This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2006)

10BASE2 cable end Terminator.

Electrical termination of a signal involves providing a terminator at the end of a wire or cable to prevent an RF signal from being reflected back from the end, causing interference. The terminator is placed at the end of a transmission line or daisy chain bus (such as in SCSI), designed to match impedance and hence minimize signal reflections.

Types of terminators

Simple resistor

Often the terminator is a resistor. There are also active terminators which contain an electric circuit to perform the same basic function.

Dummy loads

Main article: Dummy load

Dummy loads are commonly used in HF to EHF frequency circuits.

50 ohm

10BASE2 networks absolutely must have proper termination with a 50 ohm BNC terminator. If the bus network is not properly terminated, too much power will be reflected, causing all of the computers on the bus to lose network connectivity.

75 ohm

A terminating resistor for a television cable is often in the form of a cap, threaded to screw onto an F connector.

Other meaning

Electrical termination sometimes refers to manufacturing operations which connect wires together. This includes crimping, soldering, and related operations. See electrical connector.

This electronics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to telecommunication is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.