Maintenance And Management Best Practices - SMART Board 4000 Series Installation Best Practices

CHAPTER 5
CABLES AND CONNECTORS
Keep cables as short as possible. Shorter cables are less prone to signal degradation. If
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cables are too long, noise, rolling lines, video drop-out or other adverse effects can result,
especially with analog video signals at higher display resolutions.
NOTE
For guidance on adapting and extending connections, see Chapter 6: Cable accessories on
page 61.
Use cables that feature end-to-end shielding. Shielding reduces the risk of external
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electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Use cables that are designed for flexibility and durability. Such cables are:
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Coated with rubber, silicone or similar flexible materials rather than plastic or similar,
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less-flexible materials
Made with stranded wire and a high per-wire strand count rather than a solid-core wire
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When possible, use connection cables with larger internal wires (a larger diameter) to reduce
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signal reduction or loss over longer distances. This diameter for video and audio cables is
typically 22–24 AWG, and 12–16 AWG for speaker cables. Network and USB cables are
typically in the range of 22–26 AWG.
TIP
Use the American Wire Gauge (AWG) reference numbers to determine the size of the
cable's internal wires.
Avoid cables with very large ferrite beads. A ferrite bead that seems conspicuously large in
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proportion to the diameter of the cable can indicate the ferrite bead is compensating for
excessive interference that results from poor cable construction or excessive length.
If you install terminators on a cable yourself, test the cable for correct connections and
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continuity. Such installations are more common for analog audio, RS-232 and Ethernet cables.
Avoid using poor-quality passive (unpowered) digital cables. These types of cables can also
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result in noise, video drop-out and other adverse effects, especially with higher display
resolutions.

Maintenance and management best practices

Use the following guidance to help manage cables and maintain them in good working order:
Keep the cables in good condition. Secure them out of the way of high-traffic areas, don't
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bend them beyond their critical bend radius, and avoid excessively disconnecting and
reconnecting the cable. If frequent connections and disconnections of the cable are
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