How to Panel Mount D-Subminiature Connectors

As L-com mentioned in one of its newsletters, D-Subminiature connectors are still used in many applications because of their versatility and lock down mating hardware. Especially in devices that still use serial data to communicate, D-Subminiature is the best solution and so D-Sub adapters are still very popular. One popular application for an adapter is to mount it on a panel creating a port for operators to plug their devices into. Though D-Subs are easy to use, some of the techniques involved in panel mounting the adapters are not intuitive, so this post will go over some tips.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Serial Cables - Serial Data Communication

Serial Connectivity (customerservice@L-com.com)

As technology has advanced and we've needed to pass more and more data more and more quickly between devices, serial communication has become more important. Serial communication transmits data in a precise series so that minimum skewing or modulation occurs. While it isn't as fast as parallel communication in short distances, it is superior, especially in long distances and when speed isn't exactly an issue, to older standards.

In order to make sure that all manufacturers that used serial communication could connect together, the EIA/TIA created the RS-232 standard. This way, serial keyboards, joysticks, scanners, and other equipment could be connected to terminals like computers. That same standard is followed today, but affects mainly the devices being connected, not the connection itself. Two devices with RS-232 compliant ports should be able to connect with any serial cables.

The most common connector type on a serial cable is the DB-9 connector. This D-Subminiature style connector has 9 pins in a "D" shaped footprint. L-com carries a wide variety of these types of cables, including economy D-Sub cables, deluxe, and premium (double shielded) style. These are all molded and factory terminated and tested.