Patch Cords and Cables

A patch cord is a length of cable with a connector on each end. We have two different types: banana plug patch cords to connect the DC Power Supply to the breadboard and BNC patch cords to connect the other instruments to each other and to the breadboard interface module.

There are two accessories to increase the flexibility of the patch cords: the BNC to banana adapter and the BNC T connector. The BNC to banana plug adapter allows a BNC cable to be connected to a pair of banana jacks. Note the ground bump on one side of the adapter; this denotes which banana plug prong is connected to the outer (ground) conductor of the BNC connector. The BNC T connector allows two BNC cables to be plugged into the same connector.

There are two dedicated cables that connect the Lab PC to the breadboard. One has several phone plugs on one end to plug into the sound card and an 8-pin DIN connector to plug into J2-1 of the interface module. The other is a 50-pin ribbon cable to connect the interface module to the data acquisition card.