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Abbreviations & Symbols

Here is a list of abbreviations and symbols, with their meanings, that you may come across on our website.

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Numbers & Symbols

A

  • A – Ampere or Amps (basic unit of electrical current flow)
  • ABN – Australian Business Number (an 11 digit number allotted by the Australian Business Registry to identify a business or organisation)
  • ABS – Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (a form of plastic)
  • AC – Alternating Current (voltage alternating from positive to negative)
  • Accs – Accessories
  • AC/DC – Alternating Current/Direct Current
  • A/C Head – Audio Control Head in a VCR (reads and/or writes audio and tape speed control pulses)
  • Ah – Amp Hours (rate of current flow for 1 hour in Amps)
  • AI – Artificial Intelligence (being the ability of powerful computers to emulate and perform tasks in line and associated with human intelligence, and ultimately having potential autonomy)
  • AM – Amplitude Modulation (mode of radio transmission with audio modulation)
  • Approx – Approximately (roughly)
  • Assy – Assembly (components gathered together for a common purpose)
  • AUD or AU$ – Australian Dollars
  • A/V – Audio/Visual (audio and video combined)
  • AVS or AV/S – Audio & Video cable with S-Video connector

B

  • BNC – Bayonet Neill-Concelman or British Naval Connector
  • BP – Brass Pulley (pertaining to motors)

C

  • CCD – Charged Coupled Device (pertaining to camera image sensors)
  • CCW – Counter Clockwise (refers to the rotational direction of motors)
  • CD – Compact Disc Format
  • CD-ROM – Compact Disc-Read Only Memory Format
  • CED – Capacitance Electronic Disc Format (uncommon type of Video Disc)
  • C-Mount – Cine Mount (type of screw-on camera lens mount)
  • CRT – Cathode Ray Tube (old style TV picture tube)
  • CW – Clockwise (refers to the rotational direction of motors)

D

  • dB – Decibel (unit of intensity of sound)
  • DC – Direct Current (positive and negative polarity as in batteries)
  • Diam – Diameter (the width of something round or cylindrical)
  • DLP – Digital Light Processing (in reference to projectors)
  • DRPS – Digital Random Program Selector (as seen on cassette players)
  • DTV – Digital Television
  • DVD – Digital Versatile Disc Format
  • DVD-R – Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable Format
  • DVD-RW – Digital Versatile Disc-Rewritable Format
  • DVR – Digital Video Recorder

E

  • eg – For example
  • EHT or EHV – Extra High Tension or Voltage (usually describes voltages over 1,000 volts)
  • EM – Electromagnetic (refers to the waves (or their quanta, photons) of the electromagnetic field, propagating (radiating) through space-time, carrying electromagnetic radiant energy)
  • EMC – Electromagnetic Compatibility
  • EMI – Electromagnetic Interference
  • EMR – Electromagnetic Radiation
  • EP – Extended Play (mode of recording and playback)
  • etc – Etcetera (and other similar things)
  • ex – From a previous place or use
  • EXT – Extension (extended length)

F

  • FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
  • FET – Field-Effect Transistor (type of semiconductor)
  • FH – Distance from Face of Head to mounting holes on audio tape heads
  • FM – Frequency Modulation (mode of audio modulation in radio transmission)

G

  • g – Product weight in Grams
  • gcm, g-cm or g/cm – Grams per centimeter (metric unit of torque. 1 g-cm is equal to 9.80665E-5 Newton meter)
  • GHz – Gigahertz (A: A unit of measurement for alternating current (AC) or electromagnetic (EM) wave frequencies equal to 1,000,000,000 Hz. B: When referring to a computer processor or CPU, GHz is a clock frequency, also known as a clock rate or clock speed, representing a cycle of time)

H

  • HD – Distance between Mounting Holes on audio tape heads
  • HDD – Hard Disc Drive
  • HDMI – Hi-Definition Multimedia Interface
  • HF – High Frequency (radio frequency band between 3 and 30MHz)
  • HH – Head Height of audio tape heads
  • HiFi or Hi-Fi – High Fidelity
  • Hi8 – Type of Video Cassette
  • HO – Hose Only (no end fittings attached)
  • HQ – High Quality (mode of recording and playback)
  • HW – Head Width of audio tape heads
  • Hz – Hertz (Cycles) (basic unit of frequency)

I

  • IC – Integrated Circuit (microchip with many electronic components)
  • I/D – Inside Diameter (inside width of something round or cylindrical)
  • ie – "For example" or "in other words"
  • I/O – Input/Output
  • IR – Infrared (part of the EMR spectrum with a longer wavelength than visible light)

K

  • K – Kilo (x1,000)
  • Kg – Kilograms (1,000 grams) (metric unit of weight)
  • kHz – Kilohertz (1,000 cycles) (unit of frequency)
  • KΩ – 1,000 Ohms (one thousand ohms or 1 kiloohm) (unit of resistance)

L

  • LCD – Liquid Crystal Display (a flat panel display commonly used in TVs and Computer Monitors)
  • LED or LEDs – Light Emitting Diodes (type of light emitting semiconductors)
  • Li-ion – Lithium Ion (type of rechargeable battery)
  • Loc – Our store or warehouse Stock Location reference number
  • LP – Long Play (mode of recording and playback)

M

  • M – Meters or Metres (metric unit of length)
  • mA – Milliamp (unit of electrical current flow, 1mA = 1,000th of an Amp)
  • MAC – Apple Macintosh
  • mAh – Milliamp Hours (rate of current flow for 1 hour in Milliamps)
  • MC – Moving Coil (phono or record player pickup type)
  • MHz – Megahertz is a unit of alternating current (AC) or electromagnetic (EM) wave frequency equal to one million hertz (1,000,000Hz)
  • Misc – Miscellaneous (a mixture of various things)
  • mm – Millimeters (metric unit of length, 1mm = 1,000th of a Meter or Metre)
  • MM – Moving Magnet (phono or record player pickup (cartridge) type)
  • MOS FET – Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor
  • mV – Millivolt (unit of electrical potential, 1mV = 1,000th of a Volt)
  • MΩ – 1,000,000 Ohms (one million ohms or one megohm)

N

  • N/C – Normally Closed (refers to relay and reed switch contacts in a non-excited position)
  • ND – Neutral Density (type of camera lens filter for prevention of overexposure)
  • Ni-Cd – Nickel Cadmium (type of rechargeable battery)
  • Ni-MH – Nickel Metal Hydride (type of rechargeable battery)
  • NLA – No Longer Available (product has been discontinued by manufacturer or supplier)
  • N-m – Newton Meter (unit of torque, 1 N-m = 10197.1621298 g-cm)
  • N/O – Normally Open (refers to relay and reed switch contacts in a non-excited position)
  • NOS – New Old Stock (a new item which has been in stock for some years)
  • *NP – No Pulley on motor shaft
  • NP – Non Polarised (refers to electrolytic capacitors without any positive or negative polarisation)
  • NPN – Transistor semiconductor type (N-type P-type N-type semiconductor junction)
  • NT – New Technology (Windows NT), a 32-bit operating system that supports preemptive multitasking
  • NTSC – National Television System Committee (TV system)

O

  • O/D – Outside Diameter (the outside width of something round or cylindrical)

P

  • PAL – Phase Alternating Line (TV system)
  • PC – Personal Computer
  • PCB – Printed Circuit Board (electronic circuit board)
  • PIR – Passive Infrared (an electronic sensor that measures infrared (IR) light radiating from objects in its field of view, as in alarm motion detectors)
  • PNP – Transistor semiconductor type (P-type N-type P-type semiconductor junction)
  • P.O. BOX – Post Office Box
  • PVR – Personal Video Recorder (video recording format)
  • PWB – Printed Wiring Board (electronic circuit board)

Q

  • QTY – Quantity (number of items or products in stock or available to be ordered)

R

  • RCA – Radio Corporation of America (type of A/V plug)
  • RF – Radio Frequency
  • RFI – Radio Frequency Interference ( the conduction or radiation of radio frequency energy that causes an electronic or electrical device to produce noise that interferes with the function of an adjacent device)
  • RGB – Red Green Blue (type of I/O connection)
  • R/P – Record Playback (usually associated with audio heads)
  • RPM – Revolutions Per Minute (rotational speed of motors)
  • RS-232C – Serial data connection for communication between computers and related devices

S

  • SCART – Standard Audio Video TV Connector (Euro Connector)
  • SECAM – Electronic Color System with Memory (French: Sequentiel couleur a memoire) (TV system)
  • SMC – Surface Mount Component (an electronic component soldered to the surface of a circuit board)
  • SP – Standard Play (mode of recording and playback)
  • STB – Set Top Box (digital set top TV receiver box)
  • S-VHS – Super Video Home System video cassette format
  • S-VHS-C – Super Video Home System-Compact video cassette format
  • S-VIDEO – Separate Video and Y/C (luminance & chrominance)
  • SYNC – Synchronisation (the operation or activity of two or more things at the same time or rate)

T

  • TBA – To Be Advised
  • Tech – Technical
  • TV – Television

U

  • UHF – Ultra High Frequency (radio band frequency from 300MHz to 3GHz)
  • USB – Universal Serial Bus (an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply between personal computers and their peripheral devices)
  • USD or US$ – American (USA) Dollars
  • UV – Ultraviolet (means "beyond violet", violet being the colour of the highest frequencies of visible light. Ultraviolet has a higher frequency than violet light)

V

  • V – Volt (basic unit of electrical potential)
  • V1, V2, V3, V4, V5 etc – Denotes different versions of a product.
  • VCR – Video Cassette Recorder
  • VHF – Very High Frequency (radio band frequency from 30 to 300MHz)
  • VHS – Video Home System Cassette Format
  • VHS-C – Video Home System-Compact Cassette Format

W

  • W – Watt (basic unit of electrical power)
  • WiFi or Wi-Fi – Local area wireless network
  • *WP – With pulley on motor shaft

X

  • Xtal – Quartz Crystal (if stimulated will oscillate at a precise frequency)

Y

  • Y/C – Luminance/Chrominance

Numbers & Symbols

  • 8mm – Type of Video Cassette Format
  • Ω – Ohm (Omega symbol, basic unit of electrical resistance)
  • % – Percentage
  • © – Copyright
  • " – Inches (1" = 25.4mm)
  • °C – Degrees Celsius or Centigrade (measurement of temperature)
  • °F – Degrees Fahrenheit (measurement of temperature)

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