What does STP Stand for in Wire and Cable?

I believe that many people only know the basic knowledge of wires and cables, but they don’t know much about the meaning of the letters. What I’m bringing you today is what STP stands for in wires and cables. I believe you will understand after reading it.

wire and cable stp

STP is a shielded twisted pair (full name: Shielded Twisted Pair, STP), which is a copper twisted pair widely used for data transmission. Twisted pair can be divided into two types: unshielded twisted pair UTP and shielded twisted pair STP. In terms of physical structure, shielded twisted pair has more full shielding layer and/or pair shielding layer than unshielded twisted pair cable. Through shielding, attenuation and noise are reduced, thus providing a cleaner electronic signal, and more Long cable lengths, but shielded twisted pair is more expensive, heavier and harder to install.

STP cable classification

According to different shielding methods, shielded twisted pair cables are divided into two types, namely SFTP and FTP. SFTP refers to double shielded twisted pair, while FTP refers to shielded twisted pair with overall shielding. It is important to note that shielding only works if the entire cable is shielded and properly grounded at both ends. Therefore, the entire system is required to be shielded devices, including cables, sockets, jumpers and distribution frames, etc. At the same time, the building needs to have a good grounding system. But in actual construction, it is difficult to ground all the ground. Under normal and good grounding conditions, the ability of the shielded system to resist external coupling noise is 100-1000 times that of the unshielded system. Even if the shielding layer is not grounded or the grounding is poor, the resistance of the shielded wiring system is still comparable to that of the unshielded wiring system. More than 10 times.

STP wire and cable installation

The outer layer of the shielded twisted pair cable is wrapped with aluminum foil to reduce the radiation, but it cannot completely eliminate the radiation. The shielded twisted pair cable is relatively expensive, and it is more difficult to install than the unshielded twisted pair cable. It must be equipped with special connections and construction techniques to support the shielding function. When installing shielded twisted-pair wires, the shielding layer of the shielded twisted-pair wires must be grounded, but shielded twisted-pair wires provide a convenient, economical, and effective solution in physical areas with a lot of electromagnetic interference.