DEC AUI Cable

From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
Date: Wed Mar 19 17:38:29 2003

> What is DEC AUI Cable? ie: What is it used for, and what kind of wire is
> inside?

AUI = Attachment Unit Interface (IIRC), the interface between an ethernet
controller and the MAU (Media Access Unit). It's the cable for an
ethernet tranceiver, therefore.

At one time ethernet transceivers were not built into the
computer/interface card. They were semi-permanently fixed to the coaxial
cable. And you used an AUI cable to connect the computer to the transceiver.

It's 4 twisted pairs. 3 are identical and carry the 3 transceiver signals
(transmit data, receive data, collision detect). The other pair is
thicker wires (officially) and carries the 12V power supply to the
transceiver.

A few years about I had to make up one of these cables because my PERQ
uses 4-40 screw-down jackposts and not the normal slidelock posts on the
ethernet connectors. Getting a couple of metres of the cable was the
hardest part of the job!

-tony
Received on Wed Mar 19 2003 - 17:38:29 GMT

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