Jack (connector)
In
electronics, a
jack is a
socket. In some cases it is arbitrary which of a pair of mating connectors is the plug, and which the socket (see
plug). The term jack occurs in several related terms:
- In the telephone jack of old-style manual telephone exchanges, which is the socket fitting the original 1/4" jack plug. Also known as a phone jack.
- The RJ in RJ11, RJ45 and similar, stands for registered jack. See RJ-XX.
- In the name RCA jack, also known as a phono jack or 1/4" phono jack.
When used with a size, the term jack refers to the socket that matches the corresponding size of jack plug. For example:
- 6.5mm jack
- 1/4" jack
- 3.5mm miniature jack
- 2.5mm subminiature jack
A
headphone jack or
earphone jack is normally one of the three standard sizes of jack, but the term could refer to any socket used for this purpose.