Page 194 - CITS - Electronic Mechanic - TT - 2024

ELECTRONICS MECHANIC - CITS

Twisted pair cables are two types

• Shielded Twisted cable (STP)
• Unshielded Twisted pair cable (UTP).
Shielded Twisted Pair cable (STP)
As the name implies, Shielded twisted pair cable adds a conductive layer (typically a metal foil or a mesh)
surrounding either each pair or entire cable.
Purpose
Shield on twisted pair allows a higher transmission rate.
Advantages
• Easy installation.

• It has a higher capacity as compared to UTP cable.
• It is shielded that provides a higher data transmission rate.
Disadvantages
• Cables are bigger in diameter more expensive compared to UTP or coaxial cable.

Applications
Used as instrumentation cable in industrial applications.
Used in harsh cold and hot environments.
Research applications.
Un Shielded Twisted Pair cable (UTP)

Unshielded twisted pair cable uses no additional shielding like mesh or aluminum foil which adds bulk are used.
There are different types of unshielded twisted pair cable, all support different bandwidths.
Category 1: Is used for a telephone line that has a low-speed data rate.
Category 2: It can support up to 4 Mbps.

Category 3: It can support up to 16 Mbps.
Category 4: It can support up to 20 Mbps.
Category 5: It can support up to 200 Mbps.
Purpose
Untwisted pair cable is used for voice, low speed, and high-speed data and audio support systems.
Advantages

It is cheap compared to coaxial or optic fiber cable.
Used in computer networking such as Ethernet for short to medium distances.
Disadvantages
This cable can be used for shorter distances because of the signal attenuation.

Applications
Used in LAN.
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cables are also called coax (short form).
Coaxial cable is a type of cable with multiple layers.

Coaxial cables have an inner conductor is called the core, which carries the radio frequency signal. The core wire
may be a single solid conductor or multi strands of twisted cable. It is surrounded by a dielectric insulator.

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CITS : E & H - Electronics Mechanic - Lesson 108 - 117