ControlNet Connectors

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone has ever tried using a 3rd party BNC connector for ControlNet. I was shopping at Fry's (huge computer store in CA) the other night and came across some connectors that looked similar if not identical to what AB sells. Looked like they had some T's and terminating resistors as well.

I'm probably going to pick some of these up and see if they work since they're so cheap.

I'm superstitious and prefer to go with AB branded parts when possible.

I know some of the BNCs AB sold (series A) were made by Amphenol, but I don't know the difference between series A and B. Keep us in the loop.

I believe that RA (or even someone else may have done it) has published the circuit that is embedded into the taps.

Just bare BNC connectors do not have the necessary circuitry to be used (other than a BNC barrel connector).

I know that the 3rd party connectors are much more susceptible to noise and vibration. We used these on some progressive presses years ago and ended up replacing them all with AB. It depends on your application.

Connectors are fine, as long as they are decent quality RG6 BNC connectors.

You seem, however, to be talking about the T-Taps. That is another story, and you should use the official ones. It's only "Cost Saving" until your first problem. Seriously, why skimp? ControlNet is supposed to be an UNGROUNDED installation, for one thing. BNC-T's are typically not ground isolated.

Sure, they will work, and I use them for testing on the bench, but in the field? I don't feel like being responsible for shutdowns, or having to troubleshoot cabling issues.

Then again, maybe you like tracking down odd, intermittent problems.

Don't skimp on the installation, it will come back to haunt you. Installed correctly, Controlnet, or any other network for that matter, will work like a charm. But improper media installation probably causes 95% of network problems and is what gives networked I/O a bad name

I use these http://www.smarthome.com/849323/BNC-RG6-Compression-Connector-for-Coax-25-Pack-201-167/p.aspx

The compression type tend to be easier to install than the ab type which is 3 piece i think.

These are very rugged. I have about 80 installs in the plant.

As others have said as far as the taps go ab.

ControlNet taps are not just copper Tees; they have a small capacitor and an inductor inside so that they "tap" off just the right amount of signal. The droplines are precisely 1 meter long and have ferrites at 1/3 wavelength to get the best signal right at the end of the drop.

The design is no secret; it's part of the ControlNet standard. But you'd be hard-pressed to build ControlNet taps yourself unless you have an assembly and wire molding shop in your garage.

If you try to build a ControlNet for your factory using BNC Tees instead of ControlNet taps, poor functioning of the network is inevitable.