode fibre to 300m, PiMF copper cabling to 100m and UTP copper cabling to 100m.
The AMP Netconnect XG Systems Advantage is a comprehensive portfolio that includes multimode fibre to 300m (XG fibre cabling system), PiMF copper cabling to 100m (XG copper cabling system) and UTP copper cabling to 100m (XG UTP copper cabling system). ‘With 10-gigabit optical fibre in use for over three years and several vendors now promoting 10 gigabit twisted-pair copper products, there is much confusion in the industry’, says Eddie Boyce, UK Product Marketing Manager for Tyco Electronics AMP Netconnect Solutions Division. ‘The XG Systems Advantage is intended to take the confusion out of 10 gigabit Ethernet by providing the facts about each solution, enabling customers to make informed, cost-effective decisions’.

The AMP Netconnect XG fibre system is a complete end-to-end system using 850nm laser-optimised 50/125um multimode fibre to support 10 gigabit Ethernet and 10 gigabit Fibre Channel up to 300m using low-cost serial transmission while also supporting legacy LED systems.

The AMP Netconnect XG STP copper cabling system is a complete end-to-end system using shielded designs that overcome alien crosstalk (ANEXT) to exceed the proposed 10GBase-T standard and enable 10 gigabit Ethernet transmission over a full 100m channel.

The AMP Netconnect XG UTP copper cabling system is a complete-end-to-end system that provides the fast and easy installation of UTP while delivering the performance needed to support 10GBase-T and enable 10 gigabit Ethernet transmission over a full 100m channel.

The XG UTP System overcomes ANEXT limitations through a combination of new materials, manufacturing technology, and advanced test and measurement methods.

‘Today’s network designs demand media that can support the full 100m distance for either backbone or horizontal channels’.

‘Those looking for 10 gigabit capacity over a copper system have two AMP Netconnect XG systems to choose from that do just that’, says Eddie Boyce.

‘Through the AMP Netconnect XG copper and fibre systems, Tyco Electronics now offers a complete portfolio of global 10 gigabit solutions’.

Mini Delta Ribbon system products are designed for high level I/O applications such as telecomms, medical and broadcast equipment where space is at a premium.
The Abacus Group is introducing an increased lineup of Mini Delta Ribbon (MDR) system products designed for high level I/O applications such as telecomms, medical and broadcast equipment where space is at a premium. In addition a High Speed MDR (HS MDR) range is available to address the needs of high speed data transmission. The MDR systems from 3M have preloaded ribbon style contacts to provide a more durable alternative to pin and socket style, high-density D-sub systems.

The system incorporates EMI and ESD shielding via metal junction shells that discharge before the contacts mate.

These are available with latch or thumb screw fixings.

Protection is completed through a range of jacketed/shielded cables either flat ribbon or round discrete wire.

The IDC wiremount connectors are available through the Abacus Group in 14 to 100 ways with a variety of mating straight and right angle board-mount receptacles for either through-hole, paste in hole, SMT or press fit processes.

Groundlock or screwlock options secure the connector to the PCB.

A further option is a unique solder bucket connector accepting 24-30AWG wire in 14-50 ways.

Abacus is able to supply the 3M MDR system as individual components or as cable assemblies designed to meet specific customer requirements.

3M’s High Speed MDR introduces customised fully shielded, matched impedance cable assemblies using twinax cables providing solutions for LVDS applications that include PC and displays, industrial camera, professional broadcast and many other markets and applications.

The assemblies are designed to meet industry recognised standards such as CameraLink, VESA and DISM as well as established electrical interfaces including PanelLink, FlatLink, FPDLink and ChannelLink.

Belden IBDN Systems can be designed and installed using either bonded-pair UTP cables or unbonded-pair UTP cables.
Belden IBDN systems can be designed and installed using either bonded-pair UTP cables or unbonded-pair UTP cables. Both cable types offer performance well beyond the standards. bonded-pair UTP cables - DataTwist 350, MediaTwist and DataTwist 600e - feature a patented design that bonds the individual insulated conductors of each pair along the full length of the cable.

This bonded construction delivers installable performance.

That is, bonded-pair cables are consistent in the distance between the conductors and in the amount of twist, throughout the installation process, so they deliver the same, superior electrical performance both before and after the cable’s installation.

The unique benefit of the Belden CDT product range, related to pretermination, is the bonded pair cable portfolio with its associated guaranteed installable performance.

As the individual conductors of each twisted pair are bonded together, air gaps can not form between the conductors during installation or termination.

These air gaps can rob a cable of its electrical performance resulting in marginal passes or even failures.

With bonded pair cable, the physical integrity of the cable is maintained of the cable is maintained, thus ensuring stable electrical performance.

As pretermination, and the subsequent installation at the end user site involves considerable manipulation of the cable, the bonded pair cable portfolio is the industry leading solution for such an implementation.

A Belden CDT preterminated solution is fully covered by the Belden IBDN 25 year labour and materials warranty.