PAPER INSULATED - Insulation used for telephone cable, high voltage cable, and magnet wire. Has high dielectric strength; however, pretty much passe because of better insulations.
PAR - Acronym for precision approach radar.
PARALLEL CABLE - Two insulated conductors in parallel in a cable.
PATCH CABLE - A power cable with plugs or terminals on each end of the conductor or conductors used to connect equipment.
PATCH CORD - Usually braid covered, with plugs or terminals on each end. Used to connect jacks or blocks in switchboards or analog programming systems. Called a patch cord because it is used to “patch” a circuit.
PBM-109 - Trailing mine cable with an outer sheath of flame-resistant Neoprene®. Cable conforms to requirements of Pennsylvania Bureau of Mines and the Federal Bureau of Mines. Neoprene® is a trademark of the DuPont de Nemours Co.
PBX - Abbreviation for private branch exchange.;
PC - Abbreviation for Physical Contact adaptor. In fiber optics, the physical contact refers to connectors which provide back reflections (also referred to as return loss) of less than 30 db. D4 adaptors allow the fibers to be butted together, resulting in a constant index of refraction in the optical transmission path, thereby eliminating most of the reflection. In non-PC adaptors, the fiber cores are brought into close proximity to each other with a small air gap (usually only a few microns) between them.
PCP - A commonly used term for air core (unfilled) direct burial cable with a corrugated copper shield.
PCTFE - Abbreviation for polychlorotrifluorethylene. One of the fluoropolymers which has a high dielectric strength used at temperatures to 250° C.
PE - Abbreviation for polyethylene. A thermoplastic insulation having excellent electrical properties. Also abbreviated as poly and pol.
PE FC - Abbreviation for polyethylene flooding compound.
