why haven't ethernet connectors changed?

Thu Dec 20 20:01:38 UTC 2012

On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 2:39 PM, Andrew Gallo <akg1330 at gmail.com> wrote:
> The connector is to ubiquitous to change.  Other vendors have addressed
> the space issue by not supporting Ethernet, but forcing the use of a USB
> dongle (Macbook Air comes to mind).

Thin net (50 ohm coax w/ BNC connectors) was ubiquitous once too. RJ45
with twisted pair had little trouble displacing it because it was much
better.

Every alternative I've seen to the RJ45 connector has been deficient
in some major way. Hard to field terminate. Pulls loose too easily.
Breaks if you look at it wrong. Etc.

On the other hand, I wonder if it would be worth asking the 802.3
committee look at defining a single-pair ethernet standard that would
interoperate with a normal 4-pair switch. So, you'd have two
conductors into some kind of 2P2C micro-RJ connector on one end of the
cable but into a full RJ45 connector on the other. A single-pair pair
cable would run at best at a quarter of the speed of a four pair cable
but for something like the Raspberry Pi that's really not a problem.

Regards,
Bill Herrin

-- 
William D. Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
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