Shielded RJ45 Jack with Board Lock and Keying
The Molex 0446200002 is a shielded RJ45 jack from the 44620 series, terminated in an 8p8c (8 position 8 contact) configuration for standard Ethernet connectivity. The jack carries a Cat3 rating, which means it is specified for voice and low-speed data up to 10BASE-T — not for 100BASE-TX or gigabit Ethernet, where Cat5e or higher is required.
The right-angle orientation and through-hole solder termination anchor the jack to the PCB. The board lock feature — two integral posts that solder into plated through-holes — takes the mechanical strain off the signal pins during cable insertion and removal. The keying feature adds a polarization rib that prevents mating with a standard unkeyed RJ45 plug, ensuring only the correct cable assembly is used.
Shielding and EMI Performance
The jack is fully shielded with an EMI finger — a metal shell that contacts the panel or chassis ground when the jack is installed in a cutout. This creates a low-impedance path for common-mode noise and radiated interference, which is critical when the cable run passes near motors, drives, or switching power supplies. The EMI finger also provides grounding continuity before the signal pins make contact, bleeding off ESD events. For a Cat3-rated jack, the shielding is not about maintaining high-frequency signal integrity — it is about keeping electrical noise off the cable shield and out of the enclosure.