Abbreviations & Symbols




Here is a list of abbreviations and symbols, including their meanings, which you may encounter in our Website.


A:  Ampere or Amps (basic unit of electrical current flow)

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)

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

BNC:  Bayonet Neill-Concelman or British Naval Connector

BP:  Brass Pulley (pertaining to motors)

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)

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

eg:  For example

EHT or EHV:  Extra High Tention 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)

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:  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)

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)

IC:  Intergrated 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:  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)

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:  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/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/D:  Outside Diameter (the outside width of something round or cylindrical)

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)

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

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. 

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:  Seperate Video and Y/C (luminance & chrominance)

SYNC:  Synchronisation (the operation or activity of two or more things at the same time or rate)

TBA:  To Be Advised

Tech:  Technical
TV:  Television
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 visable light. Ultraviolet has a higher frequency than violet light)
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:  Watt (basic unit of electrical power)
WiFi or Wi-Fi:  Local area wireless network
*WP:  With pulley on motor shaft
Xtal: Quartz Crystal, if stimulated will oscillate at a precise frequency

Y/C:  Luminance/Chrominance

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)