RJ45s for PoE Applications

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a hot topic and the power requirements and applications are expanding rapidly. We hope you will find this information useful to help you select the "Right" RJ45 plug noting that ALL RJ45 plugs described below from Sentinel Connector Systems can be used for ALL TYPES and LEVELS of 15W PoE (IEEE 802.3af), 30W PoE+ (IEEE 802.3at), 60W PoE++ (IEEE 802.3bt Type 3) and 100W PoE++ (IEEE 802.3bt Type 4)". This is due to the design feature of having isolation barriers between the conductors to prevent the conductors for coming in contact with each other at the termination point.

DESIGN NOTES: We encourage you to do your "Due Diligence" in selecting the "right plug vendor" to make sure you conform to the same Industry Standards that Sentinel adheres to. This will ensure performance and the important COMPLIANCE Standards include:

1 - Reference to FCC Part 68 (now ANSI/TIA-1096-A), IEC-60603-7, UL 1863 and IEEE 802.3xx in their specifications
2 - Reference to 50 µin of PURE 24 Karat GOLD PLATING vs 14 Karat (or less). Less than 24K has impurities (or harder metals like silver, bronze, or brass) that create pores that allow corrosion to set in, eventually leading to signal loss. These type of plugs will NOT PASS the Standards for porosity, contact surface smoothness or Knoop hardness. Also note that 14K is 42% less in cost than 24K and anything less than 24K can affect network performance.
3 - Reference to a minimum of 50 µin of pure gold plating and 50 µin of pure nickel underplating. Without the nickel underplating barrier over the base metal, the gold atoms will diffuse into the base metal over time causing signal loss. Also note that some manufacturers only use 30 µin (vs 50 µin), 15 µin, 10 µin, 6 µin and even COLOR ONLY to describe their plating thickness. This causes quality and performance issues and is done to simply REDUCE the cost of the plug. 75% of the cost of a plug is the gold plating. So if you only plate with 30 µin, there is 40% less cost in gold on the contacts.
4 - Reference to UL 1863 1000V (vs 500V) listing that is needed for higher levels (Type 3 and 4) of PoE