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Download a printable version of the Interconnection Glossary. Select from the following: |
Numbers & Misc. | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
F
FACCH | Fast Associated Control Channel |
FACH | Forward Access Channel |
FAQ | Frequently-Asked-Questions |
FAW | Frame Alignment Word |
Fax | Facsimile |
FBC | Facilities-Based Carrier |
FC | Fibre Channel |
FC/IP | Fibre Channel over IP |
FCC | Federal Communications Commission |
FCCH | Frequently Correction Channel |
FCIP | Fibre Channel over IP |
FCS | Frame Check Sequence |
FD | Full Duplex |
FDD | Frequency-Division Duplex |
FDDI | Fiber Distributed Data Interface |
FDI | Fiber Distribution Interface |
FDM | Frequency-Division Mulitplexing |
FDMA | Frequency-Division Multiple Access |
FEBE | Far End Block Error |
FEC | Forward Error Control/Correction |
FEP | Front End Processor |
FER | Frame Erasure/Error Rate |
FEXT | Far End Crosstalk |
FFT | Fast Fourier Transform |
FG | Feature Group |
FGA | Feature Group A (followed by B, C and D) |
FH | Frequency Hopping |
FHMA | Frequency-Hopping Multiple Access |
FHSS | Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum |
FIFO | First-In, First-Out |
FIPS | Federal Information Processing Standard |
FIR | Finite Impulse Response |
FITL | Fiber In The Loop |
FLOPS | Floating-Point Operations per Second |
FM | Frequency Modulation |
FoIP | Fax-over-IP |
FOIRL | Fiber Optic Inter-Repeater Link |
FOMA | Freedom of Mobile multimedia Access |
FOT | Fiber Optic Terminal |
FOTS | Fiber Optic Transmission Systems |
FPLMTS | Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunications System |
FPS | Frames Per Second |
FR | Frame Relay; Frequency Response |
FRA | Fixed-Radio Access |
FRAD | Frame Relay Access Devise |
FRF | Frame Relay Forum |
FRF.11 | Frame Relay Forum Implementation Agreement #11 for Voice over Frame Relay (1997) |
FRF.12 | Frame Relay Forum Implementation Agreement #12 for Voice over Frame Relay (also known as FRF.11 Annex C) |
FRSP | Frame Relay Service Provider |
FRF | Free Software Foundation |
FSK | Frequency Shift Keying |
FSM | Finite State Machine |
FSO | Foreign Serving Office; Free-Space Optical |
FT | Fault Tolerance; Fourier Transform |
FT1 | Fractional T-1 |
FT3 | Fractional T-3 |
FTP | File Transfer Protocol |
FTSA | Fiber to Service Area |
FTTC | Fiber To The Curb/Cabinet |
FTTH | Fiber To The Home |
FUNI | Frame-based ATM User Network Interface |
FWD | Free World Dialup |
FDWLL | Fixed-Wireless Local Loop |
FX | Foreign Exchange |
FXO | Foreign Exchange Office |
FXS | Foreign Exchange Service, Foreign Exchange Station |
F Connector | (1) A type of connector used by the CATV industry to connect a coaxial cable to equipment. (2) A low-cost connector used by the television industry to connect coaxial cable to equipment. |
F Crimp | A crimp that brings the center of the barrel along an open seam downward into a V. |
Face Seal | Design feature that fills the voids between the faces of plug and receptacle when they are fully engaged. |
Farad (F) | Unit of capacitance. The capacitance of a capacitor that, when charged with one coulomb, gives a difference of potential of one volt. |
Fatigue Tests | Tests on soldered joints that may be required at high stress with relatively low cycle failure, or at low stresses under highly cyclic or vibrational conditions. |
Fault-Closure Current Rating | The designated rms fault current that a load-break connector can close under specified conditions. |
FDDI | A standard for a 100-Mbit/sec LAN, based upon fiberoptic media configured as dual counter rotating token rings. |
FDM | Frequency Division Multiplex. Method by which the available transmission frequency range is divided into narrower bands, each used for a separate channel. As utilized by broadband technology, the frequency spectrum is divided among discrete channels, to allow one user or a set of users access to single channels. (See Frequency Division Multiplexing.) |
Feed-Through | (1) A conductor that connects patterns on opposite sides of a PC board. Also called interfacial connection. (2) A connector or terminal block, usually having double-ended terminals that permit simple distribution and bussing of electrical circuits. Also used to describe a bushing in a wall or bulkhead separating compartments at different pressure levels, with terminations on both sides. |
Feed-Through Insulators | Fabricated from dielectric materials, used to carry a metal conductor through the chassis while preventing the “hot” lead from shorting to the ground chassis. |
Ferrule | (1) A short tube. Used to make solderless connections to shielded or coaxial cable. Also molded into the plastic inserts of multiple contact connectors to provide strong, wear-resistant shoulders on which contact retaining springs can bear. (2) A component of a fiberoptic connection that holds a fiber in place and aids in its alignment |
Fiber | (1) Any filament or fiber, made of dielectric materials that guides light characterized by a core and cladding. (2) A single, separate optical transmission element, characterized by a core and cladding. (See also Fiber Bundle.) |
Fiber Bandwidth | The range of frequencies over which light intensity exiting a waveguide can be varied before attenuation 3 dB from the mean, expressed in megahertz. |
Fiber Buffer | Material used to protect an optical fiber or cable from physical damage, providing mechanical isolation or protection. |
Fiberoptics | A data transmission medium consisting of glass fibers. Light-emitting diodes send light through the fiber to a detector, which then converts the light back into electrical signals. |
Filler | A material, usually inert, that is added to plastics to reduce cost or modify physical properties. |
Filters | Filtration media that remove solids and organic impurities from plating solutions, water, photo resists and anodizing solutions and cleaners. |
Fingers | Non-preferred term for Edgeboard Contacts. |
First Article | A sample part or assembly manufactured prior to the start of production for the purpose of assuring that the manufacturer is capable of manufacturing a product that will meet the requirements. |
Fixed Contact | A contact that is permanently included in the insert material during molding. |
Flag Terminal | A type of terminal where the tongue projects out from the side of the terminal barrel rather than the end of the barrel. |
Flange | A projection extending from or around the periphery of a connector, providing holes to permit mounting the connector to a panel or to another mating connector half. |
Flanged Spade Tongue Terminal | A slotted tongue terminal having the ends of the tongue formed up or down to the tongue plane, so as to form a degree of protection against the terminal slipping out from under its captive hardware. |
Flash | A thin film of material formed at the sides to a forging, casting, or molded part where some of the material is forced between the faces of the forging dies or the mold halves. |
Flash Plating | The application of extremely thin deposits of a plating material for environmental protection, or as a base for a subsequent layer of plating material. |
Flat Base | A terminal block design that is useful in applications where direct top-to-bottom feed-through is required without the necessity of circuit isolation on the bottom side. |
Flat Cable | Any cable with two smooth or corrugated but essentially flat surfaces. |
Flat Cable Connector | Connector designed specifically to terminate flat cable. May be designed for flat conductor/flat cable or round conductor/flat cable. |
Flex Damage | Damage, usually occurring where a cord enters the housing, which is caused by the sharp bending of the cord. A flex relief restricts the concentration of flexing, forcing the cord to bend over a wider arc. |
Flexible Printed Wiring | A random arrangement of printed wiring utilizing flexible base material with or without flexible cover layers. |
Flexural Strength | The strength of a material in bending expressed as the tensile stress of the outermost fibers of a bent test sample at the instant of failure. |
Floating Bushing | A design feature that aids in the alignment of plug and receptacle shells during engagement. The floating bushing generally is an eyelet-type bushing, fitted into the plug mounting holes so that there is freedom of motion in all directions between the plug and receptacle. |
Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) | Copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and hexafluoropropylene, similar to PTFE, but with greater flow above the melting point. Suitable electrical properties accompany flexural fatigue resistance. |
Flush Conductor | A conductor with an outer surface that is in the same plane as the surface of the insulating material adjacent to the conductor. |
Flush Mount | A mounting configuration available in connectors. |
Flux | (1) The lines of force that make up an electrostatic field. (2) A substance used to promote or facilitate fusion, such as a material that removes oxides from surfaces to be joined by soldering or welding. |
Flux Budget | Optical power attenuation permitted between any two transceivers. |
Foam Fluxing | Commonly used wave solder fluxing method in which flux foam is generated from a liquid flux by means of a porous “diffuser” (i.e., a hollow cylindrical stone). |
Follower | A sleeve used to compress the grommet, thus tightening the seal around the wire entering the connector. |
Frame | In the case of a multiple contact connector having a removable body or insert, the frame is the surrounding portion (usually metal) that supports the insert and permits a method for mounting the connector to a panel or a mating connector half. |
Frequency | The number of times an electromagnetic signal repeats an identical cycle in a unit of time, usually one second. |
Frequency Division Multiplexing | The splitting of a communication line into separate frequency bands, each capable of carrying information signal, allowing several messages to be sent at the same time over the same transmission. A method of dividing a communication channel bandwidth among several sub-channels with different carrier frequencies. |
Frequency Modulation | Modulation is the process of using a medium to carry information. An electrical sine wave traveling down a twisted wire pair can be modulated to carry information. |
Frequency Plan | Specification of how the various frequencies of a broadband cable system are allocated for use. |
Frequency Response | The change of gain with frequency. |
Fresnel Reflections Losses | (Fiberoptic) Losses incurred at the terminus interface due to refractive index differences. |
Fretting | A condition whereby mated surfaces move slightly, and continually expose fresh metal. The exposed metal oxidizes and builds up until electrical continuity of the system is broken. |
From-To List | Wiring instructions in the form of a list indicating termination points. |
Front-mounted | A connector is front-mounted when it is attached to the outside or mating side of a panel. A front-mounted connector can only be installed or removed from the outside of the equipment. |
Front Release Contacts | Connector contacts are released from the front side of the connector and then removed from the back wire side of the connector. The removal tool engages the front portion of the contact and pushes it out the back where it is removed by hand. |
Full-Cycling Control | Component placed on the crimping cycle of crimping tools, forcing the tool to be closed to its fullest extent, thereby completing the crimping cycle before the tool can be opened. |
Funnel Entry | Flared or widened entrance to a terminal or connector wire barrel that offers easier conductor insertion, and assurance that all wire strands are directed into the wire barrel. |
Fuse Terminal Block | A block designed for cartridge fuses. Some are fitted with a neon or incandescent fuse failure indicator and may be mixed with feed-through models on the same standard assembly vail. |
Fusing | The melting of a metallic coating (usually electrodeposited) followed by solidification. |
Numbers & Misc. | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
