Copper Terminology

As mentioned in a previous article, we are changing things up over the next few articles to cover different copper termination techniques. The first step is to clear up what a lot of these different terms mean when we hear them at the counter. From there we can expand on each one over the coming articles. This article will act as a glossary of industry jargon for you to refer back to and use on a day-to-day basis. It will also make reading the next few articles a lot easier.

• 110 Block/IDC - The designation 110 is also used to describe a type of insulation displacement contact (IDC) connector used to terminate twisted pair cables, which uses a 110 style punch-down tool. Early residential telephone systems used simple screw-terminals to join cables to sockets in a tree topology. These screw-terminal blocks have been slowly replaced by 110 blocks and connectors. Modern homes usually have phone service entering the house to a single 110 block, where it is distributed by on-premises wiring to outlet boxes throughout the home.

• Krone Style IDC - is an insulation-displacement connector for telecommunications. It is a proprietary European alternative to 110 block. The Krone LSA-PLUS system is not limited to telecommunications, as it is also popular in broadcast systems where audio interconnections and their associated control systems often use Krone wiring. Compared to 110, Krone can be easily identified by its contact slots arranged at a 45 degree angle to the wire. Unlike 110-style IDC punch blocks, Krone contacts can be used with stranded conductors. The contacts use silver to inhibit corrosion and require a punch down tool for wire insertion. Krone blocks are also available in versions which can handle frequencies much higher than conventional blocks.

• RJ - RJ is actually an acronym for Registered Jack, a standardised telecommunication network interface for connecting voice and data equipment. This set of standards started out in the USA, but international standards now incorporate the RJ system. The connectors used for registered jack installations are primarily the modular connector and the 50-pin miniature ribbon connector types. For example, RJ11 uses a six-position, two-conductor connector (6P2C), RJ12 uses a six-position, four-conductor (6P4C) modular jack, while RJ21 uses a 25-pair (50-pin), miniature ribbon connector. As you can imagine over the many years since Mr Bell worked his magic there have been a number of interface types created, altered, and left behind. Below are the main types you will see with the corresponding connector, and where they might be used.