Types Of Cables Auto Electrical Cable Suppliers Offer

Types Of Cables Auto Electrical Cable Suppliers Offer And Their Uses

Walking into an electrical cable supplier shop or visiting their online store presents you with many cable types, which can quickly get you confused. However, cables shouldn’t be a complex subject. It’s critical to understand the features and uses of the different ones, especially if you’re doing the wiring for your house.

This way, you’re in a position to instruct the electricians on what to do, or at least keep an eye on them to ensure they’re doing the right thing. Having said that, below are the most common types of cables you’ll find at most electrical suppliers’ shops:

Alarm security cables

With the relatively high crime rates in most parts of the world, security equipment is a must-have for homes and business premises. And as experts claim, the actual equipment is only as good as the cable used to wire it up.

Alarm security cables come in different cores, the most popular being 4, 6, 8, and 12. The suitable one for your application depends on the number of devices, type of sensor, and cable run length. Essentially, security alarm cables are used for the following applications:

Smoke alarm systems
Intruder or burglar alarm systems
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
Single-line telephones
Fire alarm systems
Sound and intercom systems
Power-limited controls

TPS Cables

In full, they’re known as thermoplastic sheathed cables. They consist of multiple pure copper cores insulated with colour-coded polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials plus the earth wire, which may or may not be individually insulated. And another toughened sheath encloses all the cores into one piece. The cores may be single solid or stranded.

They’re used in millions of Australian homes and business premises for wiring. Thus, you can’t miss them in any electrical cable suppliers Perth store. Here’s a brief breakdown of typical applications of the different sizes of TPS cables:

5mm²: Used for low power lighting and security alarm circuits
5mm²: Mostly used for socket circuits, but can also be used for ring circuits
4mm²: Used for power wiring and, air conditioning circuits, dishwashing machines, etc.
6mm²: Mainly used for cooker units. Also recommended for applications that present fire risks, for example, buildings with toxic fumes or high humidity.
10mm²: Used for high power equipment, such as electric furnace (1)

SDI Cables

SDI stands for serial digital interface, one of the standards used to transmit audio and video signals over long distances. You can use SDI cables to connect equipment like recorders, TV set-top boxes, vision mixers, computers, monitors, and automobile audio-visual systems. That’s why automotive electrical connectors suppliers stock extensive ranges of these cables.

They’re primarily preferable to other cable types, such as the HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), and VGA (Video Graphics Array), because of their ability to transmit audio and video signals over long distances, up to 300ft, or even more if you add repeaters and amplifiers to the system.

Speaker cables

This is another common cable type available in virtually all auto electrical cable suppliers’ stores. Principally, speaker cables connect loudspeakers to amplifiers. The copper wire used in the core features three vital properties: capacitance, resistance, and inductance. These allow the effective transmission of sound without losing its power and quality. The ends are usually either banana or spade plugs, which quickly plug into the speaker terminals and ensure a solid connection that eliminates the risk of shorting.

Data cables

Data cables are predominantly used to transfer electronic information from one point to another. They’re primarily associated with computers. A good example is the Local Area Network (LAN) cable, which allows the exchange of documents between different computers. Another common name for it is the Ethernet cable used to link the PC to a router for internet access.

Note that most data cables are specifically designed for particular devices. Using a given cable for the wrong purpose may result in hardware issues. So, inquire keenly with trustworthy electrical suppliers Perth to get the suitable cable for your intended use. (2)

Coaxial cables

Coaxial cables comprise of a copper conductor at the core, followed by dielectric plastic insulation, braided metal mesh that prevents signal disruption through the movement of electromagnetic interference (EMI) into and out of the cable, and finally, a protective plastic jacket.

They’re used for lossless video transmission, high-definition TV, CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) systems, and transmitting internet signals. Their main upside is that they’re less affected by EMI, making the video and audio signals premium quality. (3)

Conclusion

The list of electrical cable types goes on. Aside from the above, you’ll also come across figure 8 cables, orange circular cables, XLPE (Cross-linked Polyethylene) cables, armoured cables, halogen-free cables, solar cables, and many others. All these have unique features best suited for their particular applications. You can find all these at reliable electrical suppliers Townsville local or online stores. Make sure you liaise with the sellers to get the appropriate cable for your current project.

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