Illinois Capacitor (IC) is a leading manufacturer of high performance capacitors including; aluminum electrolytic, metalized film, power film and supercapacitors. All IC products meet the industry’s highest quality standards. As capacitor technology changes, Illinois Capacitor remains dedicated to providing leading-edge capacitors in a broad range of values and offering engineers more options to enhance performance and lower costs.

Today, Illinois Capacitor is pioneering EDLC technology. Known as “supercapacitors,” Electric Double-Layer Capacitors (EDLC) provides the highest available capacitance values per unit volume and the greatest energy density of all capacitors. For example, Illinois Capacitor’s DCN series of supercapacitors offers capacitance values up to 3,500 Farads in a very small size. Other advantages of supercapacitors include; long life, low ESR, low heating levels during charge and discharge, high output power and improved safety.

Thanks in part to EDLC technology; utilization of Illinois Capacitor products continues to grow across several markets including; the wireless communications, electronic power technology, energy management, solar and wind power markets.

CIT Relay & Switch manufactures a wide variety of parts that serve the automotive, telecommunications, security, industrial and HVAC markets. CIT’s commodities include both thru-hole and surface mount parts. With years of experience in this market, CIT is able to provide its customers with high-quality products, quick turn-around production and cost effective pricing.

CIT offers relays with multiple contact configurations and switching capacity. For automotive applications, CIT now offers the fused A18 Series relays. The A18 Series has switching capacity up to 40A, accepts industry standard size automotive bladed fuses and has an LED indicator and metal mounting tab with a socket available.

CIT’s switches include, but are not limited to; pushbutton, tactile, toggle and rocker switches. CIT offers its users illuminating options for their pushbutton, tactile and rocker switches. CIT’s RW Series rocker switches offer both single throw and double pole double throw in eight different functions. The RW Series comes in three housing colors (white, black and grey) and has 14 different actuator colors. This series is highly versatile and can be customized to fit nearly any application.

Amphenol RF, a division of Amphenol Corporation, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of interconnect products. Aside from Connectors, Amphenol RF also manufactures Cable Assemblies, Attenuators and RF Switches. For over 50 years, Amphenol RF has served the Automotive, Broadband, Wireless LAN/RFID, Wireless Infrastructure, Military Aerospace and Instrumentation markets. For the purposes of this blog, we will explore the considerations that need to be taken into account when choosing a connector.

Connectors come in several different styles and series. In order to find the most appropriate connector for your application, the most important factors to take into consideration are:

1. The Cable
2. The Frequency
3. The Power and Voltage

It is imperative that the size of the diameter of the connector should closely match the diameter of the cable being used. Properly matching the size of the connector and the diameter of the cable has a direct correlation to its performance. When the two are closely matched the application will perform best, whereas the greater the difference in size/diameter, the worse the performance. Secondly, closely matching the diameter of the connector and cable will minimize reflections.

The Frequency also plays an important role in which style of connector you should choose for your application. “Push-on” or “bayonet” style connectors should be used for low frequencies (typically below 6 Ghz) whereas, “threaded” connectors should be used for high performance, low noise applications.

Finally, power and voltage should be considered when choosing a connector. For example: for high power applications, a large diameter connector should be used.

For over 90 years, Cooper Bussmann has manufactured fuses for the Electrical, Electronics, Wireless, Transportation and Consumer markets. Today, Copper Bussmann sets the standard in circuit protection. As a franchised distributor of Cooper Bussmann, R&J Components Corporation and their experienced product specialists can offer a wide variety of Cooper Bussmann products to help you with your application. Passive components, such as fuses, remain one of R&J Components’ strengths and we will work to cross reference other manufacturer part numbers and offer alternates in order to save you time and money.