In electrical engineering , a balanced circuit is electronic circuitry for use with a balanced line , or the balanced line itself. Balanced lines are a common method of transmitting many types of electrical signals between two points on two wires. In a balanced line, the two signal lines are of a matched impedance to help ensure that interference , induced in the line, is common-mode and can be removed at the receiving end by circuitry with good common-mode rejection . To maintain the balance, circuit blocks which interface to the line or are connected in the line must also be balanced.
45-511: TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076–3–104. The 2006 revision of the standard extended the characterised performance up to 1000 MHz. The connector has a different footprint from the more common 8P8C connector. TERA
90-546: A centre tap provided) which are carefully balanced to maintain the line balance. Line side and equipment side windings are more useful concepts than the more usual primary and secondary windings when discussing these kinds of transformers. At the sending end the line side winding is the secondary, but at the receiving end the line side winding is the primary. When discussing a two-wire circuit primary and secondary cease to have any meaning at all, since signals are flowing in both directions at once. The equipment side winding of
135-402: A four-pair cable, there would be a total of eight solid wires. Stranded cable uses multiple wires wrapped around each other in each conductor and in a four-pair with seven strands per conductor cable, there would be a total of 56 wires (2 per pair × 4 pairs × 7 strands). Solid core cable is intended for permanently installed runs ( permanent link ). It is less flexible than stranded cable and
180-473: A method called wire transposition , to cancel out the interference. In wire transposition, the wires exchange position once every several poles. In this way, the two wires would receive similar EMI from power lines. This represented an early implementation of twisting, with a twist rate of about four twists per kilometre , or six per mile . Such open-wire balanced lines with periodic transpositions still survive today in some rural areas. Twisted-pair cabling
225-405: A resin to prevent the ingress of moisture which would seriously degrade the insulating properties of the paper insulation. However, such seals made future maintenance and changes more difficult. These cables are no longer made but are still occasionally encountered in old buildings and in various external areas, commonly rural villages. A loaded twisted pair has intentionally added inductance and
270-399: Is a line in which the two wires will carry balanced currents (that is, equal and opposite currents) when balanced (symmetrical) voltages are applied. The condition for balance of lines and circuits will be met, in the case of passive circuitry, if the impedances are balanced. The line and circuit remain balanced, and the benefits of common-mode noise rejection continue to apply, whether or not
315-409: Is a type of communications cable in which two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together for the purposes of improving electromagnetic compatibility . Compared to a single conductor or an untwisted balanced pair , a twisted pair reduces electromagnetic radiation from the pair and crosstalk between neighbouring pairs and improves rejection of external electromagnetic interference . It
360-402: Is a variant of standard ribbon cable in which adjacent pairs of conductors are bonded and twisted together. The twisted pairs are then lightly bonded to each other in a ribbon format. Periodically along the ribbon, there are short sections with no twisting where connectors may be attached using the usual ribbon cable IDC techniques. A solid-core cable uses one solid wire per conductor and in
405-440: Is also a useful interface for broadcast communications technology (BCT). This connector allows for cable sharing, permitting users to integrate video, voice and data services over a single cabling link. This computer networking article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This computer hardware article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Twisted pair Twisted pair cabling
450-425: Is equal so the impedance balance of the line is maintained. While it is not possible to create an isolated drive with op-amp circuitry alone, it is possible to create a floating output. This is important if one leg of the line might become grounded or connected to some other voltage reference. Grounding one leg of the line in the circuit of figure 6 will result in the line voltage being halved since only one op-amp
495-636: Is more prone to failure if repeatedly flexed due to work hardening . Stranded cable is used at patch panels and for connections from wall ports to end devices ( patch cord or drop cable), as it resists cracking of the conductors. Connectors are designed differently for solid core than for stranded. Use of a connector with the wrong cable type can lead to unreliable cabling. Plugs designed for solid and stranded cores are readily available, and some vendors even offer plugs designed for use with both types. The punch-down blocks on patch-panel and wall-port jacks are designed for use with solid core cable. These work via
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#1733085920538540-425: Is now providing signal. To achieve a floating output additional feedback paths are required between the two op-amps resulting in a more complex circuit than figure 6, but still avoiding the expense of a transformer. A floating op-amp output can only float within the limits of the op-amp's supply rails. An isolated output can be achieved without transformers with the addition of opto-isolators . As noted above, it
585-473: Is often grouped into sets of 25 pairs according to a standard 25-pair colour code originally developed by AT&T Corporation . A typical subset of these colours (white/blue, blue/white, white/orange, orange/white) shows up in most UTP cables. The cables are typically made with copper wires measured at 22 or 24 American Wire Gauge (AWG) (0.644 or 0.511 mm²), with the coloured insulation typically made from an insulator such as polyethylene or FEP and
630-482: Is on telegraph lines. Telephone companies converted to balanced circuits , which had the incidental benefit of reducing attenuation , hence increasing range. As electrical power distribution became more commonplace, this measure proved inadequate. Two wires, strung on either side of cross bars on utility poles , shared the route with electrical power lines . Within a few years, the growing use of electricity again brought an increase of interference, so engineers devised
675-445: Is possible to design circuits that are not physically symmetrical but which have equivalent impedances which are symmetrical. A balanced signal is one where the voltages on each wire are symmetrical with respect to ground (or some other reference). That is, the signals are inverted with respect to each other. A balanced circuit is a circuit where the two sides have identical transmission characteristics in all respects. A balanced line
720-413: Is possible to drive a balanced line with a single-ended signal and still maintain the line balance. This is represented in outline in figure 7. The amplifier driving one leg of the line through a resistor is assumed to be an ideal (that is, zero output impedance) single-ended output amp. The other leg is connected from ground through another resistor of the same value. The impedance to ground of both legs
765-410: Is shown in figure 6, other circuitry is possible. Unlike transformer balance, there is no isolation of the circuitry from the line. Each of the two wires is driven by an op amp circuit which are identical except that one is inverting and one is non-inverting. Each one produces an asymmetrical signal individually but together they drive the line with a symmetrical signal. The output impedance of each amp
810-433: Is that the currents induced in each of the two wires are very nearly equal. The twisting ensures that the two wires are on average the same distance from the interfering source and are affected equally. The noise thus produces a common-mode signal which can be cancelled at the receiver by detecting the difference signal only, the latter being the wanted signal. Common-mode rejection starts to fail on untwisted wires when
855-478: Is the same and the line remains balanced. The receiving amplifier still rejects any common-mode noise as it has a differential input. On the other hand, the line signal is not symmetrical. The voltages at the input to the two legs, V + and V − are given by; Where Z in is the input impedance of the line. These are clearly not symmetrical since V − is much smaller than V + . They are not even opposite polarities. In audio applications V −
900-492: The baseband of television signals, UTP is now used in some video applications, primarily in security cameras . As UTP is a balanced transmission line, a balun is needed to connect to unbalanced equipment, for example any using BNC connectors and designed for coaxial cable. Twisted pair cables may incorporate shielding in an attempt to prevent electromagnetic interference. Shielding provides an electrically conductive barrier to attenuate electromagnetic waves external to
945-475: The insulation-displacement method , whereby the device pierces the sides of the insulation and "bites" into the copper conductor to form a connection. Punchdown blocks are used as patch panels or as break-out boxes, for twisted pair cable. Twisted pair has the following useful attributes: Twisted pair has the following limitations: [REDACTED] Media related to Twisted-pair cables at Wikimedia Commons Balanced circuit Balanced lines work because
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#1733085920538990-400: The 1880s electric trams were installed in many cities, which induced noise into these circuits. In some countries, the tram companies were held responsible for disruption to existing telegraph lines and had to pay for remedial work. For new installations, however, it was necessary to protect against existing trams from the outset. Interference on telephone lines is even more disruptive than it
1035-429: The advent of active circuitry were the only way. In the telephony application they are known as repeating coils . Transformers have the additional advantage of completely isolating (or "floating") the line from earth and earth loop currents , which are an undesirable possibility with other methods. The side of the transformer facing the line, in a good quality design, will have the winding laid in two parts (often with
1080-400: The applied signal is itself balanced (symmetrical), always provided that the generator producing that signal maintains the impedance balance of the line. There are a number of ways that a balanced line can be driven and the signal detected. In all methods, for the continued benefit of good noise immunity, it is essential that the driving and receiving circuit maintain the impedance balance of
1125-554: The balance. A balanced circuit will normally show a symmetry of its components about a horizontal line midway between the two conductors (example in figure 3). This is different from what is normally meant by a symmetrical circuit, which is a circuit showing symmetry of its components about a vertical line at its midpoint. An example of a symmetrical circuit is shown in figure 2. Circuits designed for use with balanced lines will often be designed to be both balanced and symmetrical as shown in figure 4. The advantages of symmetry are that
1170-494: The benefits of twisting. For this reason, it is commonly specified that, at least for cables containing small numbers of pairs, the twist rates must differ. In contrast to shielded or foiled twisted pair (typically S/FTP or F/UTP cable shielding ), UTP cable is not surrounded by any shielding. UTP is the primary wire type for telephone usage and is very common for computer networking . The earliest telephones used telegraph lines which were single-wire earth return circuits. In
1215-517: The cable. UTP is also the most common cable used in computer networking . Modern Ethernet , the most common data networking standard, can use UTP cables, with increasing data rates requiring higher specification variants of the UTP cable. Twisted-pair cabling is often used in data networks for short and medium-length connections because of its relatively lower costs compared to optical fibre and coaxial cable . As UTP cable bandwidth has improved to match
1260-416: The common use of polyethylene and other plastics for insulation, telephone twisted pair cable was insulated with waxed paper or cotton with a wax coating applied to the copper. The overall sheath of this type of cable was usually lead. This style of cable came into use in the late 19th century shortly after the invention of the telephone. The cable termination in termination boxes were sealed with molten wax or
1305-441: The interfering noise from the surrounding environment induces equal noise voltages into both wires. By measuring the voltage difference between the two wires at the receiving end, the original signal is recovered while the noise is rejected. Any inequality in the noise induced in each wire is an imbalance and will result in the noise not being fully rejected. One requirement for balance is that both wires are an equal distance from
1350-428: The interfering source remains uniform, or nearly so, over the distance of a single twist, the induced noise will remain common-mode. The twist rate (also called pitch of the twist, usually defined in twists per metre ) makes up part of the specification for a given type of cable. When nearby pairs have equal twist rates, the same conductors of the different pairs may repeatedly lie next to each other, partially undoing
1395-425: The length of the cable. Pioneered by Belden , it is intended to help assure configuration consistency during and after installation. One key benefit is that the noise immunity performance of the cable can be protected despite potentially rough handling. The enhanced performance may be unnecessary and bonding reduces the flexibility of the cable and makes it prone to failure where it is flexed. A twisted ribbon cable
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1440-464: The line. It is also essential that the receiving circuit detects only differential signals and rejects common-mode signals. It is not essential (although it is often the case) that the transmitted signal is balanced, that is, symmetrical about ground. The conceptually simplest way to connect to a balanced line is through transformers at each end shown in figure 5. Transformers were the original method of making such connections in telephony, and before
1485-407: The noise source is close to the signal wires; the closer wire will couple with the noise more strongly and the receiver will be unable to eliminate it. This problem is especially apparent in telecommunication cables where pairs in the same cable lie next to each other for many miles. Twisting the pairs counters this effect as on each half twist the wire nearest to the noise source is exchanged. Provided
1530-430: The noise source. This is often achieved by placing the wires as close together as possible and twisting them together. Another requirement is that the impedance to ground (or to whichever reference point is being used by the difference detector) is the same for both conductors at all points along the length of the line. If one wire has a higher impedance to ground it will tend to have a higher noise induced, destroying
1575-441: The same impedance is presented at both ports and that the circuit has the same effect on signals travelling in both directions on the line. Balance and symmetry are usually associated with reflected horizontal and vertical physical symmetry respectively as shown in figures 1 to 4. However, physical symmetry is not a necessary requirement for these conditions. It is only necessary that the electrical impedances are symmetrical. It
1620-600: The shield. The shield also provides a conduction path by which induced currents can be circulated and returned to the source via a ground reference connection. Such shielding can be applied to individual pairs or to a collection of pairs. Shielding may be foil or braided wire. When shielding is applied to a collection of pairs, it is usually referred to as screening, but usage among vendors and authors in applying such words as screening , shielding , and STP (shielded twisted pair) can be subject to variability. ISO/IEC 11801 :2002 (Annex E) attempts to internationally standardize
1665-436: The shielding is conductive, it may also serve as a path to ground. A foil-shielded, twisted pair cable may have an integrally incorporated grounding wire called a drain wire which makes electrical contact with the shield. The purpose of the drain wire is for easy connection to terminals which are usually designed for connection of round wires. Common shield construction types include: An early example of shielded twisted-pair
1710-411: The total package covered in a polyethylene jacket. For urban outdoor telephone cables containing hundreds or thousands of pairs, the cable is divided into small but identical bundles. Each bundle consists of twisted pairs that have different twist rates, as pairs having the same twist rate within the cable can still experience some degree of crosstalk . The bundles are in turn twisted together to make up
1755-426: The transformer does not need to be so carefully balanced. In fact, one leg of the equipment side can be earthed without effecting the balance on the line as shown in figure 5. With transformers the sending and receiving circuitry can be entirely unbalanced with the transformer providing the balancing. Active balance is achieved using differential amplifiers at each end of the line. An op-amp implementation of this
1800-465: The various shielding designations for twisted pair (TP) cables using an explicit two-part abbreviation in the form of x/xTP , where the first x indicates the shielding for the overall cable and the second x indicates the shielding for individual pairs or quads, where each x can be: Shielded Cat 5e , Cat 6/6A , and Cat 8/8.1 cables typically have F/UTP construction, while shielded Cat 7/7 A and Cat 8.2 cables use S/FTP construction. Because
1845-585: Was IBM STP-A, which is a two-pair 150 ohm S/FTP cable defined in 1985 by the IBM Cabling System specifications, and used with Token Ring or FDDI networks . Before digital communication and Ethernet became widespread there was no international standard for telephone cable. Standards were set at a national level. For instance, in the UK the General Post Office specified CW1293 and CW1308 cables. CW1308
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1890-464: Was a similar specification to the earlier CW1293 but with an improved colour code. CW1293 used mostly solid colours on the cores making it difficult to identify the pair it was twisted with without stripping back a large amount of sheath. To solve this problem. CW1308 has narrow rings of the paired colour printed over the base colour. Both cables are a similar standard to category 3 cable. Cables with categories 3 through 7 have 4 twisted pairs. Prior to
1935-443: Was formerly common practice on telecommunication lines. The added inductors are known as load coils and reduce attenuation for voiceband frequencies but increase it on higher frequencies. Load coils reduce distortion in voiceband on very long lines. In this context a line without load coils is referred to as an unloaded line. A bonded twisted pair is a construction variant in which the two wires of each pair are bonded together for
1980-486: Was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1881. By 1900, the entire American telephone network was either twisted pair or open wire with transposition to guard against interference. Today, most of the millions of kilometres of twisted pairs in the world are outdoor landlines, owned and maintained by telephone companies, used for voice service. Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables are found in many Ethernet networks and telephone systems. For indoor telephone applications, UTP
2025-439: Was invented by Alexander Graham Bell . For additional noise immunity, twisted-pair cabling may be shielded . Cable with shielding is known as shielded twisted pair ( STP ) and without as unshielded twisted pair ( UTP ). A twisted pair can be used as a balanced line , which as part of a balanced circuit can greatly reduce the effect of noise currents induced on the line by coupling of electric or magnetic fields. The idea
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