Network Connectors - N10-008 CompTIA Network+ : 1.3

[@cesarsoria9608]

When I was younger and inexperienced, I made the mistake of plugging a RJ11 into a RJ45 connector. It took me a bit to figure why things were not working. Thank you Professor for the lessons.

[@DraftAutumn732]

Yep. 6 pins versus 8 pins

[@DraftAutumn732]

Rj11 is almost obsolete

[@shawnmcqueen3488]

I'd had to laugh because I've done this 🤣

[@internetparrot9753]

lmao i did that too

[@aarondavidhammond3404]

Noticed that the angle in the APC connector can be remembered by the angle of the capital letter A, whereas the straight angle of the UPC connector is like the straight lines of capital U. I'll try to remember that for the exam.

[@javcoolbeans1963]

So on an APC connection, does any of the light bounce back into the path to the destination? Wondering where the reflective light on an APC goes if it is lower return loss than a UPC connection.

[@tylerfindlay3976]

Yup it does, just a lot less since it has to bounce around so much more in that angled ferrule.

[@vman9630]

Why is it that if the light bounces back, that the signal is not being interfered with?

[@clockc]

@@vman9630 because of the angle, the light is being returned at an angle instead of straight back

[@walt_the_dolt]

I'm guessing that the light is absorbed as heat or other energy and disperses. You would have to ask someone who knows more about physics than me to get the correct answer though.

[@senditall152]

Thank you!

[@Ok-hq7lx]

when i was setting up network connections and smart devices in new home builds, one of the plumbers plugged the RJ11 for the water pump on a smart shower into an RJ45 port and they were trying to fix the pump for hours. I went into the attic to fish some cables across the house and they asked me, fixed the issue in less than a minute

[@GlideStxr]

How does APC have a lower return loss than UPC? As I understand it, the “loss” in return loss is referring to the “return” itself, the “return” being the reflected light coming back from the destination end of the cable. you want the destination end of the cable to “lose” the photons that it is receiving after having received them so that they don’t “return” and interfere or degrade the original photons trying to reach the intended destination. right?

[@GlideStxr]

UPC has a return loss value of 50dB whereas APC has a return loss value of 60dB. Which would mean that you would want to use APC instead if UPC is generating too much interference due to the reflected photons. Is my understanding flawed entirely?

[@professormesser]

Ideally, all of the light sent from the source is received on the other end of the connection. Of course, there are many things that can happen along the way to degrade the light, including reflections caused by the fiber connections. The return loss describes how much light is lost due to the reflection caused by these connections. The flat UPC connection tends to reflect more of the light than the angled APC connection, so UPC-connected fiber tends to lose more light as it passes through. The return loss is measured as a ratio between the power of the outgoing light and the power of the reflected light, so a wider ratio (less loss due to reflection) would be better. This is a bit outside the scope of the Network+ Exam Objectives, but UPC tends to have a return loss of around -55 dB, and APC has about -65 dB.

[@GlideStxr]

@@professormessergot it, thank you professor!