dmm™: December 2007

Thursday, December 20, 2007

110 Block

110 Block Connector

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 the same punchdown tool as the 110 block.

Punch Down tool

A punch down tool, also called a punchdown tool or a Krone tool (after wiring systems manufacturer ADC Krone), is a small screw-driver sized tool used for connecting wiring to a punch down block[1]. The tool consists of a handle with a spring mechanism inside and at the tip a small square piece of metal with a square hole in it. To use the punch down tool, a wire is inserted in between the two metal blades on a punch down block and the punch down tool is pressed down on top of the wire and the two blades on the punch down block. This requires a bit of pressure until with an audible snap the wire is stripped and contact made as it is pushed down between the two punch down block blades.

Patch Panel images

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, while the back will hold the connection of a much longer and more permanent cable. The assembly of hardware is arranged so that a number of circuits, usually of the same or similar type, appear on jacks for monitoring, interconnecting, and testing circuits in a convenient, flexible manner.
Patch panels offer the convenience of allowing technicians to quickly change the path of select signals, without the expense of dedicated switching equipment. This was first used by early telephone exchanges, where the telephone switchboard (a massive array of patch panels) and a large room full of telephone operators running it was ubiquitous.