Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1347119
April/May/June 2021 I 57 FIGURE 6: The impact of contact erosion caused by unmating under PoE load. New unused contact Contact after mechanical cycling under no PoE load Contact errosion caused by a single arc during unmating under PoE load Long-term errosion caused from mulitple unmating cycles under PoE load While the level of current associated with the arc possesses no risk to humans, the arcing creates an electrical breakdown of gases in the surrounding environment that erodes the plated jack-plug contact surfaces at the arcing location. Figure 6 shows an unused contact, a contact after mechanical cycling only, erosion caused by a single arc, and long-term erosion caused by subsequent arcs. on either the jack or plug contacts results in an unreliable connection. For example, while a flat jack contact shape can prevent damage to jack contacts, damage can still occur on the plug contact in the mated position. In con- trast, a crowned jack contact shape can help ensure that arcing will occur in the initial contact "wipe" area on both jack and plug contacts and will not affect mating integrity CABLE MARKERS • SINCE 1959 The SNAP ON™ Marker Experts Cable Markers • Tags • Signs • Decals CRAFTMARK SpecMark™ Snap On™ Marker Drop Wire Zip Tie Tags SpecMark™ Ultra-SnapFlag™ www.CraftmarkID.com csr@craftmarkid.com 1.800.627.5255 1.817.457.8753 For t Wor th, Texas USA SERVICE LOSS WILL RESULT IF DISCONNECTED DO NOT REMOVE GROUND WIRE CALL CABLE TV CLI HSD DO NOT DISCONNECT TELEPHONE MODEM LINE VISION COMMUNICATIONS 316-634-6747 WARNING DO NOT REMOVE THIS GROUND WIRE SHOULD IT BECOME LOOSE OR NEED TO BE REMOVED CONTACT LOCAL CABLE TV INGRESS DO NOT REMOVE TRAP OR RECONNECT DROP UNTIL REPAIRED CASHMAN FIRE PROTECTION VALVE NORMALLY OPEN DO NOT DISCONNECT WATER OFF ALWAYS OPEN When spark gap erosion occurs in the area of the fully mated position on an RJ-45 connector, the result is an unreliable connection due to the contact surface damage. This can cause degraded network performance and increased bit error rates. Some connecting hardware manufacturers have succeeded in ensuring that arc location during the unmating cycle is separate from the fully mated position. While this may hold true for jack contacts, it is important to ensure that erosion on plug contacts is also away from the fully mated position since erosion