The Following Excerpts are Taken from FCC Regulations and TIA Specifications

1. "The plug/jack contact interface should be hard gold to hard gold and should have a minimum gold thickness of .0012700 mm (0.000050 inch) on each side of the interface. The minimum contact force should be .98 N (100 grams). Any non-gold contact material must be compatible with gold and provide equivalent contact performance. A smooth,
burr-free surface is required at the interface in the area shown."

2. "The jack contact design is based upon .4572mm (.018 inch) spring temper phosphor bronze round wire in the modular plug blade and jack contact surface. Other contact configurations that provide contact performance equal to or better than the preferred configurations and do not cause damage to the plug or jack are permitted. The preferred jack contact width is .44958/.49530 mm (.0177/.0195 inches). Deviations from the preferred jack contact
width are permitted for round contacts as well as non-circular cross sectional shapes but they must be compatible with existing plug configurations. The requirements of Note 1 apply to all possible contact areas.

3. The configuration of the plug contact and the front plastic of the plug should prevent jack contacts from being damaged during plug insertion into jacks.

4. This is the suggested nominal contact angle between plugs and jacks with the plug latched into the jack. If this angle becomes greater than 24 degrees loss of electrical contact may occur between the plug and jack. If the nominal contact angle becomes less than 13 degrees, interference between jack contacts and the internal plastic
in the plug may occur.

HERE IS WHAT WE ARE SEEING

NON-COMPLIANCE - CHEATING - COST CUTTING OPERATIONS AFFECTING PRODUCT QUALITY

What you should be aware of when selecting your supplier/partner.

When the PLUG (i.e cable assembly) is inserted into the JACK, it should lead STRAIGHT INTO THE JACK to insure PROPER TARGETING, GUIDANCE and MAXIMUM SURFACE MATING AREA CONTACT to maintain signal integrity. Shown below, the cables on the bottom of the patch panel show possible DROOP EFFECTS, while the cables on the top of the patch panel show potential RISE EFFECTS. There may be interconnection issues where the ANGLE CREATED by the DROOP or RISE will DECREASE THE SURFACE CONTACT MATING AREAS affecting signal Integrity.

NOTE: As cable constructions are getting bigger and bigger.....and heavier and heavier.....this problem is occurring more and more often.

BEND RADIUS EFFECTS ON SIGNAL INTEGRITY
HORIZONTAL ANGLE DEFLECTION CAUSING LIFT OFF

Highlighted in the yellow circled area, are cables that may be affecting signal integrity be the ANGLE OF DEFLECTION caused by the BEND RADIUS OF THE CABLE ASSEMBLY INTO THE JACK. If severe enough, you will have "LIFT OFF", whereby, the PLUG PLASTIC LIFTS THE JACK CONTACT UP and you lose your signal.

HOW WE DO THINGS

THE SENTINEL CONNECTOR SYSTEMS ADVANTAGE

THE BOOK OF RJ (Robert J Brennan)

The guys at Sentinel have OVER 300 MAN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, HOLD 35 RJ45 RELATED PATENTS and HAVE THE ANSWERS to all of your RJ-45 related questions. We are just a phone call or email away.

THE SENTINEL CONNECTOR SYSTEMS ADVANTAGE - All of Sentinel's Plugs and Jacks are built in accordance to INDUSTRY STANDARDS & SPECIFICATIONS as set forth by governing bodies such as ACTA, ASTM, EIA, FCC, IEC, IEEE, ISO, TIA and UL.  Sentinel is also a Member of the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association.....adhering to the Association's STRICT CODE OF ETHICS regarding compliance.

OUR PRODUCT DESIGN ELEMENTS - The BASIS METAL for the contacts is PHOSPHOR BRONZE. We use a very specific % along with a very tightly controlled min-max granular MICROSTRUCTURE to provide the best STIFFNESS, SPRING QUALITIES and CORROSION & WEAR RESISTANCE. The base metal is then ELECTROPOLISHED (versus wire brushed) creating an extremely smooth "BURR FREE" CONTACT SURFACE. It is then plated with 100 micro inches of pure Nickel (min plugs, 50 micro min jacks)....providing a sacrificial metal surface/barrier to PROHIBIT DIFFUSION and OBTAIN DESIRED POROSITY CHARACTERISTICS....then 50 micro inches (minimum) of pure 24 CARAT (hard) GOLD adhering to MIL-G-45204C, TYPE II, GRADE A specifications and Knoop Hardness requirements. During each plating operation, PROPER SURFACE ACTIVATION and CLEANSING PROCEDURES are meticulously followed to insure against any possible surface contamination and potential GALVANIC REACTIONS (reference MIL-STD-889).

By incorporating the strict design guidelines above, Sentinel Plugs and Jacks will have a MINIMUM 1,000 CYCLE LIFE (insertions/de-insertions) before any degradation of surface contact areas and a 2,000 MINIMUM CYCLE LIFE WHEN USING SENTINEL PLUG/JACK COMBINATIONS.

OUR ENGINEERING and MANUFACTURING EXPERTISE

* Sentinel manufactures it's plastic components on Battenfeld and Cincinnati molding presses with tightly controlled tolerances and a meticulous Quality Control Program to insure Standards Compliant Parts.

* Connectors are assembled with equipment both purchased and designed/manufactured in house. Unparalleled Quality Procedures and Maintenance Programs insure that the products are assembled with consistency and reliability, plus the Equipment runs 24/7, LIGHTS OUT.

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* The Quality Department utilizes equipment to test gold thickness and mechanical properties of all the connectors manufactured.

* The Engineering Department uses State of the Art CAD equipment and has a fully equipped Tool Room to support Manufacturing as well as New Product Development.

THE BOTTOM LINE - WE DO NOT CUT CORNERS.....WE USE BEST PRACTICES.....WE MEET and/or EXCEED ALL STANDARDS....WE PROVIDE THE HIGHEST QUALITY IN THE MARKETPLACE.....and best yet, WE ARE EASY TO WORK WITH and our products are MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

 

                                                                                                                      

For more information, contact
dave@rj45s.com