Interconnect products and systems must be designed to ensure that such equipment will function reliably. Many interconnects have very specific requirements and features depending on their primary function, making them ideal for some applications but completely unsuitable for others. A connector intended for use on an oil rig to power equipment on the exposed outside platform must be mechanically strong, designed for rough handling, and impervious to oil, saltwater, and extreme temperatures, but wouldn’t be expected to be used in a motor vehicle or on a commercial jet. These applications have their
own specific sets of conditions that require other features and design criteria.
Many connectors are anything but specific in their use. The modular jack, the D-sub, and the USB may have been created for a specific use; the modular jack, or RJ (“registered jack”) connector was initially designed as an inexpensive interface for telephones, for example. But RJs have been adapted for use in thousands of different applications in multiple markets. The RJ connector can now be found in virtually every type of equipment imaginable,
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