T1 Ethernet can transmit power and 1Gbit/s data over a single pair cable up to 40m long.
“Traditional RJ45 Ethernet connectors require two wire pairs for 100Mbit/s Fast Ethernet and four wire pairs for Gigabit Ethernet, and don’t provide a power supply,” according to the Kyocera. “They are also quick and easy to install and maintain, and reduce system complexity by eliminating gateways, analog interfaces, bus systems, and other proprietary field-level systems.”
There are three parts to Kyocera’s ‘6780-000’ series, which is designed to IEC 63171-6:
- 20 6780 002 000 006 – a PCB-mount jack connector
- 20 6780 002 020 xxx – pre-terminated 22AWG cables in 1, 3, 5 or 10m length
- A floating wire-to-wire coupler for longer spans.
These have more casual names in Kyocera literature, that all include ‘T1’, ‘Industrial’ and ‘IP20’, but written in various orders on different documents.
The PCB-mount receptacle measures ~15 x 10mm and has through-hole mechanical anchors and surface-mount terminations.
Separate insulation-displacement un-terminated cable end connectors also exist.
The above parts have an IP20 ingress rating and, for those needing more, the company has industrial ‘M8’ and ‘M12’ style IP65 or IP67 T1 Ethernet connectors in the pipeline.
As well as IEC 63171-6, 6780-000 connectors are designed to IEEE 802.3, and are rated for 1Gbit/s up to 40m or 10Mbit/s up to 1,000m.
Operation is over -40°C to +85°C, up to 4A (60°C max), 60Vdc and 1,000 mating cycles.
Proof voltages are 1,000Vdc contact-to-contact and 2,250Vdc contact-to-shield.
“Kyocera is a member of the Single-Pair Ethernet Industrial Partner Network and, as such, is committed to the establishment of an single-pair Ethernet ecosystem based on global industry standards for transmission protocols and connectivity components,” said company marketing manager Marc Actis.
Mouser, DigiKey, Farnell, Future, TTI, Arrow, Avnet and Rutronik are stocking the parts.
Applications in industrial automation, sensor and actuator networks, smart grids, and transportation systems are foreseen.
This Kyocera web page is a good starting point for the connectors
For those wishing to experiment with single-pair Ethernet, Arduino has released an add-on SPE ‘shield’ for its Uno R4, although it only implements the slower 10BASE-T1S.
