Jack (connector)
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In electronics and electrical assemblies, the term jack commonly refers to a connector often with the female electrical contact or socket, and is the "more fixed" connector of a connector pair. The related term "jack plug" commonly refers to a "less fixed" connector of a connector pair, often, but not always, with the male electrical contact or pin, and is generally shortened to simply "Plug."
Some connector styles[1] may contain male (pin), female (socket) (see: faIace) or both connection types. A jack is properly described as a connector that is designed to be mounted (fixed) on the surface of a bulkhead or enclosure; "The stationary (more fixed) connector of a mating pair shall be designated J or X"[2] where J means jack.[3] Its counterpart, the "plug," is designed to attach to a wire, cable or removable electrical assembly; "The movable (less fixed) connector of a mating pair shall be designated P" [4] where P means plug. This convention is currently defined in ASME Y14.44-2008 which is the current actively maintained follow on to the withdrawn IEEE 200-1975; IEEE 200-1975 was derived from the long withdrawn MIL-STD-16 which dates back at least to the 1950s which highlights the heritage of this connector naming convention. IEEE 315-1975 works alongside ASME Y14.44-2008 to define J, P and X references.
The term jack occurs in several related terms:
- The "RJ" prefix which stands for "registered jack" in RJ11, RJ45 and similar connectors, and includes the modular jacks used in modern telephone systems and computer network interfaces (e.g., "Ethernet jack").
- The telephone jack of old-style manual telephone switchboards, which is the socket fitting the original 1/4" telephone plug. This open-frame, open-circuit accepts 1/4" mono phone plugs.
- The 1/4" phone jack common to many electronic applications, either in a 2-conductor tip-sleeve (TS) or 3-conductor tip-ring-sleeve (TRS) configuration.
- The RCA jack, also known as a "phono jack", common to consumer electronics.
- The EIAJ jack designed for consumer appliances requiring less than an 18.0 volt power supply.
When the description includes a diameter, the term refers to the jack that matches the corresponding diameter of plug. For example:
- 6.35 mm or 1/4" jack
- 3.5 mm miniature jack
- Jack, 2.5 mm subminiature
A headphone (or earphone) jack is commonly one of the three standard sizes of 3-conductor TRS jacks, but the term could refer to any socket used for this purpose.
[edit] References
Foreman, Chris, "Sound System Design", Handbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition, Glen M. Ballou, Ed., Elsevier Inc., 2002, pp. 1171–2.
- ^ The Art of Electronics, 2nd Edition, p56. Cambridge University Press. 1989. http://books.google.com/books?id=bkOMDgwFA28C&lpg=PP1&dq=art%20of%20electronics&pg=PA56.
- ^ Reference Designations for Electrical and Electronics Parts and Equipment: ASME Y14.44-2008 : Section 2.1.5.3 (2). ASME, Fairfield, NJ. 2008. http://catalog.asme.org/Codes/PrintBook/Y1444_Reference_Designations.cfm.
- ^ Graphic Symbols for Electrical and Electronics Diagrams (Including Reference Designation Letters): IEEE-315-1975 (Reaffirmed 1993): Section 22. IEEE and ANSI, New York, NY. 1993. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ieee-315-1975.
- ^ Reference Designations for Electrical and Electronics Parts and Equipment: ASME Y14.44-2008 : Section 2.1.5.3 (1). ASME, Fairfield, NJ. 2008. http://catalog.asme.org/Codes/PrintBook/Y1444_Reference_Designations.cfm.
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