Philips VG-8235 Interfaces (cropped) MSX printer port

Teledyne Lecroy Wavejet Touch 354 (Iwatsu DS-5600) Oscilloscope Teardown (21053508356) (cropped) GPIB

Mini-Centronics 36 pin with Micro-Centronics 36 pin

Micro-Centronics 36 pin with Mini-Centronics 36 pin

The micro ribbon or miniature ribbon connector is a common type of

electrical connector Components of an electrical circuit are electrically connected if an electric current can run between them through an electrical conductor. An electrical connector is an electromechanical device used to create an electrical connection between ...

for a variety of applications, such as in

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

and

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

equipment having many contacts. The connector contains two parallel rows of

contacts Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

within a shielded case having a characteristic D-shape similar to that used in

D-subminiature The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smallest connectors used on computer systems. Description, n ...

connectors. The contacts are not pins, but small flat bands of metal, called ribbon contacts. The connectors are manufactured in many capacities, including 14-, 24-, 36-, 50-, 64-, and 100- pin varieties. They may be mounted on boards, panels, or may terminate

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

s. Wires are attached by means of

solder Solder (; NA: ) is a fusible metal alloy used to create a permanent bond between metal workpieces. Solder is melted in order to wet the parts of the joint, where it adheres to and connects the pieces after cooling. Metals or alloys suitable ...

, crimping or insulation displacement. Female connectors have bail locks for a sturdy connection to the

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

connector. Screws may also be employed to secure connections. This connector type is also known as ''telco'', ''25-pair'', ''miniature delta ribbon'', ''mini D ribbon'', ''delta ribbon'', ''MDR'', ''Amphenol'', or ''CHAMP'' miniature ribbon connector. Although it was invented by

Amphenol Amphenol Corporation is a major producer of electronic and fiber optic connectors, cable and interconnect systems such as coaxial cables. Amphenol is a portmanteau from the corporation's original name, American Phenolic Corp. History Amphenol ...

, many companies now produce it, such as 3M,

TE Connectivity TE Connectivity is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, o ...

(formerly Tyco Electronics, formerly AMP), and

Hirose Electric Group is a Japanese company specializing in the manufacturing of electric connectors. The company was founded in 1937 as Hirose Manufacturing, changed its name to Hirose Electric in August 1963 and started selling internationally in 1968. Hirose al ...

. Two major sizes are available. The larger size has 0.085 inch (2.16 mm) contact pitch. This size, with 36 pins and bail locks, is also known as a ''Centronics'' connector because of its introduction by

Centronics Centronics Data Computer Corporation was an American manufacturer of computer printers, now remembered primarily for the parallel interface that bears its name, the Centronics connector. History Foundations Centronics began as a division ...

for use with the

parallel port In computing, a parallel port is a type of interface found on early computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals. The name refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data at once ( parallel ...

of printers, and is standardized as ''

IEEE 1284 IEEE 1284 is a standard that defines bi-directional parallel communications between computers and other devices. It was originally developed in the 1970s by Centronics, and was widely known as the Centronics port, both before and after its IEEE ...

type B''. Other connectors of this size are also called Centronics connectors. The smaller size has 0.050 inch (1.27 mm) pitch. This size, with 36 pins, is also known as a ''mini-Centronics'' connector, and is standardized as ''IEEE 1284 type C''.

Applications

*14-pin connector:

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

port used on MSX home computers and on various other Japanese computers such as the

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

PC-6000,

PC-8800 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the three major Japa ...

and

PC-9800 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

series *24-pin connector:

IEEE 488 IEEE 488 is a short-range digital communications 8-bit parallel multi-master interface bus specification developed by Hewlett-Packard as HP-IB (Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus). It subsequently became the subject of several standards, and is ...

(GPIB, HP-IB) interface *36-pin connector:

parallel interface *50-pin connector:

SCSI-1 Parallel SCSI (formally, SCSI Parallel Interface, or SPI) is the earliest of the interface implementations in the SCSI family. SPI is a parallel bus; there is one set of electrical connections stretching from one end of the SCSI bus to the oth ...

interface (

SCSI connector A SCSI connector ( ) is used to connect computer parts that use a system called SCSI to communicate with each other. Generally, two connectors, designated male and female, plug together to form a connection which allows two components, such as a c ...

) *50-pin connector: RJ21X " telco connector" (telephone systems)

References

Electrical signal connectors Signal cables {{Computer-hardware-stub

Applications

See also

References