Adapter & Converter

Video interface adapter

Variety is good, but not always easy. This also applies to the various standards for screen interfaces. Anyone who buys a new monitor to connect it to an existing computer is just as familiar with the problem as anyone who wants to display the screen content of their tablet or notebook on a large monitor. One device may have DisplayPort as an output, but the TV has HDMI. And the older device that is still to be used may even have VGA or DVI interfaces. Not in every case does a device or screen have to be replaced in the end. Under the VALUE and ROLINE brands, we offer a variety of converters that allow adaptation between the different interfaces.

Audio, Video & Display USB Adapters

Occasionally it would be good and important to be able to see more and better than the relatively small screen of mobile devices allows. But how to connect large monitors to devices that no longer offer a dedicated video interface? Many, and perhaps soon the vast majority, of such portable devices have only a USB C port. Fortunately, there are now a large number of video or display adapters that allow you to convert from the USB C port of your mobile device to any of the common video interfaces, even from VGA to DVI to HDMI and DisplayPort. The use of these display adapters requires that the USB-C port on your device supports "Alternate Mode" (Alt Mode for short).

Galvanic interface separation

Galvanic isolation

Galvanic isolation is the interruption of the metallic power line between two system components while maintaining the transport of power or data.

Interface

In the IT sector, interfaces are the connection of two or more components via cables and/or plug connections. For this purpose, the data is converted into a mutually understandable form (usually via data protocols) before being transferred to other components. Since the data transfer is usually carried out by means of power cables or conductor paths, these transfer paths are exposed to overvoltage pulses and other interference. In order to create insensitivity, a form of transmission is chosen that works without a power line.

Transmission principles

In this environment, optical or radio transmission methods are usually used for signalling. The WLAN segment can be regarded as a radio method. Optical transmission uses optocouplers or fibre optic cables.

Technical implementation

In order to galvanically separate data cables, coupling elements are inserted into the circuits. This avoids metallic connections between the circuits. These are common in serial cables, USB cables and twisted pair cables in LANs. SMD chips are used here, which are installed on the conductor tracks in the housings to save space. Depending on the design, such adapters must also be supplied with operating voltage. With USB 2.0, the connection must be equipped with 5V 500mA voltage. That is why additional power supplies are used here.

Ferrite cores / ferrites for cables

Ferrite or iron cores have a tremendous potential for preventing electrical interference and are often used in broadcasting equipment, as well as other electrical components or products. Many of these devices would not even be able to be manufactured or function properly in everyday life without the protective properties of a ferrite core, since even in simple private households, especially in conurbations, a large number of sources of interference come into play. Independent of their use as transformers, ferrite cores are particularly well known in connection with computer equipment at the end of many cables, where they are contained in a plastic cylinder or similar and serve to reduce interference. This is particularly important with longer cables that are laid in the wall and must always provide a clean, interference-free picture. A classic example of this is a projector that is controlled via a long VGA cable laid in the wall: without ferrite core(s), judder or noise in the image will quickly occur because the cable is insufficiently protected from the many sources of interference that occur in offices. The increasing use of optical cables made of glass fibres will not overtake the use of ferrite cores in video transmission in the long term. Although these cables are insensitive to interference sources, they are much more expensive and fragile than conventional data cables made of copper. For space reasons, for particularly high resolutions or simultaneous sound transmission, an active, optical cable with HDMI interfaces is much better suited than a conventional VGA cable with ferrite cores. The fibre optic cable is of course also much lighter than its copper and iron counterpart. At SECOMP GmbH, we offer both individual ferrite cores as cable add-ons for your existing installations, as well as cables with integrated ferrite cores for expanding your structures. The individual ferrite cores are available from us with either a 6.5mm or 10mm diameter for the best possible performance of your cables.