Keystone module - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A keystone module is a standardized snap-in package for mounting a variety of low-voltage electrical jacks

Jack (connector)

In electronics and electrical assemblies, the term jack commonly refers to a surface-mounted connector, often, but not always, with the female electrical contact or socket, and is the "more fixed" connector of a connector pair...

or optical connectors into a keystone wall plate

Keystone wall plate

Keystone wall plates are primarily used in commercial and industrial buildings to cleanly attach telecommunication cables to a junction box, surface mount box, or a mud ring mounted in the drywall of a building...

, face plate, surface-mount box, or a patch panel

Patch panel

A patch panel or patch bay is a panel, typically rackmounted, that houses cable connections. One typically shorter patch cable will plug into the front side, whereas the back holds the connection of a much longer and more permanent cable...

.

Keystone modules have a rectangular face of 14.5mm wide by 16.0mm high and are held in place with flexible tabs. This allows them to be snapped into a mounting plate with correspondingly-sized rectangular holes, called ports. All keystones, regardless of the type of jack they carry, are interchangeable and replaceable. This provides much flexibility in arranging and mounting many different types of electrical jacks in one plate or panel without requiring customized manufacturing.

Some keystones use a pass-though type connector, where there is a jack on both the front face as well as the rear side. Others only have a jack on the front and employ a different mechanism for hard-wiring signal cables to the rear, such as a mini 110 block

110 block

A 110 block is a type of punch block used to connect sets of wires in a structured cabling system. 110 is also used to describe a type of Insulation-displacement connector used to terminate twisted pair cables which uses a similar punch-down tool as the older 66 block...

, an insulation-displacement connector

Insulation-displacement connector

An Insulation-displacement connector, insulation-displacement technology/termination or insulation-piercing connector is an electrical connector designed to be connected to the conductor of an insulated wire or cable by a connection process which forces a selectively sharpened blade or blades...

, or a crimp

Crimp (joining)

Crimping is joining two pieces of metal or other malleable material by deforming one or both of them to hold the other. The bend or deformity is called the crimp.- Uses :...

or solder

Solder

Solder is a fusible metal alloy used to join together metal workpieces and having a melting point below that of the workpiece.Soft solder is what is most often thought of when solder or soldering are mentioned and it typically has a melting range of . It is commonly used in electronics and...

connection.

Types of modules available

Many types of jacks are available in the keystone module format, limited mainly by their physical size, including:

6P6C (RJ-11
Registered jack
A registered jack is a standardized physical network interface — both jack construction and wiring pattern — for connecting telecommunications or data equipment to a service provided by a local exchange carrier or long distance carrier. The standard designs for these connectors and their wiring...

) modular jacks
Modular connector
Modular connector is the name given to a family of electrical connectors originally used in telephone wiring and now used for many other purposes. Many applications that originally used a bulkier, more expensive connector have now migrated to modular connectors...

(telephone)
8P8C modular jacks (computer networking)
F connector
F connector
The F connector is a type of coaxial RF connector commonly used for "over the air" terrestrial television, cable television and universally for satellite television and cable modems, usually with RG-6/U cable or, in older installations, with RG-59/U cable. It was invented by Eric E...

(TV antenna/cable/satellite)
RCA jacks (audio/video)
4-pin mini-DIN
Mini-DIN connector
The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector...

(S-Video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...

jacks)
HDMI
HDMI
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...

jacks (high-definition video and audio)
Optical fiber connector
Optical fiber connector
An optical fiber connector terminates the end of an optical fiber, and enables quicker connection and disconnection than splicing. The connectors mechanically couple and align the cores of fibers so that light can pass...

s
BNC connector
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...
USB jacks
Speaker terminal
Speaker terminal
A speaker terminal is a type of electrical connector often used for connecting audio equipment to speakers or amplifiers.The terminals are used in pairs with each of the speaker cable's two wires being connected to one terminal in the pair...

s
Banana connector
Banana connector
A banana connector is a single-wire electrical connector used for joining wires to equipment. The term 4 mm connector is also used, especially in Europe, although not all banana connectors will mate with 4mm parts...

s
Binding post
Binding post
A binding post is a connector commonly used on electronic test equipment to terminate a single wire or test lead. They are also found on loudspeakers and audio amplifiers as well as other electrical equipment....

s
3.5mm TRS connector
TRS connector
A TRS connector is a common family of connector typically used for analog signals including audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts, although sometimes with two or four . It is also called an audio jack, phone jack, phone plug, and jack plug...

(miniature stereo headphone jack)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Types of modules available

Further reading

External links